Chapter 49 - 43: An Old Acquaintance
"They’ve all been here," Mrs. Wang said. "They came to pay their respects and mourn, but were quickly taken away by your granduncle, saying they had important matters to discuss. Alas, only the two of them know about your grandfather’s affairs."
Mrs. Wang wasn’t really interested in those two; she was more concerned about Uncle Cheng. "Third Lady, you must get Uncle Cheng over here. Although your dowry has been sorted out, some of it remains in your grandfather’s courtyard and Uncle Cheng needs to retrieve it."
That’s just the visible dowry; the truly valuable items are elsewhere.
However, Zhao Hanzhang nodded, having her own plans. She needed to see Ji Yuan first.
Zhao Erlang was still young, with a child’s nature, and Mrs. Wang had been anxious all day, now utterly exhausted. Zhao Hanzhang didn’t make them stay the whole night, asking Qing Gu and a few others to help them go rest.
The servants also withdrew, leaving only two guards at the door. In the mourning hall, there was just Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan.
Fu Tinghan had also changed into mourning clothes but didn’t carry a mourning staff; his mourning attire was one level below the most severe, just like Zhao Ji, who had inherited Zhao Changyu’s title.
Because of this, none in the Zhao Family stopped him from staying with Zhao Hanzhang to watch over the deceased. As the son-in-law, wearing even the minor mourning attire was already considered filial; now even the critical Zhao Zhongyu and Zhao Ji couldn’t find any fault with him.
Fu Tinghan added oil to the lamp and then sat back beside Zhao Hanzhang, whispering, "Do you want to take a nap? You haven’t slept for two days and nights since last night."
Zhao Hanzhang replied, "My cerebral cortex is extremely active, so I can’t sleep for now. You’ve been awake too; would you like to lean a bit?"