[COMPLETE] Transmigrated Author: The Quiet Plum

Chapter 31: Spring Never Dies

Although a fire happened in one of the capital's districts, the news didn't cause much waves.

The residents of the district weren't of the upper crust nor were they the type to cause a scene.

It wasn't a surprise when the Hong family held a quiet funeral that morning. They didn't commit to the mourning rituals of Great Han. Because Hong Chun didn't have an intact body, it wasn't too good to display her ashes for the visitors to burn incense to.

Instead, they decided to directly bury her. Only their closest friends and the servants of the Hong household grieved with them.

Mother Hong nearly fainted multiple times but she didn't wail like a banshee.

In memory of her always indifferent daughter, she didn't want to be noisy. She remembered how Hong Chun never liked loud people. The child avoided noise like a plague.

An empty smile graced her lips as the urn was lowered to the ground.

Yi Bing held her husband's hand tight and he did the same. The two of them bickered every now and then but they were each other's strongest pillar. Squeezing her husband's hand, she let go to approach her son.

Hong Ting stood far away from them and his eyes never left the mound where his 'sister' now lied.

She blocked her son's view but his eyes remained staring at empty air.

"Hong Ting," Mother Hong sternly called as she cupped his face. He must have sobered up a little because his gaze gained some focus.

"In this world, who do you admire the most?" Yi Bing asked her son.

At this question, Hong Ting's eyes couldn't help but water again.

"...My jiejie." His parched lips broke and it stung him.

Mother Hong embraced her forlorn son. Only in front of his elder sister, he was free to show his childishness. To him, she was the most precious existence.

There were even times when she felt Hong Ting was closer to his sister than his mom. But that precious existence was gone now.

Her motherly voice was heard near his ears. "Then from this day onward, you have to show the person you admire the most how capable you are."

Hong Ting's shoulders grew stiff and slowly, he rose to his height and left his mother's arms.

After the funeral, Mao Zhu accompanied the Hong family to their home. But he knew they needed to grieve on their own so, with a heavy heart, he decided to leave.

It was about time he visited the palace.

Hong Ting was listless as he went straight to what was left of the southern courtyard. The remaining wooden poles and arches were covered in soot. His sister's clothes, books, and calligraphies were all lost in the fire.

Footsteps fell behind him and he could guess who it was.

Hong Shu Cao stood with his son in silence. After a long stretch of not talking, the father spoke first. "There will be major changes in court soon."

He didn't say the reason but Hong Ting knew it wasn't because a daughter of a fifth-ranked official died in the fire.

"Father... jiejie probably escaped right?" He asked in a soft voice. Both of them more or less knew that it wasn't Hong Chun who was inside that marble urn.

"I also want to believe that."

Hong Shu Cao was aware of the things happening inside his estate even though he wasn't always present.