Traveling through the Republic of China, I married a dead person

"Bang, bang!" Several more gunshots were heard.

The gunshots seemed to be getting closer.

With the help of the eldest daughter Kong Ru and Zi Yan, Su Bai hurriedly got into the sedan chair.

"The gunshots don't seem to be directed at us. Don't worry, we're here to handle it. Don't hurt the eldest young lady!" Kong Dai shouted outside the sedan chair.

"Don't be afraid, sister-in-law. Even if the bandits rush down the mountain, Uncle Kong can't let them catch up with us. Don't scare the children." Kong Ru also comforted Su Bai outside the sedan.

Su Bai was very scared. After all, he had never seen such a scene before. The scenes he had seen in movies and TV dramas were completely different from the feeling he had now.

Judging from the degree of bumpiness in the sedan chair, it was going much faster than when it came.

After about fifteen minutes, the gunshots could no longer be heard.

There was a sound of horse hooves, and Kong Dai caught up on horseback. He got off the horse and followed the sedan chair on foot, leading the horse.

"Don't worry, Madam. The gunshots were definitely not directed at us. They were probably caused by a fight among the bandits."

Su Bai lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and listened to what Kong Dai said to her. This way she could hear more clearly and it was also considered as showing courtesy to Kong Dai.

Internal fights among bandits are not uncommon. Often when a new leader appears, some people will disband or even fight if they are dissatisfied.

There is a Panlong Cave over two mountains to the east of the Kong family's ancestral tomb. There is a group of bandits entrenched there. The leader of Panlong Cave has always had some friendship with the Kong family. They do not come to disturb Longxing City, and the commander-in-chief is too lazy to send troops to suppress them, so there has been peace for several years.

When there was a disaster, the Marshal would provide them with some food.

Just recently, a sworn brother of the big boss came to Panlong Cave and became the second in command of Panlong Cave. He was called Liu Yiyan.

Liu Yimu is his nickname because he has one eye.

This man was brutal and ruthless, and he had been the second in command of Panlong Cave for only half a month when he went down the mountain and robbed the official car of Longxing County Government. He also looted a store in the city in the middle of the night.

The county government is also the Marshal's territory, and even if the shops are not the Marshal's business, they still have to pay taxes to the Marshal. Liu Yiyan's behavior is to disrespect the Confucius Mansion and challenge the Marshal's authority.

If the Marshal had not been seriously ill, he would have sent troops to wipe them out long ago.

The Marshal's military power was temporarily managed by his two younger brothers, the Second Master and the Third Master. They were not stationed in Longxing County and were unable to spare the time to deal with this group of bandits.

"Will they attack the Confucius Mansion?" At this moment, Su Bai really wanted to let this group of bandits attack the Confucius Mansion, so that he might have a chance to escape in the chaos.

Kong Dai laughed: "Even if you give them ten guts, they still wouldn't dare." The Kong Mansion not only had more than twenty armed servants, but there was also a guard company of the master nearby.

After returning to the Kong Mansion, Kong Dai whispered to Su Bai that they should go to bed early today, because the master would gather the whole family to his bedroom early tomorrow morning to announce the new head of the Kong Mansion.

"Uncle Kong wants to discuss something with you," Su Bai got out of the sedan.

"As you command."

In order to take better care of herself and the fetus in her belly, Su Bai wanted Zi Yan to eat with him from now on, instead of going back to the front yard to eat with the servants and then returning to the backyard as before.

Kong Dai readily agreed and from tonight onwards, the meals in the eldest young lady's room would be prepared for two people.

Su Bai made this request to test whether it was Kong Dai or the second wife who had the final say in the Kong Mansion when the master was seriously ill and unable to take charge of the affairs personally.

Just as she guessed, Kong Dai had the final say.

The second wife was just holding the handle on me, but on the other hand, I also had the handle on her.

But I am single, and I don't know how many confidants the Second Wife has. If I don't make up my mind to fight to the death with her, I will have to obey her for the time being.

Asking Zi Yan to come and have dinner with her was just Su Bai's first step. Next, she would make more requests to Kong Dai, and even thought about asking him to send another maid to serve her so that she would always have someone by her side.

In this case, even if the second wife's cousin came to the Kong Mansion, he would have little chance to take action.

You can even consider using Kong Dai to take further measures to force out this suave cousin whom the second wife calls her.

"Go, go to the Second Madam." After dinner, Su Bai took the initiative to suggest that Zi Yan go to the Second Madam's courtyard to report.

"Is there anything that shouldn't be said?" Zi Yan asked.

Su Bai knocked on the table gently, and Zi Yan immediately understood that it was the housekeeper's arrangement for her to have dinner with the eldest young lady, not the eldest young lady's request to the housekeeper.

How clever! Su Bai thought as he looked at Zi Yan's back. Even if she was not 100% reliable, he could only use her as a helper for now.

At least, Zi Yan quietly poured out the two doses of medicine that Su Bai was supposed to take today.

……

All the members of the Confucius family were present.

The five wives, two sons and four daughters were all standing around the old man's bed. The old man seemed to be in better spirits than yesterday. He even asked Su Bai and the housekeeper to help him stand up, half lying and half leaning on the raised pile of quilts.

Afterwards, he gestured to Su Bai to sit next to him.

Among all the people present, only Su Bai was sitting.

"Xuan." The master only said one word, still with great effort, and his breathing seemed to be not smooth.

The chief steward announced on behalf of the master that from now on, the eldest young lady Su Bai will officially take over the Kong Mansion, and everyone in the Kong Mansion will obey the orders of the eldest young lady.

Except for the army which is still managed by the second and third masters, all movable and immovable properties of the Kong family within and outside the province, including businesses, shops, and shares invested overseas, will be handed over to Su Bai within one month, and Kong Dai will fully cooperate with the eldest young lady.

Everyone in the Kong Mansion seemed to have realized what was going to happen, and everyone was very calm.

Only the Fifth Concubine said as she left the house, "I hope our eldest young mistress is not as stingy as the old man."

It's meant for Su Bai to hear.

The third concubine said: "In the past, after the emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne, the concubines left behind by the previous emperor became concubines and never had a good life again. They just waited for death."

"Don't worry, ladies. I will not reduce the expenses of each room by a single cent." Su Bai had to come out and express his opinion.

She saw a look of resentment in the second wife's eyes.

She had already regarded the Confucius family's property as her own, so of course the less she spent on each room, the better.

"What are you talking about? My father is not dead yet!" The eldest lady was very angry.

On that night, when Su Bai had just washed his feet with Zi Yan's help and was about to go to bed, the servant on duty in the master's room knocked on the door loudly.

"Madam, the master wants you to come over right away!"

Su Bai realized at the first moment that the master might be dying.

I've heard from many people that many people hold their breath until they die, and only breathe their last after giving their final instructions to their family.

Without having time to put on socks, Su Bai put on his shoes barefoot and ran to the next door.

When the master saw Su Bai coming in, he reached out and patted the pillow. Su Bai took out a jade seal about five centimeters square and exquisitely carved from under his pillow.

Seeing Su Bai holding the seal in his hand, the master squeezed out a few more words with great effort: "Hide it, hide it well."

Su Bai hid the seal in his arms, and the master blinked twice.

"The second wife is here?" It was Zi Yan's voice outside the door.

Zi Yan followed Su Bai out of the house, but she was not allowed to enter the master's room under such circumstances. Even the servant who had been guarding the main room was standing at the door.

The Second Wife knew the news so quickly, it must be that someone on duty reported it to her.

The second wife rushed in, also barefoot and wearing slippers, panting.

The master's eyes suddenly widened a lot, looking at Su Bai and said: "Dong, Dong..."

This was the last word he left in this world.

The second wife rushed to the master like crazy and shook his shoulders vigorously: "What are you talking about? Master, finish your words before you leave!"

Su Bai thought of a word: extremely vicious.

The second wife turned around and asked Su Bai: "What else did the master say to you?"

"I just came here too. The master didn't have time to say anything. You heard him say only the word 'Dong'."

The second wife stared at Su Bai's eyes fiercely for several seconds and said, "Don't mention this word to anyone!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Kong Dai came in. Without saying anything, he threw himself on the master and started crying.

He didn't cry out loud, but the violent twitching behind him said it all. He might be the saddest person in the whole mansion about the passing of the master.

After a long time, Kong Dai stood up, wiped his tears, and pulled out a suicide note from under the mattress at the master's feet.

"This was written ten days ago when the master specially called the second and third masters back. The third master wrote it for him and the master put his fingerprints on it."

Kong Dai told Su Bai that the master had prepared two suicide notes at the time, and this suicide note would take effect if the eldest lady was pregnant with a boy.

If the child is not a male, the other copy will take effect.

The other suicide note had been destroyed after Doctor Jiang took Su Bai's pulse.

The second wife snatched the suicide note from Su Bai's hand and just glanced at it, Kong Dai beside her said coldly: "Second wife, the suicide note is for the eldest young lady."

The Second Wife immediately stuffed the suicide note back into Su Bai's hands: "It's for the eldest young lady, but it also needs to be read to everyone in the Kong family, right?"

"Yes, Second Madam."

The second wife seemed very excited. She thought Kong Dai's attitude just now offended her: "Kong Dai, you are the steward of the Kong Mansion, not the head of the family!"

Kong Dai replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Yes, Second Madam, I respect you and dare not act rudely in front of you, but the master has instructed me to obey the new owner of the Kong Mansion."

Su Bai felt so happy. Kong Dai just wouldn't fall for the second wife's tricks at all.

Suddenly I felt that I was not completely at a disadvantage in front of the Second Wife.

At this moment, I was thinking, how great it would be if I were the real eldest lady. Although I was extremely unlucky to have traveled here, being able to be in charge of such a large family business was also a good start despite my helplessness.

Unfortunately, I am a fake.