Regarding the fact that Meng Lanshan passed away and was posthumously given the posthumous title of Wenzhen by the imperial court, an urgent imperial edict had long been passed down.
It was specifically mentioned that on the day of the funeral, all officials of the fourth rank and above in the province must pay their respects in person to show their etiquette respect.
Therefore, the front door of Meng Mansion became a bustling crowd.
The number of people coming and going was more than double what was expected.
If there are more people, there will be more receptions, otherwise it would be rude.
Therefore, Meng Jiming has been busy since early in the morning.
Since it is a celebration or a funeral, there is no escape from the hustle and bustle. Moreover, the Meng family really wants to have a grand event. For the suona team, several famous artists were invited.
Generally speaking, these are all prepared in advance, and now we just follow the steps step by step, and there is no rush.
The only thing that surprised Meng Jiming was that his father actually built his funeral coffin before he was alive. With this preparation, half of the worries were saved.
Judging from the wood used, they are all golden nanmu, a specialty of Nanyang. It is both solemn and atmospheric, and it is also just worthy of his posthumous title.
As for when this coffin was built, He Shun knew a little bit.
According to him, the master started supervising this matter during his last stay in Yongchuan Mansion. The wood was transported here as early as a year ago.
It is not difficult to see from this that Meng Lanshan was very clear about his physical condition. He knew that his end was approaching, so he made preparations for his funeral in advance.
Let’s talk about the present first.
In the lively atmosphere of playing and playing, Qi Yu and his entourage walked slowly and solemnly.
He neither sent anyone to make a report nor showed any official dignity and honor. He acted in a low-key manner, just like an unrelated passerby.
However, others are not like this.
For example, those officials who came to express condolences, in order to show their identity, they all came in a high profile and displayed a guard of honor. It was as if they were afraid that others would not notice them.
However, there is nothing too wrong with this.
Since it has been decided that it is a wedding or funeral, it must be appropriately lively. If it is too solemn, it will increase the sense of unnecessary sadness.
Of course, being lively is not festive. If it is out of season, it will appear abrupt and eye-catching.
And the person walking in front of Qi Yu is...
There was something obviously wrong with his appearance.
Let’s talk about his guard of honor first. It was even more elaborate than the trip of the chief minister of the cabinet. He brought six or seven personal entourage with him.
In addition to the garish ceremony, his clothes were also very inappropriate.
He only wore red and green, but he also had a colorful gold and silver ribbon wrapped around his waist. His attire seemed a bit disrespectful to the deceased.
At the very least, you have to tie a blue scarf around your arm to show off, right?
"Who is this in front of me?"
"Master Qi, this person is King Jing Xian who has just arrived in Yongchuan to join the feudal vassal."
King Jing Xian?
Who is he?
After thinking about it for a long time, Qi Yu vaguely recalled this person from his memory.
In my impression, he was the half-brother of Emperor Yuan Yun Li Liangji, ranked sixth, and his famous name seemed to be Li Liangyi. According to the information published by the Zongren Mansion, his original vassal territory was not in Yongchuan Mansion.
Although he was in the country, he never thought that he would actually move here now.
It is not uncommon for a vassal king to change his fiefdom, so there is nothing to make a fuss about.
What we need to pay attention to right now is why he is here.
He Shun lowered his voice vigilantly and said in a low voice: "In recent times, hasn't our court been carrying out a powerful campaign to reduce the vassalage? And this prince is very unhappy about this."
"Oh? What kind of unhappy method is that?"
"After his original land was confiscated, he did not give up. Instead, he came to Yongchuan on his own initiative and inherited the remaining family property of the former King of Yongchuan in his own name. Calculating the time, he should have been here for a few months...
…”
What?
How dare he claim the vassal territory on his own?
Not to mention anything else, this one article alone can punish him for contempt of the emperor!
However, he knew it was wrong, so why did he do it?
Regarding this problem, He Shun could not explain the reason. Not only him, but also Meng Jiming was puzzled by this.
In addition to the above, there is another puzzling thing happening at the moment.
According to the etiquette and law, when a minister dies, the royal family does not need to come to express condolences. This is the so-called outline of the rule of the monarch, the minister, and the minister. What's more, today's emperor also explicitly mentioned that he only ordered officials of the fourth rank and above in the province to come.
Condolences, this does not include the feudal king.
In other words, King Jing Xian’s visit was not justified and his words were not justified. If so, what kind of condolence did he deserve?
Could it be that he has another purpose for coming here?
Thinking of this section, Qi Yu couldn't help but look thoughtful.
Either this~~
He and his party did not make any report first, but hid aside and observed secretly. After they understood clearly the motive of King Jing Xian's coming here, they would reveal their identities and participate in the funeral.
Change from being immobile to taking the initiative, and wait and see what happens.
Yes, that's it.
He Shun can be considered an old man who has been involved in the scene, and his experience in dealing with things is not ordinary. He just glanced at Qi Yu and accurately understood his intention.
If that's the case, let's wait and see.
Just like that, Qi Yu lowered his eyebrows and followed King Jing Xian in a low-key manner, and walked into the courtyard of the Meng family. For those who didn't know, they thought he was the personal guard of this high-profile prince.
.
Perhaps because of the large number of people, he was actually fooled.
"Master, King Jing Xian has arrived..."
"What?...Wait for me to greet you!"
Obviously, Meng Jiming did not expect that the prince would come to express condolences in person, but he was so shocked that he did not react for a long time.
After calming down, he hurriedly got up from the mourning hall and went out to greet her.
Also accompanying him was his son Meng Xuesong.
As the saying goes, a filial son is three generations below others.
This means that if one's family is mourning, he or she will have to kneel down and bow to anyone who is three or more generations younger than oneself. The implication of this move is mainly to remind filial sons that they must keep a low profile during the funeral and avoid getting into trouble with others.
A quarrel or argument.
However, what is said is what is said, but it rarely happens in reality.
If people who come to express condolences see a filial son and want to kneel down, they will usually lean forward and hold him up with both hands. No matter what, they cannot let the other person truly kneel down.
This is not only respect for the other party, but also respect for the deceased.
Otherwise, you become arrogant.
However, when Meng Jiming and his son bowed down, King Jing Xian not only did not extend his hand to support them, but straightened his back and accepted the ceremony calmly.
this……
But it's a bit jarring.
Although you are a noble person from Tianhuang who inherited the Dragon Vein, you are not so pretentious, right?
Especially when it comes to funerals, how can we not make people so embarrassed?
What's more, his proud and straight-backed posture, no matter from which angle you look at it, has a hint of bullying.
Qi Yu was furious when he saw this, and wanted to step forward and kick him immediately, but he still held it back.
Because currently, the atmosphere is already wrong.
That being the case, why not continue to watch quietly for a while until the matter is completely figured out? Besides, Meng Jiming is not a soft persimmon who can be manipulated by others. He himself is not angry or angry, so why should he be anxious?