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  The scene at Dongsi Mountain was very clean, without any signs of human disaster. After the dark guards withdrew, the entire villa was quiet and desolate, making it impossible to imagine that such a tragic drama had occurred here not long ago.

  The Zhen Guo Gong Fu first announced the news of Pei Xiaoan's death, saying that the young master had drunk too much at the Huajiu Building, and his face was flushed with wine. He actually died in the red silk tent of the flower girl. Pei Xiang was already suffering from wind and cold entering his bones, and he was old and weak. When he heard this terrible news, he was heartbroken and died after leaving his last words. The Pei family lost two people in power within one day, and the world sighed. It turned out that the mighty power seemed so pale and small in the face of birth, aging, illness, and death.

  At this time, there were two coffins in the main hall of the Zhen Guo Gong Fu.

  The young master's wife, Yang, was dressed in mourning clothes, her face sorrowful, with tears still streaming down her cheeks, a picture of heartbreak. But she wasn't exactly an impeccable actress, no matter how painful she looked, the ease and delight at the corners of her eyebrows and eyes were hard to conceal, and with just a little attention, one could discover that this funeral had put her in a very good mood.

  No mistake, with Pei Xiang gone, the heavy burden on her head was lifted, and Yang Shi, this young mistress, had already become the only one in power in the Town National Public House. In the past, she was restricted in everything she did, but from now on, she could do as she pleased. The death of Pei Xiang was not a sad thing for her, it just meant that her era of covering the sky with one hand had arrived. And what about the young master? This husband was originally dispensable, he had never brought her any warmth, the so-called husband and wife, to them, was just an empty shell, his death, except for making her feel a little embarrassed, she actually felt like applauding with joy.

  Yang Shi naturally thought that after this funeral, her only legitimate son Pei Jingxiao would inherit the title of Town Country Duke, and she, although skipping the step of becoming the wife of the Town Country Duke, would become the supreme Lady of the mansion, which was not a bad thing at all. This was what she had been striving for tirelessly over the past twenty years. It was about to come true, much easier than she had imagined, so she was naturally overjoyed and couldn't help but smile.

  However, in the mourning hall, everyone was grief-stricken and weeping, even a faint smile seemed particularly jarring.

  The second lady, Mrs. Pang, who was kneeling beside Yang, furrowed her brow and lowered her voice to remind Yang, "Elder sister, in front of Father's and elder brother's spirits, we should be more cautious, after all, our family is one that many eyes are watching. If someone sees us like this and it gets out, it won't be good."

  Although Pang was a utilitarian, this speculation was not as great as the human relationship of filial piety. Moreover, she was truly respectful to Pei Xiang. When she was genuinely mourning, she saw Yang Shi being so careless about the deceased, which made her feel quite displeased.

  She and Lord Pei had a verbal engagement arranged by their elders when they were young, at which time both families were considered to be nobles of the Zhou Dynasty. However, later on, the Pei family became more prosperous while the Pang family gradually declined. Her parents died early, and this marriage had no evidence or certificate, so it was thought that it would be called off. At that time, Madame Liang, the wife of Duke Zhengguo, also had thoughts of regretting the marriage and wanted to choose another noble girl for Lord Pei.

  If it weren't for Pei Xiang's insistence on fulfilling his promise from back then, she wouldn't have been able to marry into the prosperous family of Ding Sheng. What a pity that she missed out on having Pei Er Lao Ye as her husband, who truly cared for her - this would be a lifelong regret. Therefore, Pang Shi had always respected and been grateful to Pei Xiang in her heart, and his death was truly distressing to her.

  Ming Xuan heard the words and raised her head, looking towards Yang Shi. She saw that she indeed had tears in the corners of her eyes, but there was no sadness on her face, only a relaxed smile in her eyes. Even though she had been exposed by Mrs. Pang at this moment, she didn't restrain herself at all, instead becoming even more arrogant and overbearing. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, but she didn't stop the movement of her hands, continuing to burn paper in the fire basin.

  She and Pei Jingchen have already moved out of the Pei Mansion, settled in the Anping Wangfu, and were also granted a national surname. In theory, Ming Xuan is no longer considered the daughter-in-law of the Pei family, she is the noble princess, originally not necessary to kneel here with Sun Shiyan and others in the same courtesy as the granddaughter-in-law.

  But the law is no more than human feelings, Pei Jingchen is after all a descendant of the Pei family, even if she changed her surname, the blood of the Pei family still flows in her body, this point cannot be changed. Moreover, no one knows better than her what the death of Pei Xiang and the young master represents, let alone the young master, but the fact that Pei Xiang has been protecting Pei Jingchen with all his heart over the years has been confirmed by Shi Zeng, Pei Xiang's determination to take the young master away before his death, the deep meaning behind it, Ming Xuan and Pei Jingchen both understand.

  So, for this heavy family affection, Pei Jingxuan and she are willing to kneel here to see off the poor and pitiful old man on his last journey.

  Yang saw that there were no guests in the mourning hall for a moment, and those present were only the wives of several rooms and younger generations, except for the maidservants who served each room. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Second brother's wife, why did you say this? Is this to insult me for not showing respect to my father and husband's spirits? I am wearing plain white clothes, kneeling on the ground, and crying sadly, I don't know where I was not careful enough? Which eye of second brother's wife saw that I was not serious in front of the spirit?"

  She spoke with a straight face and didn't feel that the smile she couldn't stop on her face just now was disrespectful to the deceased.

  "Big sister, how can you talk like that? I'm just trying to remind you kindly. Although there's only family members here now and we don't have to wail loudly to show our grief, the guests who came to offer condolences will arrive soon. If they see you laughing so heartily, what would they think?"

  "She hummed, 'You are the madam of this mansion, the mother of the empress dowager, no one dares to question your right and wrong. However, there are still unmarried daughters in our mansion, and nephews who have not been betrothed, so it's better to be cautious in words and actions. Besides, what good would it do for you if the reputation of the mansion is ruined? I'm just kindly reminding you, sister-in-law can't listen, that daughter-in-law doesn't force it, only hoping that you won't bring trouble to the children.'"

  These words were spoken without mercy, making Yang feel displeased in her heart.

  If she had been her usual self, she would not have tolerated this remark and would have strongly retaliated. However, at the moment, in the mourning hall, she could not afford to flare up again, having gone through the decline of the Yang family, she was somewhat more restrained than before, so she suppressed her anger and coldly said, "If you say that we shouldn't involve the children, what kind of example are you setting for them? Talking about being cautious with words, I think you need to learn the meaning of these four characters even more than me. In front of our father's and husband's spirits, I don't want to engage in a war of words, let's just drop this matter here."

  The hall fell silent for a moment.

  But Yang was very suspicious in her heart, she thought that this Pang had been her follower, and she would not dare to go west when she pointed east. However, recently, Pang did not know who was supporting him, and he went against her everywhere, not following her orders, which was fine, but now he even dared to publicly argue with her in front of others and pick on her faults!

  Who gave Pong such guts!

  Suddenly. She suddenly thought that if she followed the usual logic, after the death of Taichang Gong Pei Gu, this title would naturally belong to Shizi Pei Xiaoan. Now that Shizi is gone, Pei Jingchen, as the eldest son born by the first wife, has been granted the surname Zhou and became the King of the Zhou family. So, the title of Taichang Gong fell firmly on her son Pei Jingxiao's body. Pei Jingxiao was already an adult and there was no question that he was too young to be a national duke, this matter was beyond doubt.

  Two rooms are enough to show that there is a heart that wants to take away the title, and it can't be twisted by reason.

  However, the crown prince died before Gong Guo, which added a bit of change to the nailed board.

  Yang was hesitating, when suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps outside, and a servant rushed in, panting, to report: "The East Ping King has come to offer condolences. Accompanying him is also Xia Gonggong from the Emperor's side, who brought with him an imperial edict. He requests that all masters of the household go to the courtyard to receive the edict."

  At that time, several old masters of the Pei family were entertaining guests in the side hall. Upon hearing the news, they rushed to the courtyard. The Zhen Guo Gong Fu had five houses and many descendants. Before long, the entire courtyard was packed with people waiting quietly for news from the palace.

  Dongping King and Xia Gonggong entered the main hall, first condoling with Pei Xiang and the Crown Prince. After burning incense and making a bow, Xia Gonggong announced the imperial edict: "The Duke of Town Quelling, Pei Gu, was my pillar minister, who made contributions to the country, worked hard for the gods of land and grain, and brought benefits to the people. I am deeply grieved and mournful, recalling his merits with pain and sorrow. He is specially granted the posthumous title of Zhongwu, and will be buried according to the rites of a prince."

  The crowd cheered "Long live" three times and knelt down to thank for the kindness.

  The Duke of Summer hastily invited everyone to rise, then his gaze swept over the crowd and fell on the Second Master Pei Xiaoqing. He took another yellow imperial edict from the palace servant's tray, carefully opened it, and read aloud: "Before the Prime Minister passed away, he presented a memorial to His Majesty, requesting that his second son, Pei Xiaoqing, inherit the title. His Majesty sympathized with the old minister and has already issued an edict. Master Pei, come forward to receive the edict."

  As soon as this was said, Pei Xiaoqing and Pang Furen were overjoyed, but for Yang Shi of the main house and Pei Jingxiao, it was like a thunderbolt on a clear day, shattering all their plans. If not for the powerful backing brought by Duke Dongping and Xia Gonggong, they would have probably caused a scene right then and there.

  Yang watched as Pei Xiaoqing received the imperial edict and thanked the emperor, watching as Xia Gonggong smiled and called him "Guo Gong Ye". Her heart sank to the bottom of the valley, but the imperial edict had already been issued, and it was too late to change course. The matter of Pei Jingxiao's succession to the title had been decided. But how could she be willing to accept this?

  The title that had already been obtained flew away, meaning that her nearly twenty years of effort were all in vain, turning into ashes, without even a thread of return. After the decline of the Yang family, it was only when her son became the master of the Town National Public House that she could change her lost status and have the opportunity to revive the Yang family again. Now, however, all these plans that had been thought out thousands of times were no longer possible, she was furious, she was unwilling, but it was all in vain.

  In front of the royal family, she couldn't even let out a loud cry, afraid that someone would see her indignation. She could only dig her fingernails into her palm, using the intense pain to remind herself not to lose her composure, to remain calm and composed, lest she give others an excuse to criticize her, which would truly make it impossible for her to turn things around forever. The more painful it was, the clearer-headed and calmer she became. However, when Duke Ping and Xia Gonggong left, she suddenly realized that her delicate palm, accustomed to luxury and pampering, had become a bloody mess.

  How dare you!

  At that moment, she had only one thought: Why?!

  But after the initial shock and anger, Yang gradually calmed down. In the face of various strange glances from her sisters-in-law, she didn't even return them as usual, but instead suddenly became quiet like a different person. She knelt quietly in front of Pei Hao's coffin, her head bowed, motionless, making it impossible to discern the expression on her face, and naturally, it was also impossible to infer her emotions at that moment.

  Ming Xuan saw the situation and felt a few points of vigilance in her heart. She whispered to Dan Hong behind her, "Just say I'm dizzy and uncomfortable, please ask Wang Ye to come over."

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