Cao Mansion, outside the gate.

Today is Cao Yin's funeral, and the funeral items were counted yesterday.

Cao Hao got up early, and it seemed that the housekeeper Cao Yuan had counted a list of road sacrifices and tea tables, and there were more than a dozen of them. Although it is a mourning for the family, but the children are still young, where can they stand this?

"Let someone tell grandma, and the seventh master and the little master will add another cotton coat." Cao Hao called a small servant and commanded.

The little guy answered, and saw the Cao Song brothers coming over after breakfast. Cao Xiang and Cao Xiang were okay, Cao Fu's eyes were red, and he followed behind his brothers.

The boy has tears and doesn't flick, just because it's not time to be sad.

Sitting at night last night, the first half of the night was fine, but in the second half of the night, Cao Fu couldn't stand it, so he ran to a place where no one was and cried bitterly, and now his eyes are swollen into rotten peaches.

Seeing this, Cao Hao was also sentimental and patted him on the shoulder.

"Big brother......" Cao Fu's voice was hoarse, and he said with difficulty: "Big brother, please mourn, so as to save the uncle from being uneasy." ”

He understands the truth, and he can still persuade others in his mouth, but he is very frightened in his heart.

"Xiao Wu also mourns. You also know that the most relieved thing when your uncle is coming, it is still a few of you. Cao Hao sighed and said.

Cao Fu nodded vigorously and said, "Well, Xiao Wu knows, and he will not let the uncle worry about it." ”

Cao Song and Cao Xiang were listening, and their hearts were sour. Cao Song looked up at the sky and said to Cao Hao: "Big brother, the hour is almost up, shouldn't someone bring out Immortal and God bless them?" ”

Cao Hao took out his pocket watch and glanced at it, it was already Chenzheng (eight o'clock in the morning).

At this time, Cao Fang took a few old Cheng stewards, and brought Changsheng, Tianyou, and Hengsheng to live with Zuo and Zuo Cheng.

Among the people, except for Changsheng, everyone else was already sensible, hanging their little hands, and showed Cao Hao and Cao Song brothers. The four years of immortality are the age of chaos, and he pulled Cao Hao's filial piety clothes, and he grinned, just about to cry.

Cao Hao lowered his body, picked up Changsheng, and asked, "Your sisters-in-law taught you yesterday, do you remember?" ”

Changsheng put his arms around Cao Hao's neck, nodded his head melon seeds, and said "um" in his mouth.

sent the guests to the funeral, and several married daughters of the Cao family were here. Without waiting for Cao Hao to urge someone, they came out of the inner courtyard with the Li family and the Zhaojia family.

Cao Yuan went to Cao Hao's side and whispered: "Uncle, it's time for the filial son to kneel." ”

Cao Hao nodded, hugged Changsheng, and led the group to the spirit shed.

Relatives and friends who came to see them off also gathered here.

In front of the spirit, there were two tables full of sacrificial dishes. Cao Hao held the jar in both hands and knelt in front of the sacrificial table. Starting with the married daughter, then the relatives with foreign surnames, and then the daughter-in-law, niece, niece, grandchildren, nephews, and second sons, each of them has three chopsticks and puts them in the jar. Then, Cao Hao, the eldest son, took the last three chopsticks, then loaded seven small dumplings and used an apple to block the jar.

After placing a baked cake on it, it is covered with red silk and tied up, even if it is a jar.

After the resignation is over, it is time to take up.

Next, it was necessary to drop the pot and hold the flag, and after some tossing, the coffin set off from the gate of Cao's mansion. Because the alley is narrow, the official start is on Gulou West Street.

From the beginning of the carry, some bearers began to shout "add money".

"My aunt and grandmother will be rewarded with fifty hangings!"

"The second aunt and grandmother of this family will be rewarded with twenty hangings!"

“……”

Starting from Gulou West Street, it is the road sacrifice shed of each prefecture.

Cao Hao walked almost all the way and knocked down all the way.

After passing a few road sacrifice sheds, Cao Hao could still stand it, and a few small ones couldn't stand it anymore. Cao Hao sent the immortal holding the spirit card to the Li family's carriage, and Cao Song sent Zuo Cheng and Zuo Zhu to Jinghui's carriage.

Tianyou is the eldest grandson, and he has to follow all the way. Hengsheng saw that his father and brother were there, so he refused to get into the carriage with Brother Zuo Cheng without saying anything, and he also stayed.

In the sacrificial tent in front, several familiar figures were the thirteenth elder brother, the sixteenth elder brother and the seventeenth elder brother.

The sixteenth elder brother and the seventeenth elder brother have no separate mansions, so it is not good to sacrifice alone, so they go to the shed of the thirteenth elder brother to worship together.

The thirteenth elder brother sacrificed wine, and the sixteenth elder brother and the seventeenth elder brother offered incense. Cao Hao took his brothers and sons to kneel and thank, it stands to reason that when the thirteen elder brothers finish their worship, Cao Hao will cry a few times, showing his grief.

There is no need for the master of ceremonies to shout, Cao Hao is already full of tears.

It was only then that he realized more and more that the sky above him was gone, and there was no one to shelter him from the wind and rain in the future.

In other people's road sacrifice sheds, after the master finishes worshipping, he kneels to send the coffin. The thirteenth elder brother is a prince, and he is different from Cao Yin's dignity and humility, so only the sixteenth elder brother knelt, and the thirteenth elder brother and the seventeenth elder brother bowed to each other.

There are not many road sacrifice sheds in the Thirteenth Elder Brother's Mansion, which is the road sacrifice shed in Prince Yong's Mansion.

In the sacrificial tent, in addition to the fourth elder brother in plain clothes, there were two young people of seventeen or eighteen years old. One Cao Hao has seen it, it is the third elder brother Hongshi of Prince Yong's mansion, but the other is an eye.

"He is the king's nephew Nian Xi, and now he will follow the king to send the loyal and righteous prince on a ride." The fourth elder brother said lightly.

Although Cao Hao had never seen Nian Xi, he had admired his name for a long time, and knew that he was the eldest son of Nian Qianyao, the grandson of Nalan Rongruo, and he was raised at the age of twelve. Because of his poor health, he has been recuperating, and he only donated to the official this year.

Nian Qianyao has been promoted to the governor of Sichuan in October, and he is in charge of military and political affairs. In this expedition to the west, two of the routes drawn up were to enter Tibet via Sichuan.

Nian Qianyao's career is in front of him.

Seeing that the funeral procession arrived, the fourth elder brother still looked solemn and reinterpreted the road sacrifice.

The fourth elder brother was the main priest, and Hongshi was the same year as Xi's accompanying sacrifice. Cao Hao led all the filial piety subordinates to kneel and bow and thank them.

As the procession progresses, the worship is repeated.

From Gulou Street to Fuchengmen, the team walked for two hours. When he arrived at Fuchengmen, many of his in-laws who saw him off stopped outside the city gate, Cao Hao turned over and followed the funeral procession to the cemetery of Sanjiawozi 20 miles west of the city...... * The road sacrifice sheds in various parts of the city have been removed.

The fourth elder brother was busy with the errand of the household, so he went directly to the plain clothes outside, revealing the python robe inside, and instructed Hongshi Tongxi to ride a horse to the household.

Hongshi rode a horse, and in the same year, Xi returned to Prince Yong's mansion.

Along the way, I saw that the white flowers on the ground were all paper money, and there were traces left by road sacrifices everywhere.

"Tsk, it's just a funeral in the Earl's Palace, so I worked so much for the palace to come forward, so decent." Hiroshi said disappreciatively.

Nian Xi smiled and said, "It's not necessarily the face of the Cao family that is sold." Just like Prince Kang's Mansion and Shuncheng Palace, because it is in the same vein as Pingjun Wangfu, it is only for the sake of the face of Pingjun Wangtong Fujin that a road sacrifice is set up. ”

Hongshi picked the corners of his mouth and said, "No wonder." Just with Cao Hao's sycophant, where are so many people selling his face! ”

When Nian Xi heard this nickname, he felt funny, and wondered: "Why is it that in the eyes of the third elder brother, Cao Elu has become a sycophant again?" In the eyes of outsiders, he, a boy who collects money, is a powerful minister valued by the emperor. ”

Hongshi waved his hand and said, "What can it be?" Sycophants are the best! At the end of the year, three festivals and two birthdays, he doesn't pull every time, and he chooses things, either to Amar's heart, or to please the big mother. Where is such flattery? ”

Nian Xi felt that what Hongshi said was too extreme, but he knew that he was a lonely kidnapper, and he was used to admitting death, so he didn't persuade him.

If Cao Hao really didn't have the slightest talent to learn, could he hang the seal of Jingtang several times at the age of the weak crown?

The Cao family has a royal guard, and there is a Tanhualang who has entered Hanlin. Even if the Cao family does not return to being prominent, it can support one or two more generations ...... * Chunjun Palace, study.

Seeing Hongshu coming in plain clothes, the seventh elder brother asked, "Is the road sacrifice over?" Hongzhuo and the two of them didn't come back? ”

"Well, when the son came back after removing the sacrificial tent, the second brother and the fourth brother followed the funeral procession to the cemetery." Hongshu replied.

The seventh elder brother nodded, remembered something, and said, "I heard your mother say that your brother-in-law gave you his soft armor?" ”

"I gave it yesterday, but my son hasn't had time to tell Amma." Speaking of this, Hongshu hesitated for a moment and said, "This is a gift from Ama to his brother-in-law, is it not appropriate for my son to accept it?" ”

The seventh elder brother seemed to be in deep thought, and said for a while: "That soft armor is still given by your Emperor Marfa when I followed your Emperor Marfa to the west in the early years. Since it is the intention of your eldest sister and eldest brother-in-law, you should take it and cherish it. ”

Hongshu bowed in response, and the seventh elder brother touched his beard and said, "Your sixteenth uncle and seventeenth uncle are sending funerals, or have they set up a sacrificial tent." ”

Hongshu replied: "Amma, I heard that the two uncles were in the sacrificial tent of the thirteenth uncle. ”

The seventh elder brother glanced at Hongshu thoughtfully, and said, "There is still less than a month and a half before the Chinese army leaves Beijing, and you have nothing to do to ask for peace in your thirteenth uncle's mansion twice." It was only said that your mother was worried that you would go on the expedition, and she was restless at night, so she asked your thirteenth uncle to recommend two temples that would do things well. ”

Hongshu was a little confused when he heard this, and said with a little guilt: "It's all because of the son's unfilial piety, which makes Ama Eniang worry." ”

Seeing that his son was so honest and responsible, the seventh elder brother frowned slightly, and sighed in his heart...... * Ten miles west of the city, there is a certain Taoist temple.

Because the Cao family cemetery has to travel twenty miles out of Fuchengmen, it is a little far. Just on the way, there is a small Taoist temple. Cao Yuan made arrangements in advance, and this was a place to rest in the middle.

Although it was cold, because there was money added all the way, the bearers did not feel tired and shouted enthusiastically.

Cao Hao couldn't rest assured of his mother, so he asked his mother to get off the carriage and drink tea to warm up.

Before he helped Li get out of the carriage, he saw Chu Yu walking over with a pale face and a few maids and daughters-in-law, and whispered in Cao Hao's ear: "Forehead, Sister Amethyst is gone......

Cao Hao only felt a tremor in his heart, looked at Li's carriage, and couldn't tell whether he was crying or laughing on his face.

"I'll serve my wife, so I'd better go over and see how it is placed!" Seeing him like this, Chu Yu felt uncomfortable in his heart and said in a low voice.

Cao Hao nodded haphazardly and ran to the carriage behind him.

I saw a medium-sized carriage outside, and Unn was standing outside the carriage, bowing his head and crying.

This carriage was personally selected by Cao Hao, who was afraid of freezing amethyst, and made a special trip to add a layer of felt.

Cao Hao stood still in front of the carriage, jumped open the cotton curtain, and saw Amethyst sitting in the carriage with her eyes closed, looking like she was asleep.

Cao Hao still had a little luck in his heart, and reached out to test Amethyst's snort, but he had been out of breath for a long time......

(To be continued)