I served as Li Bai's page.

Chapter 181 Fallen leaves return to their roots

I spent the entire day contacting people on the streets of Rencheng, but I still couldn't find a convoy willing to transport the coffin back to Anlu.

The day after Xu Ziyan's death, Zhang Shuming arrived in Rencheng to be with Li Bai. Seeing that Li Bai insisted on sending Xu Ziyan back to Anlu, and knowing he couldn't contact a caravan in Rencheng, he said:

"I'll go back to Wutongyu and ask the village chief to organize eight people. You can prepare a horse-drawn carriage for the hearse. Is that alright?"

"Okay, I'll go buy a carriage big enough to hold the coffin. We have horses," I said.

At this moment, Aunt Liu came over and said:

"Yuehua, let's use my carriage. Your sixth master has gone to the capital, and we don't know when he'll be back. We can use his carriage."

"Madam, how can this be?" I said.

"No problem at all, just tie a red string around my neck when you return it."

"Thank you, Madam." After I finished speaking, I knelt down and kowtowed three times to Aunt Liu.

After finding a carriage, Zhang Shuming rode back to Wutongyu that very night to look for the person.

As the funeral was drawing to a close, Zhang Shuming arrived with his men. The Taoist priest calculated the auspicious time, and eight men carried Xu Ziyan's coffin onto the carriage. I rode with Boqin at the front of the procession, while Li Bai and Pingyang followed behind. The rest of the group rode horses behind Li Bai, and the procession headed towards the official road to Anlu.

The caravan needed to arrive in Anlu at the time calculated by the Taoist priest. Therefore, although they weren't traveling at top speed, they were still on the move, never stopping as long as it wasn't dark. After a few days, the caravan entered Anlu's territory. I said to Li Bai:

"Young Master, I'll go ahead to Bai Zhaoshan to make preparations."

"Alright, have Wu Chao and Xiaoqian prepare to receive Madam's coffin."

I handed Boqin over to the Fifteenth Young Master, cracked the whip on my horse, and galloped quickly toward Baizhao Mountain.

When I arrived at Baizhaoshan, Aunt Wu was playing with her two children in the front yard. Seeing me, she was overjoyed and didn't know what to say. Then, noticing the mourning clothes I was wearing, she grabbed me and shook me vigorously, saying:

"What happened? Who left?"

I immediately knelt before Aunt Wu and said, "Aunt Wu, I failed to take good care of Madam; she has passed away."

Aunt Wu swayed slightly, then slowly sat down on the ground, leaning against the courtyard wall. Wu Chao and Xiao Qian ran out, and I said:

"The lady is gone. Her coffin will soon arrive at Baizhao Mountain. We must prepare to receive it; there's no time for me to grieve."

"Okay, I'll get ready right away. Xiaoqian, go and get the white cloth from the house and hang it up. I'll go to Da'an Mountain and ask my father to send someone to help."

I helped Aunt Wu up, walked to the pavilion, got her a chair, and said, "Aunt Wu, don't be sad. You still have to take care of Wu Chao's two children, and Pingyang and Boqin will need your help later."

Aunt Wu burst into tears, but stopped crying after a while. She said to me, "You go ahead with your work, leave the house to me."

Wu Chao returned quickly with his men, and Uncle Wu also arrived. I said to Uncle Wu:

"The young master said he wants to bury the young mistress next to her parents, and he'd like a geomancer to look for a suitable burial site there."

"Alright, I'll go and invite the geomancer in a bit. According to custom, the young mistress must stay at Baizhao Mountain for three days, but she can't go inside the house; she can only stay outside here," Uncle Wu said.

"Uncle Wu, you decide what to do, follow the local customs," I said.

Wu Chao had already sent people to set up tents and hang white flowers outside the Li family mansion on Baizhao Mountain. Not long after they were ready, Xu Ziyan's hearse arrived at the foot of Baizhao Mountain. After the hearse stopped, the eight coffin bearers took their positions and carried the coffin toward the front of the Li family mansion.

At this moment, Bai Zhaoshan was filled with weeping. Uncle Wu, along with people from the Xu and Li families, knelt before the tent to receive Xu Ziyan's coffin. Xu Zijun and Xu Zixia were also among them.

After Xu Ziyan's coffin was placed in its place, according to local custom, relatives kept vigil. Wu Ma and Xiaoqian, along with the four children, Xu Zijun, Xu Zixia, and Riyue, kept vigil before the coffin. Accompanied by Zhang Shuming and Li Youcheng, Li Bai would stand before the coffin for a while, and sit in the courtyard for a while, appearing lonely and forlorn.

Uncle Wu and I were busy with the burial plot. After choosing the location, we hired people to dig the pit and build the grave. Three days later, under Xuanmeng's supervision, Xu Ziyan's coffin was finally laid to rest next to her parents' graves.

According to local custom, we have to stay at Baizhao Mountain until Xu Ziyan's forty-seventh day memorial service before we can return to Rencheng. However, with the end of the year approaching, Zhang Shuming, Li Youcheng, and the eight people they invited cannot wait that long.

I found Zhang Shuming and Li Youcheng and said:

"Mr. Zhang, Fifteenth Young Master, the New Year is almost here. You should take them back. I'll return the carriage on my way back. I don't know if these silver notes are enough to pay their wages?" I took out a few silver notes from my sleeve and handed them to Uncle Zhang.

"I'll take care of the wages. You'll have plenty of other expenses. Young Master Li and I will be taking them back tomorrow. You should comfort your young master; I don't think Brother Taibai will recover anytime soon," Zhang Shuming said.

"Mr. Zhang, you must take the money. We can't let you contribute both time and money. I will plan how to use our money. As for my young master, don't worry. For the sake of the two children, he needs to be more understanding."

Li Youcheng said, "Yuehua, I'm entrusting everything to you. Brother Shuming, take the money and distribute it to the brothers. If Twelfth Brother encounters any difficulties, we will help him."

"Thank you both. Please accept my bow." After I finished speaking, I knelt down and kowtowed three times to Zhang Shuming and Li Youcheng.

When Li Bai saw us talking there, he came over. I briefly explained to him what we had just discussed. When he heard that Zhang Shuming and Li Youcheng were leaving, he looked bewildered.

I said, "The New Year is just over ten days away, and it will take them four or five days to get back. If they don't leave soon, they won't be able to get home for the New Year. So, young master, they will set off tomorrow."

"When are we going back?" Li Bai asked.

"We will not return until the young mistress has completed her forty-seven-day mourning period."

"Alright then, I'll see them off tomorrow."

The next day, after the eight pallbearers mounted their horses, I, along with Pingyang and Boqin, knelt before them and said:

"Thank you so much for allowing my wife to return to her roots." After saying this, I kowtowed three times to them with my child.

Zhang Shuming led them toward the official road at the foot of Baizhao Mountain. Li Bai rode his horse alongside Zhang Shuming and Xiao Youcheng, then turned back to me and said, "I'll return after I see them off to Anlu. Is there anything else I need to buy for the family? I'll bring it back with me."

Wu Chao said, "Sir, no need, just come back."

After Li Bai saw Zhang Shuming and the others off, it was getting dark and he still hadn't returned, so everyone was worried about him.

Aunt Wu said, "Yuehua, you should still go and look for him. Madam has passed away, and her mental state has been poor. We don't want anything else to happen to her."

"Okay, I'll go find it right away, don't worry," I said.