After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Chapter 1161 - 1143: Building a Thatched Hut

Fu Zhi passed away, and Zhao Hanzhang only gave Fu Tinghan three months to mourn before insisting he return to work.

Fu Tinghan was in mourning for Fu Zhi at home, but in reality, apart from not going to the office, traveling, and eating vegetarian, life was not much different from usual. Every day after waking up, aside from burning incense thrice daily, he locked himself in the study.

The desk was covered with drafts containing things that even Fu Xuan couldn’t quite understand.

Princess Hongnong felt this was unacceptable, too lacking in filial piety, so she had a grass hut built by Fu Zhi’s tomb and drove the father and son there to mourn.

She delivered meals to them every day.

Fu Tinghan obediently went but thought her frequent trips were too troublesome, wasting a full day just delivering meals.

With his modern mindset, Fu Tinghan thought, what’s impossible to do within this time?

So, he brought a bag of rice and millet, deciding to prepare his own meals.

Zhao Hanzhang prepared pots and pans for him, along with a jar of salted vegetables, and packed several bags of vegetable seeds and provided him with hoes in varying sizes.

Princess Hongnong watched in wide-eyed astonishment, and Zhao Hanzhang explained, "Since we are mourning, let it be thorough. Let them do these tasks they are capable of themselves."

Henceforth, neither of them needed her to deliver meals, merely visiting occasionally to pay respects at Fu Zhi’s tomb and casually check on the father and son.

When Zhao Hanzhang escorted them to the grass hut, she saw only two facing planks inside, but the stacked straw looked solid; it probably wouldn’t leak during rain, so she felt relieved.

She walked nearby and used a hoe to dig a bit of soil, saying, "This plot is suitable for planting vegetables, dig here."

Fu Tinghan stepped forward and worked the soil alongside her, noticing Fu Xuan standing blankly aside. He kindly handed him a sickle, "Father, please cut down the weeds."

Fu Xuan blankly accepted.

In this aspect, he wasn’t even as adept as his father; Fu Zhi used to join civilians and soldiers in farming every year, familiar with agriculture, but Fu Xuan...

His greatest skill lay in studying.

Princess Hongnong intended for them to express their grief by being there and mourning, but hadn’t expected Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan to do so thoroughly that they even planted vegetables themselves.

After a day’s labor they cleared only a small plot, and that night, Princess Hongnong and Zhao Hanzhang stayed there, sitting by the fire. Princess Hongnong explained, "I had them build a grass hut to mourn, not to trouble them deliberately, but because I believed father deserved their grief. Living at home, though wearing mourning clothes and eating vegetarian, they immersed themselves in books and showed peacefulness devoid of sorrow. If they didn’t think of the deceased, how could they inherit the deceased’s legacy?"

Zhao Hanzhang hadn’t spoken yet, when Fu Xuan first expressed his disagreement, "You aren’t me, how do you know I don’t miss my father?"

He said, "Missing someone isn’t solely about crying sorrowfully."

"You only see me reading, but don’t know what I’m reading. I’m clearly organizing my father’s previous manuscripts. Nowadays, the publishing industry is thriving, so I aim to classify father’s texts and print them into books for posterity." Fu Xuan said, "Isn’t this a form of mourning?"

Princess Hongnong turned to Fu Tinghan, "And you? Are your drawings and writings your grandfather’s manuscripts too?"

As it turns out, they weren’t; those were tasks Fu Tinghan needed to perform. Lately, he just followed the routine of mourning without truly reminiscing about Fu Zhi, blushing as he bowed his head.

Zhao Hanzhang stirred the pot of porridge and said to Princess Hongnong, "Mother, grandfather’s greatest wish wasn’t it the stability of the nation? What Ting Han is doing now is ensuring the country’s stability—isn’t that fulfilling grandfather’s wish?"

"Mourning should embody grief; people are pained hence unable to manage affairs, leading to customs of mourning," Princess Hongnong said, "Your three-month mourning drew criticism, and now he isn’t wholeheartedly mourning. When others hear of this, what reputation will he have in the future?"

Zhao Hanzhang said solemnly, "Mother, please be cautious with your words. Ting Han is sincerely mourning, by adhering to the spirit of our forebears, which is Ting Han’s greatest filial piety."

Princess Hongnong opened her mouth but couldn’t find words to retort.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Zai Yu thought mourning for three years should be altered, but Confucius disagreed because enjoying rice during mourning causes inner unrest. If restless, one wouldn’t dare to act."

"Yet, Zai Yu himself could find peace, hence he also practiced filial piety."

Princess Hongnong refuted softly, "Confucius said Zai Yu lacked benevolence."

Zhao Hanzhang retorted, "Just because Confucius said Zai Yu lacked benevolence, does that make Zai Yu lack benevolence? Zai Yu was one of Confucius’ key disciples, and also one of the Thirteen Sage Scholars."

"Mother, if Zai Yu was truly devoid of benevolence, wouldn’t that imply historical sages also had unbenevolent individuals among them? Can sage teachings be trusted then? But if Zai Yu wasn’t such a person, did Confucius err?" Zhao Hanzhang said, "Therefore, even sage teachings can be flawed at times; as students and future generations, we must learn to ponder."

"Circumstances change with times, and times change with circumstances. Ting Han is working on matters that benefit all citizens. Given grandfather’s character, do you think he would’ve preferred Ting Han sitting idle at home doing nothing for twenty-seven months, or out saving lives and contributing to the nation?"

Princess Hongnong: "I..."

Seeing her pursed lips, Zhao Hanzhang softened her tone, saying, "I know mother is grieving, we are also deeply saddened, which is why we desire early national stability, so the people may lead prosperous lives. Peace and prosperity in the nation should precede commemorating grandfather, which I believe is the highest form of filial piety."

Fu Xuan nodded in deep agreement and said to Princess Hongnong, "Please have people bring me the books and manuscripts from the study. I need to sort father’s manuscripts besides planting vegetables."

Fu Tinghan opened his mouth, unintentionally glancing at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t wait for him to speak, directly nodded and said, "I’ll deliver your books and manuscripts tomorrow."

Fu Tinghan breathed a sigh of relief; vegetable planting didn’t occupy much time, and in between, he couldn’t do nothing.

But when the books and manuscripts arrived on the mountain, Fu Tinghan realized he wasn’t spending much time on work.

Gardening was quite time-consuming; daily, he had to clear small plots to sow new seeds. The seeds needed watering, and reaching the water source required quite a walk, going there took about fifteen minutes, while carrying water back took roughly half an hour.

Fu Tinghan considered delegating the task to trusted aides.

Indeed, despite coming to mourn, many trusted aides were stationed nearby, silently safeguarding him.

But after glancing at the grass hut and nearby grave, Fu Tinghan quietly fetched water himself.

The mountain paths weren’t easy to traverse, especially when carrying water. Initially, during the first two days, he rarely felt a bit frustrated, but by the third day, he was accustomed to balancing a wooden pail and fetching water.

Moreover, traveling on this familiar mountainous path provided a particularly serene mind, granting him plenty of time to think.

Even when breathlessly bearing the load back, he could engage his mind in forming equations.