Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 101 National Mourning
The knock on the door was urgent and intense. Zhu Shenzhu was a little surprised. This had never happened before.

Could it be that the things he did outside were known and reported by others? To be honest, all the things Zhu Shenzhui did in these years were not in line with the rules of the royal family. Although he had always been very careful and secretive, things left traces. As the saying goes, people leave their names behind and wild geese leave their voices behind. It is impossible to completely conceal it.

It would be fine if no one reported him, because ordinary people couldn't do anything to him because of his status as a member of the royal family. But once someone reported him, especially someone from within the royal family, it would be a big hassle.

Besides, Zhu Shenzhui had just dealt with Jiang Shuishan in Zhaowu Village, and he had just come back and hadn't rested much, when someone suddenly came and knocked on the door like this? Could it be that something went wrong in Zhaowu Village and Zhaowuling? But this is not right! Haven't the things over there been dealt with? Jinyiwei took all the credit, and the local Jinyiwei came forward, so how could there be any trouble?

"Who's outside?" There was no way to avoid the disaster, Zhu Shenzhu calmed himself down and shouted to the outside.

"Uncle! Are you home? It's me! Open the door, open the door quickly!" Zhu Qiuqi's anxious voice came from outside.

Zhu Shenzhui breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized Zhu Qiuqi's voice. He was shocked to find that it was this kid who had caused all this fuss.

Giving Zhang a reassuring look, Zhu Shenzhui walked quickly towards the courtyard gate and opened it. Wasn’t the person standing at the door Zhu Qiuqi?

"Why are you here?" Zhu Shenzhui asked in confusion. He had just returned home and came back directly after entering the city without going anywhere. He hadn't had time to tell anyone about his return, so why did this guy come to him in a hurry not long after he entered the house?
Since their last collaboration, Zhu Minyu, Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Qiuqi have been full of admiration for Zhu Shencui, especially because of Zhu Shencui, the three of them have gained a lot of benefits from it.

Now, the brothers Zhu Minyu and Zhu Minfeng have bought land with the money they had before, and their family life has become much better. As for Zhu Qiuqi, it goes without saying that he has a large sum of money in his hands, and now lives a very comfortable life. All this is thanks to Zhu Shencui.

Compared with his two uncles, Zhu Qiuqi is more active, especially after doing that thing with Zhu Shenzhui, his horizons have been broadened a lot.

Now he doesn't want to go back to his previous life, because of this, considering that they are all trustworthy and reliable, and they are also his own people, Zhu Shencui asks them to help with things from time to time. For example, if there are some things at the company that Kang Youfu is not convenient to deal with, he asks them to solve them. As a result, they can not only earn some money, but also have a closer relationship with Zhu Shencui.

They were the ones who were asked to solve the problem of the tanners before. They captured the tanners under the banner of the royal family and quickly helped Kang Youfu solve the problem. Moreover, they are also helping Hengtong do some trade in private. After all, they are all royal family members, and their connections are not comparable to ordinary people. In addition, when Zhu Shenzhu is not around sometimes, Pingyang City also needs people who can control the government officials and ruffians. They are the most suitable candidates.

"Uncle, when did you come back?" Zhu Qiuqi said happily when he saw Zhu Shenzhui.

"I just came back not long ago, what's wrong? You rushed to my house and knocked on the door, didn't you come to find me?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a sullen face. From what he said, it seemed that he didn't know that he was back, so why did he come to knock on the door again? When he was not at home, there were only Zhang and his niece Qiao'er. Could it be that Zhu Qiuqi was so bold that he dared to go after his sister-in-law Zhang?

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzui's face turned a little unhappy and his tone became a little colder.

Zhu Qiuqi was not a fool. Seeing his expression, he immediately reacted and explained: "Uncle, don't misunderstand me. I came here because of something important. I just wanted to tell you through the door, but I didn't expect you to come back. By the way, it's just right that you're back. Hurry up and get ready. Change your clothes and take your aunt and little aunt to the general's mansion. I have to leave right away. All the clan members in the city must be notified. After notifying them, I have to go back and change my clothes."

Zhu Qiuqi spoke hurriedly. He didn't look like he was lying. Moreover, not only did he have to change his clothes and go to the general's mansion, but he also had to bring Zhang and his niece with him. Zhu Shenzhu couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"What happened? Why do you want to go to the general's mansion? And change clothes? What clothes do you want to change into?" Seeing that Zhu Qiuqi was about to leave after speaking, Zhu Shenzhui grabbed him and asked.

Slapping his forehead, Zhu Qiuqi finally realized that he had not had time to say the most important thing in his haste, and immediately said to Zhu Shenzhui: "Something big has happened, the sky has fallen, His Majesty has passed away! The news just came, you should prepare as soon as possible, all the royal family members will have to go, this is a national mourning!"

After Zhu Qiuqi finished speaking, he bowed to Zhu Shen and left in a hurry. He had to continue notifying others. There were many royal family members in Pingyang City, and this time was different from the last ancestor worship. When the emperor passed away, all the royal family members, regardless of gender, had to go, so Zhang and Qiao'er were among them.

It was not until Zhu Qiuqi walked a long way away that Zhu Shenzhui came back to his senses from the huge shock of information.

Zhu Shenzhui did not know exactly when Wanli died in his previous life. He only knew that Wanli was the longest-reigning emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty, reigning for a full forty-eight years.

Now is the 48th year of Wanli, which means Wanli will die this year. But Zhu Shenzhui does not know the exact month and day. After all, he was not an expert in history in his previous life, so it was good enough to know these. How could he remember the specific date?

After coming to this world for many years, Zhu Shenzhui has always known that after Wanli's death, the Ming Dynasty would enter a countdown, and he has been preparing for this all these years. But when this day really came, Zhu Shenzhui felt a little dazed and unreal. He looked up at the sky. The sky above his head was blue, and the weather today looked good. But in the distance in the north, there was a thick dark cloud forming. This dark cloud gathered slowly but firmly, and gradually drifted towards this side. It seemed that it would not be long before the sky would change. The clear sky would be replaced by dark clouds, and then there would probably be lightning and thunder, and a heavy rain would come.

The news of Wanli's death made Zhu Shenzui's mood suddenly worse, and he returned to the courtyard with heavy steps.

Seeing his appearance, Zhang asked with concern what had happened. When Zhu Shenzui told Zhang about this, Zhang screamed and couldn't help but raise his hand to cover his mouth.

"Sister-in-law, get ready, change into mourning clothes, take Qiao'er with you, and let's go to the general's mansion together." Zhu Shenzui said to Zhang. Zhang quickly responded and went into the house to prepare. Zhu Shenzui also returned to his own room and found a set of mourning clothes from the camphorwood box in the room to change into. This set of mourning clothes was actually bought when his father and brother left. They were not burned after they were used up that year. They were kept as a token of remembrance, but they were unexpectedly useful now.

After changing into mourning clothes, Zhu Shenzhu returned to the yard. At this time, Zhang and Qiao'er also changed their clothes. Zhang was dressed in white, while Qiao'er was still young and did not have special mourning clothes, so she could only wear plain clothes with a white cloth belt tied around her waist.

"Let's go." Zhu Shenzui took Qiao'er from Zhang, held her in his arms and said to Zhang.

Zhang responded and handed him something. Zhu Shencui took it and saw that it was a piece of ginger wrapped in white cloth. When he saw it, Zhu Shencui immediately understood what it was used for. He nodded and put it away. Then he held Qiao'er and Zhang out of the yard and went out to the general's mansion.

In just a short while, the news of Emperor Wanli's death spread throughout Pingyang City.

White banners were hung everywhere in Pingyang City, and the whole city was covered with white flags.

From officials to ordinary people, those who could afford it changed into mourning clothes, and those who couldn't afford it changed into plain clothes and tied a white cloth belt. People walking on the street no longer had their usual smiles, and each of them had a sad look on their face and walked with heavy steps.

Wanli reigned for forty-eight years. These forty-eight years were a long time. The babies who were just born when the emperor ascended the throne are now nearly fifty years old, and some of them have even become ancestors.

After so many years, everyone seems to have become accustomed to the existence of Emperor Wanli. In the minds of ordinary people, the emperor sitting on the high throne since they can remember is Wanli, and this has never changed.

But now, Wanli's sudden death had a particularly strong impact on people. As we walked along, people's faces were filled with sorrow, and some even burst into tears after a brief moment of shock after hearing the news.

When they arrived at the general's mansion, it was all white, and the royal family members who arrived first were all in tears.

General Zhu Minfan personally stood at the door with his family. They all changed into mourning clothes. Among them, Zhu Minfan's grandson Zhu Shenye saw Zhu Shenzhu coming and hurried forward to greet him.

After a brief meeting, he came forward and said a few words to Zhu Minfan. Zhu Minfan led them into the mansion with great sorrow, and then asked the old butler to make arrangements one by one.

The national mourning of the Ming Dynasty had strict rules, especially for the royal family. After all, for them, this was not only a national mourning, but also a family mourning. The emperor was the patriarch of the royal family. Now that the emperor was gone, as a member of the royal family, they naturally had to perform filial piety and mourn him.

The women and children of the royal family had their own arrangements, so there was no need to worry about that, as they would be guided by the generals. Zhu Shenzhui and other members of the royal family were led into the courtyard in the same way as the last ancestor worship, except that the wine and food arrangements were missing.

During the national mourning period, you are not allowed to drink alcohol. Not to mention drinking, even eating meat is not allowed. As for other rules, it is easier for ordinary people, but it is different for royal family members. Compared with ordinary people, these rules are stricter.

When they arrived and sat down, several clan members had already arrived. When they saw Zhu Shencui, they nodded slightly and said nothing. Their eyes were red, and some of them were wiping tears and sobbing quietly. However, Zhu Shencui, who had a keen sense of smell, smelled a familiar smell in the air.

Zhu Shenzhui didn't say anything either. He took out a white cloth wrapped in ginger slices from his arms and wiped the corners of his eyes twice. In an instant, he burst into tears and sobbed softly with everyone else.

(End of this chapter)