Chapter 33: Funeral

Yan Yu looked at his younger sister, "Regarding the matter at Tianwei Tea House that day, do you think I don't know the truth just because you lied to me? Can an ordinary woman block a strike from a Four-Eyed Demon Fox?"

Yan Shengyu's expression darkened, "Cheng Xi is my friend. Brother, there are so many strange people and talented scholars in Jindu, why must you fixate on her?"

"That is not a matter for you to concern yourself with." Yan Yu stood up and strode away, his black robes quickly merging into the night.

"Mother, why has Brother become so unreasonable now?" Yan Shengyu said angrily.

The wife of the State Duke patted her daughter's hand and said, "The Cheng Family has already fallen, and that Cheng Xi is now just a commoner. If she could enter the Demon Suppression Pavilion, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"The Demon Suppression Pavilion is for catching demons; Cheng Xi's body simply couldn't withstand it," Yan Shengyu frowned and said.

"It's not as if there are no clerical positions, what are you anxious about?"

"But she is a young lady."

"So what if she is a young lady?" The wife of the State Duke was unconcerned. She looked at her daughter and said slowly, "Do you still not see it clearly? She has a connection to Li Zhi'an, but Li Zhi'an defied the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager has her own deep reasons for putting Cheng Xi into the Demon Suppression Pavilion. You should not worry about these things; in any case, it will not be a bad thing."

It might not be a bad thing for the Yan Family, but it was not necessarily a good thing for Cheng Xi.

"Mother..."

"Enough." The wife of the State Duke said in a deep voice, "Shengyu, do not forget your status. Our Yan Family follows the lead of the Empress Dowager; whatever the Empress Dowager wants us to do, we must do."

Yan Shengyu's face turned dark. She stood up abruptly and said, "Fine, I understand."

After speaking, she turned and strode away.

The wife of the State Duke watched her daughter's back for a long while before sighing softly. She was still too young and hot-headed, having never suffered; once she had suffered, she would know what was good for her.

For several days in a row, the Tongtian Division failed to catch any demons. The Empress Dowager was furious, rebuking Li Zhi'an and the Tongtian Division for their incompetence in court, and decided to establish the Demon Suppression Pavilion.

The Little Emperor and the Regent were both away from Jindu, so no one opposed the Empress Dowager's imperial decree, and the matter of the Demon Suppression Pavilion was thus settled.

What was strange was that Li Zhi'an actually did not oppose it either.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Empress Dowager was doing this to target the Tongtian Division and Li Zhi'an.

The old and new factions in Jindu were in constant conflict, and under the shift in power, the turnover rate of Jindu officials was also very fast.

Those who had fallen from power like Cheng Zhouxing were a dime a dozen.

Those like Yan Yu who had suddenly ascended to the high position of Pavilion Master of the Demon Suppression Pavilion were also not few. Vaguely, the Empress Dowager's faction was expanding more and more.

Cheng Xi followed her routine to recuperate her body and occasionally made some incense pills. A few days ago, Lao Wutou had been released. Although he had suffered a bit, he had managed to save his life, and the shop could still open as usual.

Cheng Xi went there to buy some Demon Bones, but unfortunately, their quality was not very high; still, it was better than nothing.

A portion of the Demon Bones was ground into powder to make medicinal pills, and a portion was fed to the Wooden Figurine. Previously, when Cheng Xi took it out, the entire Du Mansion was amazed to see the Wooden Figurine running and jumping; everyone wanted to play with it.

Whether it was because it had eaten more Demon Bones or had more contact with people, the Wooden Figurine gradually gained a bit of spirituality.

Cheng Xi teased it every day, just to pass the time.

After half a month, news suddenly arrived that the Demon Suppression Pavilion had caught a demon. Jindu was shaken; no one expected the Demon Suppression Pavilion to have snatched the demon before the Tongtian Division.

Cheng Xi frowned, but this matter had nothing to do with her, so she just listened and let it pass.

She had thought that the days would just continue in this bland way, but she did not expect Cheng Yunjian to come knocking.

Cheng Xi originally did not want to see him; she had long since severed ties with the Cheng Family, but Zhao Kang said he had come to announce a death.

Cheng Xi was silent for a moment, then let Zhao Kang invite him in.

Seeing Cheng Yunjian again, Cheng Xi was a bit surprised; he looked to have changed quite a bit.

She still remembered when she first sought out the Cheng Family, Cheng Yunjian had followed behind Cheng Zhouxing, a graceful jade-like young master, raised very naively by his family, unaware of what vicious things his parents and grandmother had done beneath that glorious lintel.

Cheng Yunjian looked at Cheng Xi, who was sitting on a recliner basking in the sun, and was momentarily dazed. Her brows and eyes were peaceful, her cheeks slightly plump, and her wide-sleeved long dress trailed on the bamboo mat.

By comparison, Cheng Yunjian was much more disheveled. The clothes on his body showed signs of having been washed many times, with faint white marks, and his cheeks were slightly sunken, giving him an air of vicissitudes.

Cheng Yunjian did not want to look into Cheng Xi's eyes. He lowered his head slightly and said slowly, "Grandmother has passed away from illness. The family has set up a mourning hall, and the funeral will be held the day after tomorrow. Father asked me to invite you to come and see Grandmother off on her final journey."

Cheng Laotaitai was dead?

Cheng Xi knew that Cheng Zhouxing had been dismissed from office and had turned against his wife, Li Shi. In such a situation, with Cheng Laotaitai being mean-spirited and paralyzed in bed from a stroke, there must have been constant conflict between her and Li Shi.

However, for her to be gone in just a few months was indeed beyond her expectations.

"I have long since had no relationship with the Cheng Family. I feel deep regret for Cheng Laotaitai's passing, but I imagine she would not want to see me either, so I will not go," Cheng Xi said indifferently.

Cheng Yunjian did not expect Cheng Xi to refuse so decisively. He raised his head to look at her, his eyes filled with an indescribable disappointment and sadness, "Even if there is a great grudge, the person is gone; are you unwilling to even see her off on her final journey?"

"I am unwilling." Cheng Xi looked at Cheng Yunjian, "To you, she was a good grandmother, kind and gentle, but to me, she was one of the culprits who persecuted my mother. From the time I could remember, she never showed me a shred of an elder's kindness; she only had disgust and harassment for me."

Cheng Yunjian was no longer the noble young master who did not eat the food of the common people; he had experienced the hardships and pain of life.

His parents had turned against each other, his grandmother and mother cursed each other, his father clutched the family's money selfishly, the family had plummeted, and the marriage between Feng Lan and Jiang Weiran had completely lost hope.

The Zhenguo Duke Mansion had hidden Jiang Weiran away, and Feng Lan could not find him at all, let alone see him, not to mention the marriage; furthermore, this engagement was not honorable, and there was no written marriage contract.

The Zhenguo Duke Mansion had turned their backs on them, and they were helpless.

"I understand." Cheng Yunjian replied in a low voice. He stood in place for a long while, then suddenly said, "I'm sorry."

After speaking, he turned and left, his footsteps slightly disheveled.

Cheng Xi watched his back and said nothing.

Perhaps the original owner's impression of Cheng Yunjian was the best among the Cheng family members, but so what? She was not the original owner, and she was not kind.

When the day after tomorrow arrived, Cheng Xi went out.

Although she would not see Cheng Laotaitai off, she wanted to see the dishevelment of the Cheng Family.

She took a carriage to the place where the Cheng Family now lived, a narrow and cramped alley where the carriage could not enter. Cheng Xi got out and walked all the way in. From afar, she saw white lanterns hanging outside the Cheng Family's door, with the word "Dian" (funeral offering) written in large characters on the lanterns.

Cheng Xi looked at the desolate scene in front of the Cheng Family's door; not a single neighbor had come to pay their respects, and the corners of her mouth curled into a mocking smile.

The old servant guarding the Cheng Family's door had his back to her and was planning to remove the threshold to make it easier to carry the coffin out.

Just at this moment, a shrill, miserable scream erupted from the Cheng Family's courtyard.