Chapter Forty: Utterly Humiliating

It rarely rains in Bianliang this time of year, yet for the past three days, a fine drizzle has fallen without pause. The black tiles on the rooftops and the distant green leaves were washed to a polished sheen. Some whispered in private that the heavens themselves were grieving for Grand Tutor Gu, weeping in his stead.

Both sides of Vermilion Bird Avenue were packed with people. Most were dressed in plain, unadorned mourning clothes, their faces gaunt. Many wore expressions of profound sorrow, covering their faces to weep. Not far off, four men dressed in white, mourning caps upon their heads, carried a simple, thin black coffin, walking slowly into the crowd. This was the funeral procession—no more than these four souls.

The three branches of the Gu clan had each set off on their separate paths today. Others who had once held ties with the Gu family dared not invite misfortune by showing themselves now. There was no one to carry the soul-banner, no one to scatter spirit-money to light the way. The four men walked on, utterly desolate, heading toward the city gates against the backdrop of the misty rain.

It is unclear who began it, but the commoners on both sides of the road began to kneel, one after another, crying out in unison:

"Farewell, Grand Tutor!"
"Farewell, Grand Tutor!"
"Farewell, Grand Tutor!"

Li Xubai, squeezed into the throng, watched as Song Shiyu knelt on the ground, her shoulders heaving uncontrollably. He had not intended to kneel, but caught up in the movement of the crowd, he found himself crouching down instinctively.

"With so many commoners here to see him off, Grand Tutor Gu can rest in peace," Li Xubai whispered. Knowing she had wept bitterly for the past three days—her eyes so swollen she could barely see—he could not bear it, constantly searching for words to console her.

Song Shiyu kept her head bowed, silent. She was devastated, unable to speak. The sight of the coffin today caused her a sharper, more intimate agony than the news of his death three days prior.

Li Xubai pursed his lips and added, "Though I did not know the Grand Tutor, for so many people to come and send him off, he must have been a truly good man. Good deeds bring good rewards; in his next life, he will surely be reborn into a fortunate house, living in luxury and silk, never again to be framed by villains."

Song Shiyu nodded silently.

Her grandfather was, of course, the best of men. Ten years ago, he had accepted a daunting duty in a time of crisis. Back then, the rivers were not yet clear, the seas were not yet calm, the borders were ablaze with war, and the Central Plains were ravaged by successive years of famine. Her grandfather had worked from dawn till dusk, seemingly never tiring. The state of the empire had improved day by day, yet his own final years were wretched.

The self-organized funeral procession escorted Gu Qingzhi’s coffin as far as the city gate, where they were intercepted by the Imperial Guards. Working in groups of two or three, the guards held portraits, comparing them one by one against the faces of the crowd. Li Xubai and Song Shiyu exchanged a glance, inwardly feeling a sense of relief. Fortunately, Gu Shiyan had prioritized the greater good and refrained from acting recklessly; otherwise, they would have been caught on the spot.

Once the Imperial Guards finished their inspection, they allowed the crowd to pass out of the city. By the time the procession reached the Ten-Mile Pavilion, it was near noon. The coffin, which should have continued forward, came to a halt outside the pavilion.

Song Shiyu was slightly surprised and looked up. She saw a group of men kneeling under the pavilion, wearing cangues and shackles, bowing silently toward Gu Qingzhi’s coffin. The man at the head of the group was wailing uncontrollably, tears and mucus streaming down his face, nearly fainting several times.

"Is that... your father?" Li Xubai asked in a low voice, looking at the man kneeling in front, who was crying the most pathetically. "He seems quite filial—he's nearly cried himself into a swoon."

Song Shiyu cast a cold glance at the man. Aside from the biological bond, she felt no familiarity with this father from her past life. "When Grandfather was alive, he could comfortably remain a wastrel. Now that Grandfather is gone, he is fit only to be a useless wretch waiting for death." She felt no pity for him, speaking with a faint, biting sarcasm.

Li Xubai twitched his mouth. "He looks severely lacking in physical stamina. Do you think he’ll kick the bucket before he even reaches Lingnan?"

Song Shiyu paused, then shook her head. "I don't know. In my past life, when we were exiled, Mother was there. She saved all her food and water for him, so he reached Lingnan safely, but Mother and Aman..." She could not finish, her tears falling.

Li Xubai hurriedly said, "Then he’s in for a miserable time in this life. No one is going to save their rations for him. That frail body of his won't last."

Song Shiyu turned away ruthlessly, refusing to look at the man again. "Let's go. By my reckoning, Mother and the others are close to the Yunyi Mansion."

"Wait," Li Xubai pulled her back. "Even if they enter the Yunyi Mansion, what can we possibly do?"

Song Shiyu pondered. "I want to redeem them. Even if they cannot shed their status as slaves, it will be better than remaining in that place."

Li Xubai looked stunned. "Are you mad? Do you have any idea how many of them there are? Do you know how much silver it costs to redeem even one person? If you redeem them all, you might as well sell me to cover the cost!"

"You aren't worth enough," Song Shiyu shook her head. "I have already inquired. There are one hundred and four women of the Gu clan who have been taken into the Yunyi Mansion. Among them, fourteen are direct relatives: Mother, Gu Shiyan’s concubine, the Second Aunt, the Second Uncle’s two concubines, and the eight daughters of the Gu household. The rest are collateral branches. The redemption price for direct relatives is based on age and status; buying all fourteen would cost about a thousand taels of silver, and the remaining ninety would cost three thousand taels."

"How... how much?" Li Xubai was flabbergasted, his mouth hanging open for a long time. "Four thousand taels in total? You really dare to dream! Forget about selling me whole—even if you sold me off in pieces, it wouldn't be enough!"

Song Shiyu looked somber. "That is why we cannot buy them all at once. We must buy them one by one. The most urgent priority is to redeem the eight daughters of the direct line. Their youth and status make them 'valuable commodities'; the Yunyi Mansion will certainly put them up for auction. If we are too late, I fear some of the more spirited ones will not survive."

As she spoke, her heart ached. She did not have the power to pull everyone out of the fire pit. She could not even spare the time to worry about her mother or aunt from her past life. After all, they were already married women; the Yunyi Mansion would likely only force them to do menial labor and would probably not go to extremes of humiliation. For now, she could only do her best to save those in the most immediate danger.

"That may be true, but even for just those few girls, we cannot afford it," Li Xubai said, his face full of difficulty. "Unless—unless we sell our house."

"We cannot sell the house," Song Shiyu said firmly. "That house belongs to the Li family; I cannot bring myself to do such a thing."

As they were speaking, a large crowd surged past them in the direction of the Yunyi Mansion. Li Xubai hurriedly grabbed a man and asked curiously, "Brother, what is happening up ahead? Why is it so chaotic?"

The man replied urgently, "Don't you know? The women of the Gu family are being sent to the Yunyi Mansion today. The mansion just announced that anyone can enter today to catch a glimpse of their beauty. In three days, they will hold an auction for the women of the Gu family—the highest bidder takes them."

At these words, Li Xubai and Song Shiyu stood frozen in place. A sense of impending doom washed over them.

An auction—to the highest bidder!

Who knows how many of them would be unable to bear such humiliation!