Everyone was greatly startled and hurriedly took Fangsi down from the beam. Her body was icy cold and stiff, clearly having been dead for some time. It turned out that yesterday Fangsi had wept until midnight, begging her mother to plead with Song Yima again. But Guo Mama sighed heavily and said, "Madam follows Eldest Master's decisions in everything. Can't you see he's already made up his mind? It's all your fault, you wretched creature - not only are you blind and foolish, but you've dragged me down with you. Where could we possibly go after leaving the Song residence? Which of our relatives could we rely on?" Growing angrier as she spoke, she struck Fangsi twice and wailed, "How unfortunate my life is, to have given birth to such a troublesome wretch! I told you to endure for two more years, but you wouldn't listen. Now you've wasted such a good position and future prospects. No wonder Eldest Master looks down on you - you're nothing but a beggarly, low-born creature, completely unfit for respectable company!"
Hearing this, Fangsi wept even more miserably. Guo Mama continued grumbling and scolding for a long while while busily packing all the private savings she had accumulated over the years at the Song residence. For items too valuable to be seen by others, she sewed hidden pockets inside her clothes to carry them close to her body. Having long considered the Song residence her retirement home, she had accumulated a great many possessions - three large trunks in total. However, carrying so much out would be too conspicuous, so she could only select the most valuable and essential items to fill one trunk.
Looking at the remaining belongings, Guo Mama felt pained at the loss. Seeing Fangsi still weeping quietly in the corner reignited her anger, and she went over to strike her again, shrilly scolding, "You're getting what you deserve! Hurry up and pack your things! Stop your crying - I'm not dead yet!" Pushing and pinching Fangsi, she shoved her into the side room.
Tears streaming down her face, Fangsi opened her trunk and immediately spotted the cross-collared robe she had been making for Song Ke, only half-finished. Clutching the garment, she wept heartbrokenly, not daring to let Guo Mama hear, thinking to herself: "Eldest Master, my dear young lord, how could you be so cruel! Now because of that Chen Xianglan, you treat me like dirt, urgently and angrily driving me out. Do all my past affections and services for you count for nothing?"
After weeping for a while, she gritted her teeth and thought: "The Song family is determined not to keep me. All my hopes have come to nothing. Why should I return home to suffer more humiliation? Better to die cleanly - at least my spirit can remain in the Song residence, never truly leaving!"
Rummaging through her chest, she found her favorite set of bright clothing and stared at it blankly for a long time. Guo Mama peeked in and, seeing all the trunks open in the room, assumed Fangsi was packing and left contentedly. Fangsi washed her face, changed into the clothes through her tears, opened her dressing case to apply makeup and style her hair, adorning herself with all her valuable jewelry. She sat staring at the candle until the third watch. Going out to check, she saw all lights extinguished in Guo Mama's room - clearly she was asleep.
Returning to her room, she tore a strip of white silk trousers into a band, stepped onto a stool to tie the silk to the roof beam, put her head through the noose, kicked away the stool, and drifted away to the netherworld.
When Guo Mama came to call her after washing up the next morning, she pushed open the door and saw Fangsi hanging from the beam. She first screamed in terror, then her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground, wetting her pants.The person laid Fangsi down. She was dressed neatly with heavy makeup, but her neck was stretched, eyes wide open, face bluish-purple, and her tongue hung out long—a grotesque and terrifying death appearance. Guo Mama clung to the corpse, wailing incessantly, calling her "my darling, my flesh," crying out between sobs: "How can I live without you!" and again: "You foolish child, why did you take your own life in such a fit of anger!"
She cried until she collapsed stiffly in a faint. The crowd pinched her philtrum and rubbed her chest until Guo Mama groaned and regained consciousness. As soon as she turned and saw the corpse, she broke into another fit of weeping, crying as if the world had turned dark.
Meanwhile, Song Yima, upon hearing the news, hurried over supported by Song Tanzhai. At the sight of Guo Mama clutching the corpse and weeping bitterly, tears immediately streamed down her face. Song Ke quickly stepped forward and said, "The death appearance is too dreadful, Mother. Please return. I will handle this matter."
Song Yima trembled, pointing at Song Ke with her hand holding prayer beads, and said through tears, "This... this is the mess you’ve caused... Now a life has been lost, are you satisfied? Fangsi, such a clever and pitiable child..." Unable to continue, she covered her face and wept.
Song Ke gave a meaningful glance, and Song Tanzhai gently coaxed and persuaded Song Yima, leading her away.
Xianglan sighed silently to herself, thinking that the Song family had truly encountered an undeserved calamity. They hadn’t driven Fangsi away; instead, they had given her silver, jewelry, and fabric—essentially sending off a revered figure. Yet, in the end, this disgusting incident had occurred. She felt deep pity and regret for Fangsi but also lamented her foolishness. Although Fangsi was a servant, she had never suffered much in the Song household, living more respectably than an ordinary young lady. If the masters had shown kindness by granting her silver and releasing her, she could have married a reliable man and built a family, enjoying a harmonious life ahead. Yet, she had thrown her life away so easily, leaving her mother to mourn a child’s death—a truly tragic outcome.
Xianglan wanted to step forward and help but feared Guo Mama might resent her presence. Instead, she quietly tugged at Song Ke’s sleeve and said, "Fangsi was different from the other maids after all. Since she died in the mansion, if we don’t arrange a proper funeral, people will surely criticize us for being unkind. Do you have any plans, Eldest Master?"
Song Ke rubbed his temples and said, "Proceed as usual. Even though Mother favored her, she was still a maid and shouldn’t overstep the rules. Afterwards, we’ll give Guo Mama more silver."
Xianglan, eager to share Song Ke’s burdens, thought for a moment and said, "Your studies are most important, Eldest Master. You mustn’t neglect the academy affairs."
Song Ke smiled bitterly and replied, "If I don’t handle this, who in the household can take charge? Madam is unreliable, and my sister is a young lady of the inner chambers—she can’t manage funeral arrangements."
Xianglan said, "If you trust me, I can help organize things."
Song Ke hesitated, "Are you capable?"
Xianglan smiled and said, "Why wouldn’t I be? If I can’t manage it well, I’ll seek your advice."
Seeing Xianglan’s jade-like smiling face, Song Ke’s restless heart calmed. He thought to himself, "The household lacks someone capable of managing affairs. Let her handle it. If it doesn’t work out, I can always step in." He nodded in agreement and withdrew a hundred taels of silver from the accounts for the time being.
Xianglan set to work immediately. She selected a room from the rear row of houses to serve as the mourning hall, fetched white cloth from the storeroom to decorate the interior and exterior, and sent people to purchase incense, candles, paper money, and other funeral items, including a coffin.
By noon when Song Ke returned, everything was already prepared. He walked through the mourning hall and lit a stick of incense for Fangsi. There, he saw Guo Mama sitting in a daze, allowing others to guide her movements as if she had lost her mind.Song Ke returned to his room, where Xianglan was meticulously checking the accounts. Seeing him enter, she said, "Including the coffin, it cost forty taels of silver in total. Here are the details—take a quiet look."
Song Ke glanced over it and felt satisfied. Xianglan continued, "But since Fangsi died in the main room, it’s unsettling after all. Eldest Master withdrew one hundred taels from the accounts, so why not use the remaining money to replace the roof beam and hire monks to chant scriptures for her salvation? It would ease our minds and also comfort Fangsi’s spirit in the afterlife."
Song Ke also felt uneasy about Fangsi dying in his mother’s room, so he agreed, "Let’s do as you say." He reached for Xianglan’s hand and added, "Thanks to you this time, you’ve saved me a lot of trouble."
Xianglan’s face flushed slightly, and she withdrew her hand. From this, Song Ke valued her even more, finding her clever and admirable, but for now, he said nothing further.
Due to the hot weather, the funeral rites began three days later, with the coffin temporarily placed at Tranquil Moon Temple. The funeral arrangements were quite elaborate. Song Yima inevitably wept again, and after the proceedings, she considered keeping Guo Mama with her.
Song Ke frowned and said, "Fangsi died here. If Mother keeps Guo Mama, wouldn’t it sadden her to be reminded of it every day? Better to send her to the old residence in the capital—the Song family will provide for her until her old age."
Song Yima saw the logic in this, sighed, and agreed.
Meanwhile, Guo Mama had hoped Song Yima would let her stay, but even after the funeral concluded, there was no word from her. Unable to hold back, she wept to someone, "I’m just a lonely old woman with no one to rely on... I don’t know where I’ll go in the future... I truly can’t bear to leave Madam."
However, she now lived in the back annex, rarely seeing Song Yima, and Juanhua, who served by Song Yima’s side under Song Zancha’s orders, kept her lips sealed and warned the young maids, so not a whisper of Guo Mama’s lament reached anyone.
After Fangsi was buried, Song Ke urged Guo Mama to depart. Unable to delay further, she seized a moment when Song Ke was away to go kowtow to Song Yima.
Entering the inner courtyard, she saw Xianglan wearing a vibrant peach-pink and white phoenix-tail dress, radiant as dew on a flower, her eyes sparkling as she chatted with Juanhua. The two covered their mouths and giggled together.
Guo Mama’s eyes reddened with resentment, thinking bitterly, "If it weren’t for this little seductress, my daughter wouldn’t have lost her life for no reason! Now she lives freely and comfortably, while my poor daughter died so tragically..." She directed all her venomous hatred toward Xianglan.
Xianglan caught sight of Guo Mama from the corner of her eye. Noticing how she had aged ten years in just a few days, her hair now streaked with white, Xianglan felt a pang of pity. But seeing the hatred in Guo Mama’s gaze, she was startled, then quickly understood. Shaking her head, she thought, "The pitiable have their detestable sides. If she hadn’t failed to raise Fangsi properly, how could things have come to this? I heard from the young maids that Fangsi wept until midnight that night, and her mother beat and scolded her—perhaps that contributed to Fangsi’s death. Now she resents me; I must be cautious."
She tugged at Juanhua and signaled with her eyes. Juanhua turned and saw Guo Mama stepping onto the stairs toward the room, promptly calling out, "Mama, are you here to see Madam? Madam is reciting scriptures—let me announce you." She hurriedly lifted her skirt and went inside.
Guo Mama deliberately raised her voice, "This old servant is returning to the capital and has come to kowtow to Madam."
Hearing this from inside, Song Yima quickly said, "Let her in at once!"When the mistress and servant met, tears streamed down their faces as they wept together. Guo Mama wiped her tears and said, "It's all my fault. I came to kowtow and thank Madam for her kindness, but instead I've made her cry again." Trembling, she kowtowed on the ground and said in a hoarse voice, "No matter how reluctant this old servant is to part with Madam, I must leave now. Who knows if we'll ever meet again in the future? Madam must take good care of herself... I... I truly..." She choked up with emotion.
Song Yima couldn't hold back any longer and began sobbing loudly.
Xianglan stood outside the door, peeking through the window, and thought to herself, "This Guo Mama is truly a clever one. She's pinpointed Madam's weakness perfectly—crying and speaking so skillfully. If she manages to soften Madam's heart with just a few words, things could turn bad." Frowning in thought, she quietly tiptoed away.
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