Chapter 22: Fortunately, This Small Part Of The World Wasn’t So Desolate.

To avoid being detected by anyone, Mu Zhiming and Wen Heyin quietly climbed over the wall, then left the Mu Residence, as they took a carriage to the Gu Residence.

At night, the guests who came to mourn had long gone away. The main gate was deserted, and two white lanterns glowed eerily with light flames. Mu Zhiming went up and knocked on the main gate, but it took a long time before someone came to open it.

When Wen Zhongcheng opened the gate, and saw that it was Mu Zhiming, he said: “Gongzi, the mourning hour for today is over. Please come back another day.”

“I’m not here to mourn,” Mu Zhiming said. “I’m here to return some documents.”

“Documents?” Although Wen Zhongcheng was confused, he still welcomed Mu Zhiming and Wen1 Heyin into the Residence. “Gongzi, please follow me to the main hall.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Even though Wen Zhongcheng was a servant, Mu Zhiming still saluted him. “May I ask if your wife is here?”

“You’re looking for my wife?” Wen Zhongcheng asked. “My wife and my mother are eating in the kitchen.”

Wen Heyin said bluntly: “Isn’t it too late for your family to have dinner? What time do you usually eat?”

Wen Zhongcheng didn’t explain anything, he just smiled. Mu Zhiming knew that they had been too busy lately, so this must be the only time they could rest and eat a hot meal: “Please take me to the kitchen.”

“What? But Gongzi, that’s where the servants are.” Wen Zhongcheng said sincerely.

“Still, take me there.” Mu Zhiming insisted.

Wen Zhongcheng no longer argued and led Mu Zhiming towards the kitchen, which hadn’t been cleaned yet. Vegetable baskets, fasting food, and firewood were lying around in a mess. Miss Juan and Aunt Liang were huddled together in front of the clay stove, eating. When they saw that Wen Zhongcheng had brought people, their faces filled with confusion, but all of a sudden, Miss Juan recognized one of them. She immediately stood up, and with joy, she welcomed him: “Mu-gongzi!”

Mu Zhiming took out the documents from his sleeve, and said: “I’m very sorry to interrupt your dinner by visiting so late, but there’s something I must discuss with the three of you.”

As he said this, Mu Zhiming looked around. Then, he pulled out a small bench used for stoking the fire that was near the vegetable basket, amicably sat down, and handed over the documents to Miss Juan: “I added my own annotations. Take a look and tell me if you can understand it now.”

Miss Juan took the documents and began to skim through it. She noticed that the instructions, telling her what she was supposed to do, were now written in a simpler way, with careful brush strokes. At this, she couldn’t help but feel her eyes fill with tears, as she nodded her head again and again: “I understand it now.”

“Good.” Mu Zhiming nodded reassuringly. “Actually….I wanted to talk to the three of you about the funeral ceremony of General Gu. Of course, I’m an outsider, and General Gu isn’t my relative, so….”

“Gongzi, don’t say that.” Aunt Liang said. “As you can see, we don’t know anything, and it’s a blessing for us that someone is willing to help us take care of the General’s funeral ceremony.”

Mu Zhiming was slightly relieved and told them that they needed to ask people to help with the work for the funeral ceremony. Work, such as serving food and tea for the people that will come to offer their condolences, finding people who will carry the coffin to the grave, etc. Mu Zhiming instructed them, one by one, on what they should do. However, in the end, he was also afraid that these three wouldn’t be able to remember it all. So before he came, he wrote down the things they needed to pay special attention to, which he then handed over to Aunt Liang.

None of the three servants had expected that Mu Zhiming would be able to do this so thoroughly at such a young age, but they were still able to see that he was doing his best to help them. The three of them were so grateful to Mu Zhiming that their eyes turned red with tears, to the point that they wanted to bow to him to thank him from the bottom of their hearts.

“These days have been hard for you, no need for thanks. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll take my leave.” Mu Zhiming said and stood up with the intention of leaving.

However, at that moment, Aunt Liang suddenly threw herself to the ground as she kneeled, begging Mu Zhiming with a trembling voice: “Mu-gongzi, in fact, there’s one more thing I need your help with. This servant dares to beg you.”

“Get up please.” Mu Zhiming was startled and hurried to help Aunt Liang stand up. “If there’s anything else you need, just ask. You don’t need to beg me.”

Aunt Liang held Mu Zhiming’s wrist and choked up: “Can Mu-gongzi please go and persuade our Young Master?”

Mu Zhiming was stunned: “Gu-xiong? What happened to him?”

Aunt Liang wept bitterly and sighed: “The Young Master has been kneeling in the mourning hall for two days and two nights, without eating or drinking a single drop of water. Just now, I went to persuade him to rest and eat a hot meal, but he still refused to get up.”

Mu Zhiming’s heart fluttered fiercely: “How can I….if….if people who are close to him as you are can’t persuade him, how can an outsider like me persuade him?”

Aunt Liang shook her head: “Mu-gongzi, we are servants and we don’t know how to speak properly. Mu-gongzi, on the other hand, is knowledgeable in books and etiquette. Mu-gongzi must be very articulate and eloquent. Mu-gongzi, you must be more persuasive than any of us. Please give it a try.”

“I….but he treats me so, he’s so indifferent to me….and it’s so late too….It would be too inappropriate of me to intrude all of a sudden….” Mu Zhiming hesitated again and again, speaking incoherently.

Aunt Liang kept clutching his wrist firmly, almost urgently, and said: “Mu-gongzi, our Young Master is not indifferent. He’s simply not good with words. Since he was a child, he has never talked about the things he liked, never argued, and has never been a naughty child. Everyone says that he’s a mature and thoughtful young man, but the more that’s said about him, the more miserable he becomes. Other people don’t understand him, but I watched him grow. In this world, who’s born with an innate forbearance? Who wasn’t once a bawling baby in swaddling clothes? If only he had someone who could understand his vulnerability and his sorrow, then he wouldn’t have to pretend to be strong all the time. Why do you think he hides his suffering deeply inside his heart?”

Aunt Liang’s words startled Mu Zhiming, to the point where his mind was in turmoil.

Mu Zhiming recalled that in his previous life, the storytellers on the streets said that Gu Heyan was only 17 years old when he first went to the battlefield, describing him as a bright and heroic young man. Not only was he invincible on the battlefield, but he was also an iron-blooded young General, who shook the entire land and intimidated the foreign enemies. He was so brave that he could even face the Heavens.

The entire country had put Gu Heyan on a pedestal. However, has anyone even thought that both his parents were dead? Or the fact that when Gu Heyan cut off the heads of the enemy, staining his sword with their blood, he was no older than 17?

“I see.” Mu Zhiming helped Aunt Liang stand up, and said: “I’ll try my best.”

“Thank you, Mu-gongzi.” Aunt Liang pulled up her sleeve and wiped her tears.

Mu Zhiming said to Wen Heyin: “Ah-Yin, wait for me here.”

“Alright.” Wen Heyin nodded and rolled up his sleeves. “Idle time is idle time. Hey, this kitchen is in such a mess, let me help you clean it up.”

Aunt Liang wouldn’t let Wen Heyin work, so she signaled Wen Zhongcheng to make Wen Heyin sit down and asked Miss Juan to bring him some snacks.

Mu Zhiming left the kitchen and went to the mourning hall on his own.

The light of the crescent moon felt so cold against the inky night. In front of the mourning hall, the lonely and desolate white soul-summoning flags2 moved with the wind. The smoke produced by the incense and the burning paper money looked ethereal, floating in the air. Gu Heyan was still kneeling in front of the coffin and spirit tablet, listening as the sobbing sound of the wind coming from outside penetrated every corner of the hall. After kneeling for such a long time, Gu Heyan was unable to stand. Not only did he feel dizzy, but his back ached, his knees were stiff, and his shoulders had collapsed. He knew that it was meaningless to kneel here, but he didn’t know what else to do. He simply wanted to be forgotten by both the Heavens and Earth.

Gu Heyan was waiting. Waiting for his physical strength to run out, so he could pass out. Only then would everything around him sink into darkness, including his unspeakable grief.

In his previous life, Gu Heyan managed to endure like this for seven days. Without eating or drinking, he knelt in filial piety, fainting, then waking up, over and over again.

In this life, he will do the same.

At that moment, Gu Heyan heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching him. Reluctantly, Gu Heyan raised his head to see who was coming. In a daze, he thought that he had already fainted, and what he was witnessing was nothing more than a dream.

‘Otherwise, how can he come to see me?’

Mu Zhiming knelt beside Gu Heyan, and respectfully kowtowed to the spiritual tablet.

After the worship, Mu Zhiming turned his head to look at Gu Heyan. At that moment, the two young men looked at each other, completely speechless.

Although Aunt Liang had asked Mu Zhiming to persuade Gu Heyan, what could Mu Zhiming say? What does one say, when wanting to persuade other people? What could Mu Zhiming say to persuade Gu Heyan to rest, that Aunt Liang and the rest haven’t said already?

However, even if Mu Zhiming does persuade Gu Heyan to rest, will this bring Gu Miao back to life? Will this stop Gu Heyan from feeling lonely?

Mu Zhiming stayed silent. He didn’t want to persuade Gu Heyan, he simply wanted to quietly accompany Gu Heyan.

The flames of the white wax candles flickered in the mourning hall, as the cold wind blew in from outside. Gu Heyan, at that moment, slowly opened his mouth as his gaze fell on Gu Miao’s spirit tablet. His voice was almost inaudible as he spoke: “Before he left for war, I asked him if he would have any regrets if he didn’t come back. He told me that he had no regrets. The day we bid our farewells, I watched him go without saying a word.”

Mu Zhiming looked at him and listened quietly, hearing Gu Heyan repeat the phrase ‘I did not say anything’ over and over again.

Although they were only five short words, it was unknown how many things Gu Heyan must have wanted to say to Gu Miao at that time. But in the end, only one sentence remained: I didn’t say anything.

Crystal clear tears overshadowed the indifference present in the depths of Gu Heyan’s eyes, slowly falling down his cheeks. In an instant, the lonely tears turned into a heavy rain that didn’t seem to stop. The young man, who had been so reserved since he received the tragic news, cried and sobbed the moment someone decided to accompany him, listening as he finished parting with his dead father.

On a cold, snowy winter night, in the mourning hall, Mu Zhiming reached out, as he wrapped his arms around the devastated and helpless Gu Heyan. Mu Zhiming let Gu Heyan rest his forehead against his shoulder, let Gu Heyan’s tears wet his chest, let Gu Heyan hide his sobs in his arms, and let Gu Heyan’s lonely cold body receive a bit of human warmth.

The world may be in dire straits, but fortunately, this small part of the world wasn’t so desolate.