tallest building

Chapter 98 Sending the Death Notice

early morning.

Wen Mingqian had just gotten up and hadn't even had breakfast when Ma Ping'an came to deliver the message from outside the door.

Aunt Zhang told him to stand at the door and answer.

"Reporting to Madam, Consort Song passed away last night in the middle of the night."

"What symptoms did she have?" Wen Mingqian was naturally not surprised, as she knew that this family could not tolerate Song Shi.

"It was a hemorrhage. The onset was so sudden that there wasn't time to call a doctor," Ma Ping'an replied simply and completely.

"Do the old lady and the master know?" Wen Mingqian asked again.

“Master already knows. I’ll go to the old lady’s place after I’ve informed you.” Ma Ping’an added after saying that, “But the old lady also sent Xu Mama to visit Aunt Song yesterday.”

"After the master found out, what did he say about how to handle the funeral?" Song Xiulian is dead; it wouldn't be right to just roll her up in a mat and drag her out to be done with it.

It looks bad and sounds bad.

Besides, this is an internal matter, and since Wen Mingqian is now in charge of the household, it's naturally her responsibility to handle it.

Therefore, she always had to ask Gong Xu and the old lady what they thought.

"The master said that the weather is hot now, and both he and the old lady are not feeling well, so everything should be kept simple, and even relatives and friends don't need to attend the funeral." Ma Ping'an repeated Gong Xu's original words.

Gong Xu had said this yesterday, but Yun Ying didn't tell Wen Mingqian after he returned home, because she knew that Wen Mingqian didn't want to get involved in Song's death, so he might as well distance himself from it.

“Since that’s the case, you don’t need to go to the old lady’s place. Just go back to Ruixiang Residence and keep an eye on the cooking!” Wen Mingqian stood up and said, “I’ll go to the old lady’s place to let her know and ask for her instructions.”

Madam Gong naturally knew that Madam Song was dead, but she did not say it.

After listening to Wen Mingqian's words, he sighed: "It's a pity that she died so young. There's nothing we can do about it. The weather is hot, and it won't last long. Let's take her out and bury her as soon as possible. Since she can't be buried in the ancestral grave, let's choose a better burial site for her and spend some money."

“That is to be expected. Our family has no rule against mistreating concubines.” Wen Mingqian’s tone was normal, showing no sign of any resentment towards Song Shi. “I just thought that I should at least inform her family, which would be enough to fulfill my duty.”

After thinking for a moment, Madam Gong said, "Alright, then let's send someone to inform them! There's no need to inform the other families. At this time, everyone is busy seeking refuge from the heat, so why disturb our relatives and friends? It would make us seem inconsiderate."

“The old lady is right, then we will do everything as you say.” Wen Mingqian listened respectfully to the instructions.

"Grandmother, Madam, is my concubine gone?" Gong Baoan cried as he came out from the inner room.

He hadn't seen Song Shi for several days. People told him that Song Shi was sick and needed to rest, so his brother Chang'an brought him over to live with his grandmother.

Chang'an took good care of him and was willing to play with him, so he didn't miss his birth mother much these days.

But once he heard that his birth mother had died, he couldn't help but cry.

"Good child, don't cry. Your stepmother has passed away from a serious illness. From now on, the elders will love you dearly." Although Wen Mingqian and Song Shi were sworn enemies, she never harbored any intention to harm Gong Bao'an.

The child is innocent, and besides, this child has the blood of the Gong family flowing in his veins.

"Take Fifth Young Master aside and don't let him go that way. It's hot, be careful he doesn't succumb to the deadly aura," Old Madam Gong instructed the men following Gong Bao'an. Gong Chang'an then took Gong Bao'an's hand and said, "Fifth Brother, don't be afraid, I'm here! I'll stay with you."

Furthermore, Mr. and Mrs. Song were greatly shocked when they heard the news of Song's death.

“How could a perfectly healthy person just suddenly disappear like that? I went to see her a few days ago and she was perfectly fine,” said Ge, Song’s sister-in-law.

"Aunt Song suffered a hemorrhage due to a miscarriage. Her condition was indeed stable a few days ago, but I don't know how it suddenly deteriorated." It was Ma Ping'an who delivered the message. "This was also unexpected."

"You solved it with just one sentence: 'Unexpected'? What did your master say?" Song Xiang's expression changed drastically.

“Our master is deeply grieving over the passing of Consort Song and has fallen ill. Before I came to report the death, he specifically instructed that the weather is too hot to keep the body still, so it is inconvenient to keep the coffin open, and it is also inconvenient to trouble relatives and friends. If you two go to pay your respects, please hurry, otherwise we will have to take it outside the city.” Ma Ping’an was businesslike and did not argue with them any further.

Finished talking and left.

"This is outrageous!" Song Xiang smashed his teacup to pieces in anger. "My sister has served in the Gong family for so many years, and even if she didn't achieve anything, she certainly worked hard. To not allow her body to be laid in state, to not allow relatives and friends to pay their respects—what kind of nonsense is this?!"

"Don't get angry yet," Madam Ge shooed the maid who wanted to clean out, and whispered to Song Xiang, "We didn't know about my sister's miscarriage. They've kept it a secret very well. I know her pregnancy wasn't going smoothly, but it shouldn't have ended in a miscarriage so easily."

Besides, the girl has always been in good health; even if she miscarried, it wouldn't be fatal!

After Song miscarried, she did not tell her family members, because Wen Mingqian had already been imprisoned at this time. She was afraid that if she called her family members, the Gong family would be unhappy and think that the news would leak out and the family scandal would be exposed.

She had originally planned to tell her brother and sister-in-law the whole story after she had completely defeated Wen Mingqian, so she could brag about it. Who would have thought that she would lose her life first?

“I also have my suspicions. Judging from the way the Gong family acts, my sister’s death is most likely mysterious.” Song Xiang was no pushover either, and besides, Song’s death was indeed a bit strange.

“It can’t be that Wen guy who did it,” said Madam Ge. “She seems amiable on the surface, but she and my sister have been at odds for a long time.”

"In that case, I'll go and see my sister's body. If there's anything suspicious, I absolutely won't allow them to bury her." As he spoke, Song Xiang immediately called someone in to help him change his clothes.

Meanwhile, Wen Mingqian instructed Ma Ping'an: "Now that we've informed her family of the death, take the coffin out immediately and tell them to hurry over."

If they manage to meet, it's fate that brought them together; if they don't, there's nothing that can be done.

Ma Ping'an understood and immediately ordered people to use a thin-skinned coffin to pull Song's body out through the back door.

When Song Xiang arrived at Qianmen, he saw that everything was as before, with no sign of a funeral being held, which made him even more displeased.

Once inside, when they went to the Song family's courtyard, they found that the coffin had already been taken out.

By the time he caught up with her outside the city, half of Song's coffin had already burned. He was so angry that he stomped his feet.

Thinking back, he realized he should ask the servants who used to serve Song about it, so he returned to the Gong family.

He was told that Granny Yang and the others had been called to the old lady's place to do some work and it was inconvenient for them to see him.

In reality, Song's close confidants had already been imprisoned, and they were just waiting for the storm to pass before being dealt with.

But Song Xiang was not willing to accept this. He was convinced that his sister had died unjustly.

(End of this chapter)