Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

Seeing the Pei family members struggling with a single penny, Shen Mo gritted his teeth, took off the valuable patterned jade pendant from his waist, and handed it to Pei Zhihui: "Take this and pawn it first, buy a good coffin, don't keep the old man waiting too long."

Pei Zhihui looked at the jade pendant, but did not reach out his hand.

He silently pushed the jade pendant back, his voice terribly hoarse: "I appreciate your kindness. But I can't accept this money."

He turned to Shen Mo, whose usually calm eyes were now bloodshot.

"Shen Mo, lend me ten taels of silver."

Ten taels of silver are enough to buy the most ordinary thin-skinned pine coffin.

Shen Mo was stunned for a moment, then nodded emphatically and immediately took out ten taels of silver to give to him.

Pei Zhihui took the silver through his handkerchief, and as soon as he stepped outside and saw Pei Zhiyan, he immediately handed the silver back to him.

Seeing the silver in his second brother's hand, he immediately took it.

There's no other reason than that my second brother is a natural penny-pincher. Any money that passes through his hands will mysteriously disappear or be lost.

Since this money is for buying a coffin for his grandfather, it's more reliable for him to keep it.

Just as Pei Junlan was racking her brains over the expenses of the funeral, an unexpected person arrived.

Manager Shen Jiahuaide actually came to the county government office in person.

"Qiongju!" Shopkeeper Huai De's eyes reddened when he saw Shen Qiongju. "Uncle has come to take you home!"

Shen Qiongju shook her head. Looking at the Pei family members weeping in the courtyard, and at Pei Zhihui, whose back was growing increasingly desolate, she said softly, "Uncle Huai De, I won't go back yet."

She took fifty taels of silver from Manager Huai De, representing the winery's profits from the past period, and said only one sentence: "Right now, I just want to do something for the Pei family."

Shen Huaide frowned. "You've gotten so thin! Your dad's waiting for you to come home!"

Shen Qiongju insisted, "I'll go back after I finish handling the funeral arrangements for the Pei family."

Shen Huaide: "..." This child has been cursed.

He could clearly see that the Pei family members treated his Qiongju with contempt and disdain. Wouldn't it be better for her to go home and be the matriarch of the Shen family? Why suffer in the Pei family, having to be subservient to everyone?

They returned to the inner quarters of the yamen.

Pei Junlan looked at the heavy money bag that Shen Qiongju handed over, remained silent for a long time, and finally took it, saying in a hoarse voice, "...Okay."

The others' eyes flickered, and they stopped speaking coldly to Shen Qiongju.

With this money, the funeral can finally be held in a more dignified manner, and it won't be considered as borrowing money to hold the funeral.

Shen Qiongju and Pei Junlan personally went to the cloth shop to buy white cloth and worked through the night to make mourning clothes.

.

The Pei family's old residence.

In the dead of night, she carried a hastily made set of mourning clothes and walked to Pei Zhihui's door.

There were no lights in the room, only the cold moonlight filtering through the window, outlining a lonely silhouette.

She gently pushed the door open.

"Zhihui," her voice trembled slightly in the silence, "...it's time to change into mourning clothes."

The figure inside the room did not move.

He sat there quietly in the darkness, like a lifeless jade statue, shrouded in a suffocating sadness and chill.

Shen Qiongju's heart sank, and her fingertips, gripping the mourning clothes, turned white.

She carried the rough white linen dress and walked in step by step, the wooden planks under her feet making a slight creaking sound that was amplified infinitely in the silence.

"I..." She walked up to him, and in the moonlight, she could see his lowered eyelashes and tightly pursed thin lips. His face, which was already pale, was now even more translucent.

"Is it appropriate for you to wear the Pei family's mourning clothes?"

He finally spoke, his voice hoarse and devoid of warmth, like a knife chilled to the bone.

Shen Qiongju's body stiffened.

Yes, what right does she, the person who indirectly caused Pei Shoulian's health to collapse, have to touch the Pei family's mourning clothes and participate in this tragedy that belongs to the Pei family?

But she still forced herself to bend down and gently place the mourning clothes on the table beside him.

"This is about my grandfather's funeral arrangements," she said softly. "Right now, I just want to do my part."

Pei Zhihui didn't say anything more, but simply raised his eyes and looked at her quietly.

That gaze seemed to see right through her soul and tear it to shreds.

Shen Qiongju felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze, but she remained strong and composed.

Just when she thought he would remain silent, he slowly stood up.

He picked up the mourning clothes and awkwardly put them on.

The oversized mourning clothes looked loose and baggy on his thin body. He lowered his head and tried to tie the hemp rope around his waist, but he was a little clumsy and couldn't tie it properly.

As if possessed, Shen Qiongju reached out her hand.

"I'll do it."

The moment her fingertips touched the rope, he grabbed her wrist.

His hands, as cold as a piece of iron, gripped her hand bones.

"Don't touch me." He squeezed out the three words through clenched teeth, a suppressed emotion surging in his eyes.

Shen Qiongju gasped in pain.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with stubbornness and incomprehension.

"You're hurting me," she said softly without struggling.

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a feather lightly scratching his tense nerves.

Pei Zhihui's breath hitched.

He looked down and saw her wrist, which he had pinched until it was red. Above that was the mourning clothes she had just put on, and then her fair and delicate neck.

Her hair carried the fresh scent of soap, which drifted into his nostrils in wisps.

It's like poison, and also like an antidote.

For some reason, he has been having recurring dreams about how he abuses his sister-in-law.

In her dream, she was the same, her eyes reddening, helplessly bearing all his madness and hatred.

"go out."

He abruptly flung her hand away, the force so great that she staggered back two steps, her back slamming heavily against the cold wall.

Shen Qiongju groaned and looked at him silently.

Pei Zhihui seemed stung by her gaze, and irritably tugged at his belt, but ultimately gave up.

He turned around, his back to her, his voice icy cold.

"You think I'll forgive you just like that?"

"You think that by putting on this ingratiating act, you can atone for the crime of killing my brother?"

"Shen Qiongju, I'm telling you, it's impossible."

After saying that, he ignored her and walked straight out of the room.

After a long while, she leaned against the wall and slowly walked towards the mourning hall.

night, deeper.

By evening, the Pei family members had already prepared Pei Shoulian's appearance, placed him in a coffin, and carried him back to the Pei family.

Under Pei Junlan's direction, the Pei family cleaned up their abandoned home. Most of their everyday belongings were still there, though some were damaged and some were covered in dust.

Pei Junlan had someone go out and buy the necessary food, bedding, and blankets, while the white banners and funeral supplies were leftovers from Pei Zhichao's funeral last time.

In a short period of time, the Pei family's courtyard temporarily returned to normal operation.

In the makeshift mourning hall set up by the Pei family, the flickering candlelight illuminated a thin wooden coffin, making the scene appear exceptionally desolate.

The Pei family members took turns keeping vigil, and by the middle of the night, only a few of the younger generation remained.

Shen Qiongju silently walked to the altar, picked up a stack of paper money, and threw it into the brazier one by one.

The flickering firelight illuminated her bloodless face and the dark circles under her eyes.

She did not kneel in the proper place for filial sons and grandsons, but instead found the most inconspicuous corner and knelt down straight with her back ramrod straight.

Behind the pillars in the shadows, Pei Zhihui looked at the slender figure kneeling in the corner, his eyes deep and unfathomable.