Chapter 128 The Filial Son Runs Away

Chapter 128 The Filial Son Runs Away

Chen Dalang opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Chen Erlang also fell silent. After thinking for a while, he said, "I want to take my father back to his hometown and bury him in the ancestral grave."

Chen Dalang looked at him, his face showing a hint of something he wanted to say, but he didn't speak.

"Let's cross the river and go to Beiman Mountain. There are many feng shui masters at the foot of the mountain. We can pay someone to choose a date for the exhumation." Du Min seemed to be prioritizing the wishes of the two brothers.

Chen Dalang and Chen Erlang then followed him to board the boat.

"Second Sister-in-law, are you coming with us or going back to the government office to rest?" Du Min walked to Meng Qing's side and asked, bowing slightly.

"What do you think?" Meng Qing asked, feigning friendliness.

Du Min definitely didn't want her to come along, but he said, "Second sister-in-law, please get on the boat."

Meng Qing sighed and returned to the boat.

As soon as the boat started moving, the sounds of funeral music and wailing came from behind. Chen Dalang and Chen Erlang turned their heads to look and saw the white shadow of a funeral banner at the end of the road. Gradually, the scattered paper money also came into view.

When the boat reached the other side, the funeral procession appeared on the riverbank. Chen Dalang and Chen Erlang did not speak, but tacitly stopped walking.

Du Min waved for the constables to leave, then stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching the spectacle unfold.

Meng Qing looked at the river. A month had passed, and the water level had dropped again. The Yellow River was about to enter its dry season.

"What happened on the other side?" Chen Erlang asked.

“Heqing County and Heyin County are cracking down on the practice of extravagant funerals. Everyone’s status and the amount of burial items must comply with the law. Any burial items that violate the regulations will be confiscated,” Du Min explained. “This funeral procession seems to be from out of town and doesn’t know our local rules, so it was confiscated.”

"A funeral procession from out of town? They buried their deceased parents in Beiman Mountain. Won't they be unable to come and pay their respects in person every year?" Chen Erlang asked again.

"Ask them later," Du Min chuckled to himself.

After an incense stick had burned, the funeral procession, their faces grim, arrived by boat. Chen Dalang and Chen Erlang both stepped forward to help carry the coffin. The family members thanked them, and as the two sides began to chat, Chen Erlang asked about his question.

“The grave is here, and the memorial tablet is placed at home. You can worship in front of the tablet,” the family member replied.

“But I am always uneasy if my remains are not buried in the ancestral grave, and I worry about it day and night,” Chen Erlang said.

"I will come here after I die," the host explained.

Chen Erlang understood; they were planning to relocate the ancestral graves.

"Second sister-in-law, do you understand now? What happens next is no longer up to me. Don't say I'm going too far." Du Min walked up to Meng Qing and muttered.

"His death hasn't appeased you yet?" Meng Qing retorted. "They were just two greedy and incompetent fools. Why bother stirring up their greed? Does toying with such people really make you feel good?"

"Second sister-in-law, can the evil deeds of those who have suppressed you, mocked you, and offended you be wiped clean as soon as they die? Can the debts be settled with the death of the person?" Du Min said solemnly.

"Junior brother, we can go now," Chen Dalang called out.

Du Min pointed to the funeral procession, indicating that they should follow first.

Chen Dalang was overjoyed. He dragged Chen Erlang away, intending to take the opportunity to discuss whether to move the grave.

“I’m stopping you, can’t you see my attitude?” Meng Qing asked.

Du Min nodded, "That's right. My father is ungrateful. He used you and wanted to ruin you, but you still wholeheartedly helped his son. You're a good person."

Meng Qing remained silent. She was no saint. Seven years ago, she was given a terrifying dream, and two years later, she snatched the culprit's son and took him for herself.

“If it were me, I would definitely destroy him after I got what I wanted.” Du Min pointed to himself with his finger. “Second sister-in-law, that’s the kind of person I am. I remember all the things Chen Mingzhang did to me. It’s his retribution that he fell into my hands.”

“Okay.” Meng Qing nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Death means debts are settled, which means your interests have been harmed. It sounds good when people say it, but only you know how painful it is.”

Du Min stared at her intently for a moment, and when he realized she was serious, he was overjoyed. "She's a promising young woman!"

Meng Qing looked around. Perhaps because of Du Min's official robes and reputation, there were few people nearby. She said bluntly, "You contributed to his death. Isn't this how you avenge yourself and settle your debt?"

Du Min couldn't refute it.

“Third brother, what you did today wasn’t collecting debts, it was committing evil. Your second brother once told me that you said something to him when you were in Wu County: you said you wanted to see if you, this unfilial son, would become a treacherous and corrupt official. Do you remember?” Meng Qing asked.

Du Min remembered that he had said this to Du Li when they were having a heart-to-heart talk at the prefectural school.

"You used to hate that you had your parents' shadow in you, aren't you afraid that you will become the very thing you once feared?" Meng Qing asked again.

"Is it that serious?" Du Min chuckled dryly.

Meng Qing did not answer.

Du Min turned his head and exhaled twice. He stubbornly said, "It's just a small matter."

The funeral music had stopped playing, so Meng Qing stopped arguing with him and chased after him.

Du Min stood there for a while, then followed after him.

The uncle and aunt hurried along, one after the other, and finally caught up with the Chen brothers in front of the school.

“The funeral procession we encountered went to the charity school to buy paper offerings for the deceased,” Chen Dalang said to Du Min.

“I also burned a lot of paper offerings and funerary objects for Lord Chen,” Du Min said. “See that shop? Their business is good, and their fortune telling is accurate. Go and choose a date for the grave exhumation.”

"We won't build a grave, so as not to disturb my father's peace." Chen Dalang looked uncomfortable. "My second brother and I have discussed it and decided to bury my father in Beiman Mountain."

“There’s little idle land on Mount Beiman, with thousands upon thousands of graves. How many officials are there in the imperial court?” Meng Qing said. “Don’t listen to the feng shui masters. As far as I know, at least three dynasties’ princes and nobles, and even feudal lords, are buried on Mount Beiman. But the Northern Wei and Southern Qi dynasties all fell, and even the Sui dynasty, which destroyed them, perished. It’s clear that the feng shui masters’ words are unreliable. It’s better to rely on the living than on the dead.”

Du Min nodded, "What my second sister-in-law said makes sense. If we go back three generations, the graves of my ancestors were all leveled, but I still became an official."

Chen Erlang looked at him, wondering what this man wanted. His attitude kept changing.

"There are no burial objects in Lord Chen's tomb." Du Min, having brought this upon himself, decided to resolve the matter himself: "You two should exhume the grave, carry the coffin back to your hometown, and rebury him."

"I'll go and choose an auspicious day." Chen Erlang had no face to refuse, so he could only leave.

Chen Dalang scratched his face and followed along.

Meng Qing snorted. With the matter resolved, she went to the private school to check the accounts.

Du Min watched her walk away, then shrugged and snorted.

After a stick of incense had burned, the Chen brothers arrived. "The feng shui master said that nine days from now would be a good time to exhume the grave and move the coffin."

Du Min, determined to do good, led them up the mountain to identify the graves and instructed them, "Both of you are in deep mourning, so don't go to my official residence. Don't offend my parents and cause them to die. There's an inn down the mountain; you two can stay here. In the next few days, gather enough people to exhume the graves and carry the coffins, and prepare the coffin transport vehicle as well. It would be best if one of you stayed here while the other went back to Luoyang to find a boat willing to transport the coffins."

Chen Dalang and Chen Erlang exchanged a glance, their faces showing distress. After all the bribing, the money they had brought was not enough.

Du Min had lost both the desire and the energy to do evil. To save face, he led the two up the mountain to Chen Mingzhang's tombstone, then went down the mountain to attend to his own business and never inquired about it again.

Meng Qing spent the whole day looking at accounts at the private school. In the evening, she took a boat back to Heqing County with her parents.

“In this month, Du Min has sold more than 1,100 strings of cash worth of illegally made burial goods, which is quite profitable.” After crossing the river, Meng’s mother said, “I heard that a bridge will be built next month, and Du Min plans to erect a monument at the bridgehead to thank the people who sent the illegally made burial goods.”

Meng Qing: "...That's really mean."

Mencius' mother laughed heartily, "The people of Heqing County are quite happy; I often hear people talking about this."

Meng Qing saw Du Li and noticed the mud on his trousers. She asked, "Did you go check on the rice paddies? How's the rice growing? Is it ready for harvest?"

"It will take another half a month for it to turn completely yellow," Du Li replied. "Father, Mother, it's been half a month since I last saw you. How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

“Apart from longing for the boat, I feel no discomfort,” said Mencius’ mother.

"Don't you miss me?" Meng Qing glanced sideways.

"Thinking, thinking! I miss you so much I can't eat." Meng's father chuckled. "How many days will you be able to stay this time?"

"I can stay a few more days." Meng Qing planned to buy the dye house and bamboo workshop during this trip and settle things before leaving. On the way back, she told her parents about her and Meng Chun's plans, mentioning Xingjiaofang all the way, where they would stay for the night.

Du Min waited and waited in the government office but no one came back. Frustrated, he took the dishes and went to Xingjiaofang.

*

"Who is it?" Du Li heard the urgent knocking and came out with her chopsticks.

"Me!" Du Min slammed the door again.

Du Li went to open the door. "Why are you here?"

Du Min sneered, "Oh! You've already started eating?"

"What's with the sarcastic tone?" Du Li pulled him in. "What are you carrying? A food box? There's plenty of food here, why are you bringing any?"

Du Min punched him in anger, "Shut up!"

Du Li laughed heartily, then bolted the door shut and called out, "Dad, Mom, my third son is here."

Mencius' parents came out to greet him, and Du Min suppressed his resentment, saying, "I waited at the government office for my brother and sister-in-law to go home for dinner, but it got dark and they still didn't show up."

Mencius' father: "..."

"They've come to our place," Mencius' mother said dryly, "but we forgot to call you."

"So I came to them myself." Du Min picked up the food box in his hand. "I even brought my own vegetables."

Mencius's parents were at a loss for words.

"Come on, let's go inside and eat." Du Li took the food box.

"Lord Du, please forgive me for not being able to greet you properly," Meng Qing said with a smile as he entered.

"Sorry for the intrusion," Du Min said sarcastically. "You two came here to eat without even telling us."

"That goes without saying, we came here instead of going back to the government office." Meng Qing handed him the bowl of porridge. "I'm just letting you know now that your second brother and I will be staying with my parents for the next few days and won't be going to the government office."

"How many days will you stay after you come back?" Du Min asked.

“Five or six days, I guess.” Meng Qing reiterated her plan to open a dye house and a bamboo workshop in Meng Chun’s name at the dinner table. “Just like in Luoyang, the workers in the dye house and bamboo workshop will be arranged by the government. As long as you are quick and efficient, whether you are a beggar or a deaf-mute, you can be sent there to work.”

Du Min understood the implication: "Just like Luoyang? You're a county magistrate who brings prosperity to the region you visit!"

"For your sake, I'll take care of your father-in-law," Meng Qing said shamelessly.

"Are you full?" Du Li took the chopsticks from Meng Qing's hand. "I'll go wash the dishes. Do you want some water?"

"No, I won't drink it. I've eaten porridge, so I won't drink water." Meng Qing wanted to help with digestion, so she said, "You wash the dishes, and we'll walk our third brother back home."

"Okay." Du Li nodded.

Distracted by this, Du Min forgot what he was going to say.

"Would you like to come with us to Luoyang in a few days? It's time to propose marriage," Meng Qing asked.

Du Min nodded, "I also brought Wang Zhou back. I live alone in the government office, it's really empty."

"Once you get married and have children, the house will be lively," Meng's mother replied.

Du Min smiled and said, "Yes, by then I'll have people who care about me too."

After a while, Du Li came out carrying a lantern. "Come on, we'll take you back."

"Come with me and sleep in the government office. It'll save you the trouble of coming all the way back," Du Min said, seizing the opportunity.

"Go on, go on, don't come back." Meng's mother couldn't stand it anymore. This child was even more clingy than Meng Chun, and she really couldn't understand it.

Du Li and Meng Qing took their change of clothes and left with Du Min.

Du Min immediately felt much better.

Walking along the road, Du Min revealed his plan to have laborers dig silt and build higher dikes starting this year. "The method of clearing the Yellow River silt downstream is not very effective. It is better to raise the height and indirectly increase the depth of the canal. Next year during the flood season, the dikes will be able to hold back more water and there will be no more floods."

Meng Qing recalled the large irrigation canal from his memory and suggested, "Don't build the dike straight; build it on a slope. It would probably be more solid."

Du Min thought for a moment and said, "It will be more solid, and the embankment on the slope will be thicker."

"We can build slopes on both the inside and outside, and the outer slope can also be used to grow crops," Du Li suggested.

"So much mud was dug from the Yellow River? You must have dug a ditch five or six zhang deep to collect this much mud!" Meng Qing asked.

"Take it slow. If we don't have enough mud, we can dig from the side." Du Min thought that if he could finish building the dike during his term, he would have accomplished his mission.

Having finished speaking, they arrived at the government office. The three of them returned to the office to wash up and go to sleep.

In the days that followed, the three of them were busy with their own things. When Meng Qing finished her work and was about to return to Luoyang, she suddenly thought of the Chen family. The Chen family had fallen on hard times, and she wondered what would become of them. She went to find the Chen brothers, wanting to negotiate the purchase of the Chen family, but the shopkeeper told her that they had checked out and left three days earlier without leaving any message.

Before the day to exhume Chen Mingzhang's grave had arrived, Du Min felt something was amiss. He went into the mountain and found that Chen Mingzhang's grave was still standing in the same spot, the grass on it had been cleared away, and two cypress saplings had been planted on either side.

“My dear old man, your two sons ran away. You never expected that I would give you your last moment of glory in this life.” Du Min patted the tombstone.