The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 186 A Concubine is Better than a Mistress (4)_1

Chapter 186: Chapter 186 A Concubine is Better than a Mistress (4)_1

"No, absolutely not!" Old Pei objected sternly.

Pei Houli and Pei Zongli also disapproved. If they were to say to kick out Sister Peiqin and her brother now, they would immediately pack up their belongings and go to the Fang family’s house! Moreover, people from the Fang family were coming again tomorrow, tomorrow was Lady Fang’s seventh day funeral ritual.

The next day, before dawn, Sister Peiqin and her brother got up and went to the entrance of Old Pei’s house to light incense and burn paper, according to the time Lady Fang had died.

Si Ya was the first to start crying, "Mother! Your death was so tragic! Those who forced you to death are still living well! If you died with grievances, you must seek revenge; we will lead the way for you!"

Once she started crying, San Ya and Pei Wendong could not hold back their tears either.

Pei Qin’s face changed several times, but in the end, she sighed and said nothing.

Their crying awoke everyone in Old Pei’s House. Today was Lady Fang’s seventh day funeral ritual as well as her night of the returning soul. Thinking of this, many were immediately scared stiff.

Lady Zhu murmured curses under her breath, afraid that Lady Fang’s spirit might really come for her, and too scared to continue speaking.

When the chilly wind caused the window lattices to rattle, she turned pale with fear and stiffened.

They waited until it was fully light. The siblings had cried outside for half an hour and had burned a pile of paper ash.

They returned and had some breakfast.

It wasn’t long before the Fang family’s people arrived.

This time everyone was present; even Lady Ruan and Fang Hui, who had not come yesterday because they were watching the children at home, came over, and they brought all the children with them.

Lady Yu, with her son and daughter, urged them to greet Sister Peiqin and her siblings.

The eldest room had two sons and one daughter; the eldest, Fang Liuming, was thirteen years old, handsome and refined. Lady Yu introduced him, and he bowed to Sister Peiqin, calling her cousin, and also greeted San Ya, Si Ya, and Pei Wendong politely. The second daughter, Fang Fang, who was ten years old, and the six-year-old Fang Liuming had already met them.

The second room had only one daughter, four-year-old Fang Xin.

Fang Hui was the second daughter born to Old Scholar Fang and Grandma Fang after their first daughter, and she had two sons, Feng Bo and Feng Chun, fourteen and eleven years old respectively. Feng Bo was only five days younger than Pei Qin. Before Pei Zongli had to rush for his exams, the two families had joked about cementing their relations through marriage, but Lady Zhu disdained the Feng family and vehemently refused. This incident had caused Fang Hui discomfort for quite some time.

After getting to know each other, Fang Li and Fang Fu brought over the cabbages, rutabagas, bean sprouts, spinach, a bag of eggs, sun-dried pork, dried fish, beans and garlic prepared for Laba festival, a bag of tri-grain buns, and a few buns made of white flour. They moved them all inside and piled them up.

"This should be enough for you to eat until the New Year! Wait until New Year’s to come to Grandma’s house! If you don’t want to stay here, you can come back after the holiday," Grandma Fang said with teary eyes, pulling Pei Qin aside.

"Mother’s entire mourning period has not yet ended; let’s forgo celebrating the New Year this year," Pei Qin gently refused.

Grandma Fang’s tears fell once again.

Fang Li wanted to persuade her; even if they didn’t go to their house for the New Year, seeing their kindness, they might wish to stay with the Fang family.

However, Pei Qin said, "Let’s go to the cemetery! The paper money and incense candles are all ready!"

A large procession followed her up the hill.

Traditionally, Lady Fang’s descendants, her parents Old Scholar Fang and Grandma Fang, should not have come. But seeing their eldest daughter suffer for over ten years and not even being able to see her one last time before death, hastily buried, the two of them came nonetheless.

No matter whether the tears flowed naturally or not, everyone cried and burned a pile of paper money.

On the way down the hill, Old Scholar Fang’s steps were filled with misery, and he said to Pei Qin, "You all should study hard, practice writing, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask your Grandpa Fang!"

Pei Qin could have taught "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius," but she knew nothing of the eight-legged essay. She would have been happy to consult with Old Scholar Fang, but after the New Year, she planned to send Pei Wendong to study at the town school.