The servant delivering the news didn’t know much, just kowtowed and said, "It was the servant from the family of Saburo at the village tail who, when accompanying his wife to her family’s home in Shangcai, saw it, and only recognized Uncle Cheng and the second lady, but leading the group should be the third lady from the main house."
Zhao Song pondered and then said, "Before my elder brother passed away, he arranged a marriage for the third lady, likely intending to leave the main house to her. If she stopped in Shangcai, perhaps she wishes for us to meet and welcome my elder brother?"
He said, "That is indeed appropriate. Quickly go inform the other families, prepare a little tonight, and tomorrow morning we will go to Shangcai to bring my elder brother back."
The housekeeper acknowledged and withdrew to pass on the message, but Zhao Song’s son, Zhao Ming, was full of doubt, "Father, why is it only the second sister-in-law and the third lady escorting the coffin back home, where is Jizhi and the others?"
He said, "Even if Jizhi is busy, it should be Dalang who manages this. He has inherited the title from the elder uncle and should show filial piety. If he can’t return, he should let his son escort the coffin back home. How come only the widow and orphan of the main house are left to escort the coffin back home alone?"
Zhao Song frowned slightly, "We’ll ask about it tomorrow."
Early the next morning, the Zhao Family’s Castle was filled with the sounds of people, horses, and oxen. Knowing that the old Clan Leader’s coffin had returned to Shangcai, many Zhao Clan members planned to accompany it to meet the coffin.
Meanwhile, before dawn, Uncle Cheng had already set off lightly with several retainers heading to Xiping.
By noon, Uncle Cheng only stopped to gnaw on a couple of bites of dry food. After letting the horses drink some water, he stood up and said, "Let’s go, there’s over an hour left until we arrive, let’s hurry."
As everyone was about to put away their water bags and mount their horses, they saw lots of horses and ox carts coming down the main road.
Uncle Cheng pulled his horse to the roadside, intending to wait for their procession to pass before continuing.
Leading the way were two horses and a carriage. Uncle Cheng’s gaze met with the person on the horse, then nonchalantly looked away, casually glancing over the carriage.
Suddenly, he caught sight of the emblem on the carriage and immediately turned back to confirm it was indeed the emblem he was most familiar with, his eyes widened slightly.
He immediately stepped forward a few steps, raised his hand, and asked loudly, "Is it the Xiping Zhao Family on the carriage?"
The carriage gradually stopped, and the guards on the horses looked at him vigilantly, demanding, "Who are you?"
Zhao Song lifted the curtain and looked out. Matching Uncle Cheng’s gaze, he was taken aback, "Uncle Cheng?"
Uncle Cheng was also surprised, shouting loudly, "Fifth Lord, oh no, Fifth Grandfather, it’s Fifth Grandfather!"
Zhao Song immediately got out of the car, and Uncle Cheng knelt on the ground, "The little one greets Fifth Grandfather."
"Quickly rise, why are you here? Has my elder brother’s coffin really returned to Shangcai? Why didn’t you send it back to Xiping?"
Uncle Cheng knelt and wept bitterly, "The little one is under the third lady’s orders to report the death in Xiping and ask Fifth Grandfather to preside over the Lord’s funeral. I never expected to meet Fifth Grandfather on the way."
Crying, Uncle Cheng took out a letter and presented it, "Fifth Grandfather, our lady is suffering. She is too ashamed to return to the clan, so she quietly sent me to ask for Fifth Grandfather’s help, please assist."
Zhao Song immediately took the letter and opened it.
In the letter, Zhao Hanzhang started from the false accusation against Zhao Changyu for plotting against Prince East Sea, stating that Zhao Changyu refused treatment for the sake of the whole Zhao Family, choosing to die of illness at that time.
As Zhao Song read, tears started streaming, his nose tingling. When he learned that Luoyang was besieged and Prince East Sea had fled with the emperor, abandoning the entire Capital City, he was greatly shocked, "That traitorous Prince East Sea is harming the country!"
Reading further about their family’s escape, being robbed on the road, and losing many servants and possessions, with only a few managing to protect their grandfather’s coffin under retainer protection and barely escaping, while also getting separated from Zhao Ji along the way.
Although Zhao Hanzhang wrote vaguely, Zhao Song couldn’t help but see the picture of the third lady barely escaping, finding her grandfather’s coffin scattered across the fields, the weak mother and young brother collapsed weeping beside the coffin, only a few loyal servants standing guard, seeing the entire elder uncle’s family scattered...
Zhao Song was so furious that he snorted, "Zhao Ji is incompetent, can’t even protect a coffin, and lost the mother and child of the main house, simply, simply..."
Zhao Song found himself at a loss for words, while his son Zhao Ming, watching anxiously, filled in, "Simply a beast."
He glared sideways at his son; if Zhao Ji was a beast, what were his ancestors? And what were they who shared the same ancestors as Zhao Ji?
How can you insult someone and include yourself in it?
Zhao Song folded the letter and asked, "Why didn’t the third lady return to Xiping for the family to assert justice?"
"This..." Uncle Cheng appeared conflicted and then said, "The third lady said family matters should not be made public. The elder lord is the uncle personally chosen by the lord, and now Second Uncle is running the Zhao clan. Spreading this kind of matter could severely damage the clan’s reputation, so..."
Zhao Song snorted coldly, "Why should I fear that eight?"
Zhao Zhongyu was ranked second in the family but eighth in the clan; he was younger than Zhao Song, and Zhao Song didn’t fear him.
Zhao Changyu probably thought of this, so he asked Zhao Hanzhang to escort the coffin home at the time.
Zhao Song accepted the letter and immediately got into the car, "Let’s go, to Shangcai!"
With a grand momentum, they rushed to Shangcai, where Zhao Hanzhang was choosing burial items for Zhao Changyu. Hearing the commotion and coming out, she saw a middle-aged man getting off the carriage. When he saw the white mourning attire filling the courtyard and met Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze, tears welled up in his eyes.
The middle-aged man restrained himself and approached, looking at her with reddened eyes, "You must be the third lady? Haven’t seen you in years, you’ve grown up."
Uncle Cheng immediately said, "Third Lady, this is Fifth Grandfather."
Zhao Hanzhang, on hearing this, immediately bowed deeply, "Fifth Uncle-Grandfather."
Zhao Song saw her bowing and didn’t mind, reaching out to support her, the two of them then proceeded inside hand in hand.
Mrs. Wang and Zhao Erlang had also changed into mourning clothes today, sitting in the mourning hall burning rice straw. Seeing Zhao Song, she hurriedly pulled Zhao Erlang to stand and bow, "Fifth Uncle."
Zhao Song did not show a friendly face to her, nodding coldly, swept past Zhao Erlang, and when he raised his head to look at the mourning hall, he was full of grief.
The clan members who came with Zhao Song began crying sorrowfully, turning the once quiet mourning hall into a scene of wailing.
Some even brought children, and when they couldn’t cry, the adults pinched them hard, making the children cry loudly, which in turn caused the mourning hall’s crying to increase. The sound could probably be heard two li from the courtyard, announcing that a funeral was taking place here.
These were all kin, so she couldn’t advise them otherwise, and Mrs. Wang, unable to bear the crying, lay on the ground, weeping bitterly.
Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t tell how genuine the mourners’ grief was, but it was clear Mrs. Wang was genuinely heartbroken, her cries filled with panic and unease. She hurried to her side, knelt down, and hugged her.
She couldn’t figure out what was so terrifying about the old home in Xiping that made her so afraid of these people.
Seeing Zhao Hanzhang unable to shed tears, Qing Gu slipped out quietly and soon returned with a mournful face to support Mrs. Wang and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes.
Initially tearless, Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes started watering, filled with the pungent scent of ginger juice, making her eyes almost close involuntarily.
Fu Tinghan, arriving from the back courtyard, witnessed this scene.