Huairen sent his younger brother Huaiyi to the county town to buy fragrant wax paper and offerings. Then he stepped out and walked into his father's study. As expected, he saw a will pressed with a jade paperweight on the table.
Seven days before that, Huairen was even more surprised when he read the contents of the will:
No facial coverings, no coffins, no trumpets, no funeral announcements to relatives and friends, no reception of any mourners, no brick hoops in the tomb, in short, no extravagance, no noise, and burial as early as possible.
Huairen took this will and ran into the mourning hall to present it to his mother: "Oh my god, why did my father give me such a problem?" Zhu Bai was not surprised after reading the will: "Your father is just trying to figure it out.
"It's hard." The time when she read the note at the bottom of the will was the day when her husband had delivered the county records to eight colleagues. That night, after Mr. Zhu went to bed, he told her about his arrangements after his death. Don't brag.
, it’s because he likes peace and quiet all his life and can’t stand the noise; he doesn’t want to put a coffin or cover his face with paper. It’s because he can’t stand the restrictions of the lid because of his free, natural and cheerful habits. Mr. Zhu described to his wife the tomb he designed for himself.
, no bricks were used, only unbaked bricks were used to build the tomb; an earthen kang was set up in the tomb, and the ten monographs he wrote in his life were tied into pillows, and there was also a brick carved by him that no one was allowed to tear.
The kraft paper that opened the package was embedded in the small hole in the dark room of the tomb. Zhu Bai didn't care at the time: "You are living well without disaster or illness, but you are nagging about these strange things. You probably have nothing to think about."
"Thinking of all these strange things." Mr. Zhu smiled but did not answer. When Zhu Bai saw the will, it was confirmed that Mr. Zhu's chatter that night was not idle talk, but serious instructions, including the conversation with Hei Wa, including calling him
The son and daughter-in-law had a reunion dinner, including shaving their heads, looking for black hair, and even calling her mom in front of the son and daughter-in-law... all of which confirmed that her husband had already predicted his death date. Mrs. Zhu Bai said to her son Huairen: "Just press
Go through the will your father gave you."
Huaiyi bought back the sacrifices, and the brothers placed the snacks, pomegranates and other offerings on the coffin table in the same manner, and then Huairen's hair wax burned incense. Huaiyi lit the Yin paper in the earthen basin, and finally knelt down impatiently.
Under the coffin table, she let go of her throat and cried. The daughter-in-law put up a stick of incense, kowtowed three times, sat on the bench beside the coffin table, and began to cry for a long time. The little grandson was caught in the hustle and bustle of the adults.
He was abandoned on the fire bed and his voice was hoarse from crying. Zhu Bai picked him up from the fire bed in the backyard and walked back to the coffin. The child was still sobbing aggrievedly. Zhu Bai pressed her little grandson's face against hers, tears rolling down her face.
She remained silent, and after her sons had cried for a while, she resolutely stopped them from continuing to cry. She ordered her second son, Huaiyi, to keep vigil in the academy, and asked the eldest son, Huairen, and his wife to go back to Zhujiafan to make funeral arrangements. Of course, the grave was buried.
Among all the complicated matters, the most urgent thing is to break the ground early tomorrow morning; the coffin must be sent home as soon as possible; Mr. Zhu's soul must be allowed to rest in peace in the courtyard of his ancestral home before burial. All other matters must be done one by one.
The general principle of camera arrangements was to comply with Mr. Zhu’s will. Huairen and his wife immediately set off back to their hometown with their children in their arms.
Zhu Bai and his sons strictly abided by Mr. Zhu's instructions. Although they did not report the funeral to any relatives or friends, the news of Mr. Zhu's death still spread quickly. First, Huaiyi went to the county to buy sacrifices and spread the news to the county, and then Huairentou
A piece of white mourning cloth was written on it as a reminder. From that night on, people began to come to Bailu Academy to pay their respects. Zhu Bai asked his son Huaiyi to stay in front of the funeral, walked out of the academy gate, and asked Huaiyi to insert the dead bolt from the inside.
Everyone who came to pay homage was declined, and the husband's instructions were constantly reiterated. The grief of those who paid filial piety could not be vented, and they even became angry at Zhu Bai's unhuman behavior; people gathered together because they did not want to leave easily.
They stood up, forming a huge turbulent momentum. When Zhu Bai felt that she could not hold on any longer, she knelt down and begged everyone for mercy. No matter how reluctant the people were, they all touched the door, the walls, and the cypress trees and cried bitterly.
Among the important relatives, Bai Xiaowen was the first to come after hearing the news. After asking his aunt about his uncle's death, he expressed his sincere condolences and concern. His aunt still had a hard heart and refused to let him in, so Xiaowen had to leave with tears in his eyes.
It was already evening when Bai Jiaxuan arrived. He saw the crowd gathered at the gate of the academy inexplicably. Then he became furious at his sister's unkind behavior. He cried and yelled and rushed towards the gate and banged his head against the door. When he saw his brother-in-law's body, he prepared to prepare.
Zhu Bai expressed his indignation at his brother's behavior: "You have been dealing with your brother-in-law all your life, and you still don't know his temper. You don't follow his instructions, but I am here to do whatever you want.
I won't hold you back even if I fight you to the death..." Bai Jiaxuan calmed down and softened. He took advantage of the situation and stopped fighting under the pull and persuasion of everyone. He held the door leaf with both hands and let out a sad cry. It was already dark when Hei Wa came after hearing the news.
He was stationed at Guguanyukou, far away from the county town. The artillery camp was basically isolated from the people. Only two men who went to the county town to buy vegetables brought the news to the artillery camp. Heiwa knelt down in front of Zhu Bai and shouted.
"Teacher's wife" burst into tears. After learning about her husband's will, she did not force it. She nodded silently and began to persuade everyone to leave. Snow particles began to fall from the sky, and the millet-like snow particles shook the dead branches and leaves.
There was a loud bang, and many people began to leave. Many people still insisted on keeping vigil for their mentor outside the academy gate. The threat of cold and hunger finally made Zhu Bai listen to Hei Wa's workaround, and Hei Wa announced to everyone that Mr. Zhu had moved the body.
The day of the soul transfer is tomorrow. When Mr. Zhu's body is moved out of the academy tomorrow, you can see his remains. After saying this, everyone left the academy to stay in the county town, leaving only Bai Jiaxuan and Heiwa. Zhu Bai's family
He said, "You two have a long way to go, and you have to rest in the academy." But Heiwa shook his head and said, "Students dare not violate Mr. Ao's last words." Zhu Bai said, "He said that you are his best one."
Disciple, if you go to see him, he won't blame you." Heiwa said, "Master, you remembered wrongly. Master said that I was his last disciple, not the best." Zhu Bai affirmed, "He is right.
I said, 'I didn't expect that my best disciple turned out to be a bandit.'" Heiwa said, "But Sir didn't allow me to break his last words. I'd better abide by Sir's last words." After that, he thanked him.
Bai Jiaxuan and his sister Zhu Bai were left alone, so they opened the door and walked into the academy. Bai Jiaxuan walked hurriedly in the courtyard with a cane and his waist bent. He slipped and fell several times, got up and ran to the front of the mourning hall, not caring about it.
Xiang fell down under the coffin table, crying so loudly that the dirt on the room fell down, and screamed incoherently:
"The best gentleman in Bailuyuan passed away... There will never be such a good gentleman in the world again."
There was a heavy snowfall at night, and the Bailuyuan Slope and the Zishui River were all in plain sight. It was already noon when Huairen led Zhu Jiafan's villagers to move the corpses, and the oxcart was parked at the foot of the slope. On the field outside the academy gate and
A dark crowd gathered on the hillside. Huairen and his fellow villagers used a wide board to carry Mr. Zhu's body out of the academy gate. The crowd gathered outside burst into cries like a roaring flood, beating the cliffs and hills of Bailuyuan Slope.
Liang. People followed him down to Pogen. When the body was moved to the bullock cart, people paid their respects to Mr. Zhu’s body. In accordance with Mr. Zhu’s will, there was no coffin or facial covering. Mr. Zhu lay on his back.
Lying down, her still fair and translucent face faced the sky. The sky behind the snow was as clean as washing, and the sun shone on the snow with colorful halos.
The cattle pulled the hard-wheeled wooden cart along the river road leisurely. The wooden wheels creaked on the bumpy dirt road. Yellow and white paper money fell on the snow. There was no sound of musical instruments or cannons. The hearse
Moving silently in the chilling ice and snow, the hearse was followed by countless people. The news of Mr. Zhu's death and his last words spread like wildfire. Such last words aroused the emotions of the admirers even more, and with irrepressible
Passion should express heartfelt admiration. From Bailu Academy to Zhujiafan, the oxcart passed through all the villages along the Zishui River for more than fifty miles. The villagers were waiting at the entrance of the roadside village long before the hearse arrived, and every household helped the elderly and their families.
The children came out of the nest and knelt in the snow, fragrant wax was stuck on the dry soil under the snow, and the paper was burned on the snow. When the hearse came, people rushed forward to see Mr. Zhu's body. Red
Under the blue sky, above the snow-capped fields, dozens of large villages and small villages along the fifty-mile journey, candlelight and paper flames connected into a river, this is a spiritual sending ceremony that has never been seen before.
The crowd behind the hearse continued to form, and people continued to join the messy crowd of mourners and move forward silently. Countless black and white elegiac couplets were propped up in the air. Hei Wa had been following the hearse since he was in the academy.
, silently sandwiched between unfamiliar and familiar people. He bought two feet of white silk when he passed through the county town on his way back to Paoying last night. When he returned to Paoying station, he wrote on the white silk the eulogy he had thought about along the way:
Be confident and have nothing to be ashamed of in your life
Only after death do you dare to face the sky
The hearse with wooden wheels pulled by oxen entered Zhujiafan. Except for those who helped move the body, other mourners were still not allowed to enter the house. Those who paid mourners nailed elegiac couplets to the wall and hung the curtains on branches or ropes;
The streets and alleys of the small Zhujiafan Village were covered with black and white banners. Many disciples of Mr. Zhu who were officials and businessmen in the provincial capital came here, and some disciples from as far away as the Eastern Prefecture and the Western Prefecture in Kanto also came.
Fengchen came here and dedicated the poems and essays condensed from their admiration, love, talent and wisdom to Mr. Zhu, which were formed until the burial on the seventh day... But the one that was recited the fastest and longest was the bandit black
The baby's elegy.
Bai Jiaxuan stayed at his eldest sister's house until Mr. Zhu was buried. He leaned on crutches, raised his huge head, and tried to catch people's comments with his not-so-smart ears. People were chewing the story of Mr. Zhu's ban on smoking and plowing down poppies over and over again.
Chewing on Mr. Zhu’s adventures of going to Qianzhou alone to persuade the governor of the Qing Dynasty to retreat, chewing on Mr. Zhu’s joke about tying a dog at the door and biting away the commander of the crow soldiers, chewing on the sack that Mr. Zhu carried dry food for himself when he was distributing food for disaster relief, chewing on Zhu
The interesting story of Mr. Zhu pinching time and fortune telling for the villagers who abandoned their cows and pigs, and savoring Mr. Zhu’s eccentric temperament of only wearing homespun cloth and no yarn... This man has left countless strange and anecdotes in his life, all of which were good to others.
And I can't find anything that would harm others or benefit myself.
Bai Jiaxuan witnessed with his own eyes the burial process of his brother-in-law: lying on a wooden board with hanging ropes on both sides, and slowly being sent into the tomb passage; four young people were waiting in the tomb passage, lifting the stiff corpse of his brother-in-law into the dark room; there was a narrow room in the dark room.
There was a Tukang, covered with reed mats and quilts. My brother-in-law, Mr. Zhu, finally lay down on the Tukang, with a bundle of books written during his lifetime pillowed under his head... Countless shovels were thrown into the tomb passage, and the pit quickly
It was filled up, a tall grave with a big head and a narrow tail was built, and finally a soul-drawing flag was inserted. At this time, Bai Jiaxuan couldn't help but sigh loudly to everyone again: "There will definitely never be such a Mr. Luo again in the world."