"Oh! I know! But I'm not going!"
Ping'er saw their reaction, and the sorrow in her eyes deepened.
She sighed softly and lowered her head a little. Her voice carried a touch of grief and a touch of helplessness. After a long moment, she murmured:
"It's absolutely true..."
"Second Madam was resting in her room just now when she suddenly heard the clapper sound from beyond the second gate. It rang four times in quick, heavy succession—the signal of a death."
"Second Madam was immediately thrown into a panic. She sent someone to ask, and the news they brought back was that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Rongguo branch..."
"Had passed away."
Ping'er paused, then steadied herself and continued:
"They say she breathed her last at the end of the Xu hour. She went..."
"It was rather sudden."
At this, Daiyu and Tanchun exchanged a mournful glance. In each other's eyes, they saw the same shock and grief.
Although Qin-shi belonged to the eastern branch and was a little removed from them, they had spent time together. Qin-shi was gentle toward everyone and never spoke harshly; she was also such a beautiful and refined woman. How could they not be heartbroken to hear that she had suddenly passed away?
"!!"
But now was no time for grief. Daiyu collected herself, forcing down her shock and sorrow, then turned to Tanchun.
"Third Sister, what's done is done... Let's change and go to the eastern branch to pay our respects."
"Even if we can't help with anything, we should at least go and pay our respects, shouldn't we?"
Tanchun naturally nodded. There was nothing else to say.
"Sister Lin is right."
"I'll go change into something plain, and then we can go together."
She spoke solemnly and began to turn to leave