Chapter 33
Lin Qingyu thought that Lu Wancheng was just speaking offhand but unexpectedly, he really wa concerned about his funeral. He thought that Xiong Si’s clothes were too ugly and said that he would wear his own clothes into the coffin. The thought that the white clothes worn by the funeral procession was too monotonous and asked if it was possible to have them wear a riot of colors instead. When Lu Wancheng found out that what he wanted couldn’t be inscribed on his tombstone, he picked a fight with Lin Qingyu.
“Why not?” Lu Wancheng said angrily, “I don’t have the right to decide what to write on my own epitaph?”
Lin Qingyu mocked, “‘Here lies Salted Fish. Finally sleeping in death.’ After thousands of years, how do you think future generations would think of you?”
Lu Wancheng smiled, all carefree and leisurely. He said, “They would probably think me a talented person who was ahead of his time. Then, they would put me on top of ‘The Dayu’s Eight Great Masters’ or some such sort…”
Lin Qingyu interrupted ruthlessly, “Even in dreaming, one must have a sense of proportion.”
Lu Wancheng looked very disappointed that his carefully created humorous stanzas couldn’t be engraved on his tombstone. Sitting on his wheelchair, he sighed with his head lowered. Seeing it made Hua Lu’s maternal instincts overflow. Lin Qingyu ignored him and went to the study to handle his own matters.
It didn’t take long for Hua Lu to find him with a plate of freshly washed jujubes. She seemed to want to say something but hesitated. “Shaojun, would you like some jujubes?”
“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”
Hua Lu hesitated for a long time then said, “This is the Young Master’s final month. I think you should treat him better and accommodate him more.”
Lin Qingyu smiled lightly: “But, he doesn’t want to be accommodated.”
Hua Lu was surprised: “Huh?”
“He’s thinking up of every means to get us to relax. How can we fail to live up to his kindly intentions?” Lin Qingyu’s voice had a touch of untraceable tenderness, “Tell everyone in the Blue Wind Pavilion that during these last few days, we will do what needs doing. We shall carry on as usual.”
Hua Lu didn’t quite understand, but she believed in Shaojun. She has been serving the Eldest Young Master for so long and yet she still didn’t dare to say that she understood him. It has been but less than a year since the Shaojun married into the family and yet he had already seen through the Eldest Young Master.
This was probably what the literati called a bosom friend.
The coffin was where the deceased would lay in eternal rest. It was the most important thing in the funeral ceremony. Lin Qingyu remembered what Lu Wancheng said and he really did take him with him when it came time to choose the coffin. The Xiong Si couldn’t move the coffins into the Hou Mansion for them to choose from so they could only be inconvenienced to take a trip to the shop.
Particular kinds of shops like the Xiong Si were usually located in some hidden out of the way street. This entire street was filled almost exclusively with shops that dealt with the business of death. The largest one among these was called Wu Wang Tang and this was Xiong Si commissioned by Lin Qingyu.
Lin Qingyu pushed Lu Wancheng to the front of the shop. Huan Tong timidly followed behind. He had his arms around himself, rubbing his arms. He felt that this street was much colder than outside. A chill wind was whizzing and from time to time, they would pass by shops with paper figures placed at their door. It made goosebumps rise on the skin of those who saw it.
The shop assistant of Wu Wang Tang learned that the Shaojun of the Hou’s Mansion was coming and he had been waiting at the door since early that morning. “This humble servant pays his greetings to Shaojun.” Upon seeing Lu Wancheng in the wheelchair, he said in surprise, “Could this be…”
Huan Tong said, “This is our family’s Young Master Hou.”
Lu Wancheng greeted the shop assistant with a smile, leaving him stunned. He has been in this business for so long but he has never seen anyone who personally came to the Xiong Si to choose his coffin.
Lin Qingyu asked, “The products?”
The shop assistant was clever and quick to respond. He hurriedly said with a smile, “Everything is ready. Please come this way, Young Master Hou, Shaojun.”
Although Wu Wang Tang had a small frontage, inside, it was a completely different world. The newly-made coffins were neatly arranged in the rear courtyard and there were different types. The man introduced them one by one: “This is Catalpa wood while that is Cedar. Catalpa won’t corrode easily and it is resistant to humidity and moisture. Cedar has a fine texture and won’t deform… Which two types would you like, Shaojun, Young Master Hou?”
Lu Wancheng found his blind spot. “Two types?”
The shop assistant said, “Since Young Master Hou is married, naturally, the Shaojun shall be buried in the same grave with him in the future. As they say husband and wife by the first marriage share a quilt in live and a pit in death. A hundred years later, Young Master Hou and Shaojun shall be buried together in the same grave and they will continue their fated relationship in the afterlife.”
For a while, both Lin Qingyu and Lu Wancheng fell silent.
Lin Qingyu had never spared any thought before to being buried in the same grave as Lu Wancheng. Only after being reminded by the shop assistant did he realize the meaning of “husband and wife by the first marriage”.
Even though, in the beginning, he and Lu Wancheng were ungrateful and unwilling parties to this marriage, it was still a marriage following the three books and six rites; they had worshipped heaven and earth; they had made obeisance in the main hall. Theirs was completely different from Xiao Cheng and Lu Niantao’s.
A knot between husband and wife, to love each other and have no doubts.
In life, to be by your side; in death, to long forever.
The words “husband and wife by the first marriage” were unavoidably too heavy.
Lu Wancheng smiled and said to Lin Qingyu, “Buried together… It’s too early to be saying such things. Besides, I’m used to sleeping alone. I don’t mind being buried together, but I would be wronging you too badly if I were to have you buried in the Lu Family’s ancestral tomb.” If it were the Jiang family’s ancestral tomb, he might think about it.
The shop assistant looked at Lin Qingyu in embarrassment. “Shaojun, this…”
Lin Qingyu said indifferently, “You need only follow Young Master Hou’s wishes.”
The shop assistant didn’t dare to comment. “A lot of Wu Wang Tang’s new models are displayed at the back. Shoajun, Young Master Hou, please follow me.”
Suddenly, there was a faint voice of a woman’s mutterings. Huan Tong was so frightened that he leaned on Lin Qingyu. “Young Master, did you hear someone crying?”
The shop assistant explained, “Don’t be afraid, little brother. That’s just another customer, here to look at the coffin.”
Their party followed the shop assistant past rows and rows of coffins and sure enough, they saw a woman. The woman was dressed in white silk mourning clothes. Her eyes were unfocused. She appeared thin and pallid, weak like a willow. Even so, it was not difficult to see her former beauty.
The man whispered, “This is Madam Huo. Her husband contracted tuberculosis three years ago and passed away at home yesterday.”
Madam Hou was originally a talented actress from the Jiaofangsi. By chance, she met a scholar, a son of nobility and the two became each other’s sunshine. Despite his parent’s disapproval, they made a pledge to be married. The scholar spent his family’s wealth to redeem her freedom. He thought he would be able to accompany her to grow old but after just a few years since their wedding, they were separated, one on earth and one in heaven, never to see each other again.
The shop assistant sighed, “Madam Hou is a frail lady who’s been subjected to the hardships of life since she was born. She has no mother or father and she has lost her husband so early. Moreover, with her beauty, I’m afraid her remaining days will not be easy.”
Their group was standing not far away from Madam Hou but it was as if she could neither see nor hear them. Her hand gently stroked a Cedar wood coffin and murmured, ” Oh to be the southwest wind and tumble into your arms... ”
As her words faded, a stream of clear tears slowly slid down from the corner of her eyes and scattered into splashes.
Lin Qingyu retracted his gaze and said, “Let’s go.”
Lu Wancheng was silent for a moment, then said with a smile, “I think that Cedar coffin is pretty good. Are there any other styles for me to see?”
Wu Wang Tang deserved their famous reputation in the capital. They got things done quickly and well. In a few days, except for the Cedar coffin that Lu Wancheng wanted, everything else was already ready. In Lu Wancheng’s own words, he could ‘peace out and say ‘see ya later” to everyone at any time.
After everything was prepared, the shop assistant went to the Hou Mansion to settle the accounts. Lin Qingyu was satisfied with how good a job he did and personally rewarded him. The shop assistant took his reward and said with a smile, “I must return to the shop to handle matters. This humble servant won’t be disturbing Young Master Hou and Shaojun any longer.”
Lu Wancheng asked casually, “Does your Wu Wang Tang get busier in winter?”
“That is for certain.” The shop assistant said, “There are many old people who can’t survive the winter. But today, there was only one deceased, a young woman… Young Master Hou and Shaojun should still remember. It was Madam Hou who you saw at Wu Wang Tang that day.”
Lu Wancheng was taken aback. “She was fine just the day before yesterday. Why so sudden?”
The shop assistant sighed. “Madam Hou couldn’t bear the pain of bereavement. After finishing the funeral for her husband, she drowned herself in the lake that night.”
Hearing this, Hua Lu covered her mouth, he eyes turning red. Huan Tong too was quite moved. Lin Qingyu glanced at Lu Wancheng, and said to the shop assistant. “You’ve worked hard. Please go on ahead.”
After the shop assistant left, Lu Wancheng was noticeably quieter. Lin Qingyu could probably guess why he was. It must have something to do with Madam Hou.
Sure enough, after Lu Wancheng finished drinking his medicine, he suddenly asked him, “Qingyu, you should still…not regard me as your husband, right?”
Lin Qingyu said, “I’ve told you before. I treat you as a friend and a confidant.”
Okay, alright. Just a friend and confidant.
But the passing of a close friend would still hurt and make one sad.
“I don’t want to be even be a close friend anymore.” Lu Wancheng was a little anxious, “Just treat me as… a tool.”
A tool… a tool to be thrown away after use? A tool without any emotional involvement?
Lu Wancheng wanted him to do this?
Lin Qingyu sneered. “Lu Wancheng, who do you take me for?”
Lu Wancheng was stunned: “…Qingyu?”
“Do you think that after you die, I will be like other widowers, washing my face with tears all day, seeking death, tiring of living?” Lin Qingyu’s voice was cold, like a snowy winter day, “You think I will abandon myself to despair, remain at a standstill, live my life missing you? You are wrong, Lu Wancheng. If I was so vulnerable and indecisive, when I married you, I would have smashed my head to my death on our bridal bed. “Lin Qingyu looked at Lu Wancheng, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. He said calmly, “Don’t worry. I will watch you go, and then…I will live well.”
Lu Wancheng stared at him for a long time, his eyes seemed filled with limpid autumn waters. He said, almost like a sigh, “What should I do, Qingyu? You have really… completely grown on my sexuality.”
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