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The Sophora Tree, known as the tree of spirits, is said to attract ghosts due to its heavy Yin Qi, making it prohibited to plant near homes according to Feng Shui principles. However, there is a folk belief that planting a Sophora Tree in front of one's door can bring wealth and prosperity. Which belief is correct? Xing Ruyi believes that whether it attracts spirits or not is related to the tree itself and the Feng Shui of the household.
The Wang Family's house is situated in a dark alley and is shorter than the surrounding buildings, creating a naturally gloomy atmosphere. The front door opens to the southwest, which in Feng Shui is referred to as the "ghost gate," making it easier for Yin energy to enter.
Wang Fu sells calligraphy and paintings and enjoys a cultured lifestyle, so he has planted many bamboo, Peach Trees, and banana plants in his yard. This might be acceptable in a wealthy household with careful design, but in the Wang Family's yard, it seems inappropriate. The Wang Family already lives in a house that gathers Yin energy, and with the door facing the ghost gate, planting so many ominous plants turns a living space into a dead one.
Strangely enough, despite the poor Feng Shui of this house, the Wang Family continues to live well. However, it's not entirely well because Wang San had an older brother who died at the age of seven.
Xing Ruyi closed her eyes and opened them again; the previously vanished Sophora Tree reappeared before her.
It was a lush Black Locust tree with abundant leaves swaying gently. However, hanging from one of its branches was a boy about seven or eight years old. He was dressed ordinarily, his feet dangling in mid-air, his head down, but his eyes were wide open as if he were watching someone.
Xing Ruyi sighed lightly, closed her eyes again, and when she opened them once more, the Black Locust was gone, leaving only a solitary stump as if recounting its past.
"Your brother was hanged from this Sophora Tree, wasn't he?"
At that moment, Wang San stood inside the door, slightly bent over as he welcomed Xing Ruyi inside. Upon hearing her words, he froze and then raised his head.
"How does Ruyi know? Could it be my father..."
"It has nothing to do with Uncle Wang; I saw it myself," Xing Ruyi replied, pointing to her eyes. "Have you forgotten? Your father asked me to wait for you at the Embroidered Workshop so I could help your family resolve these strange matters. I'm not particularly skilled at exorcising spirits, but I learned some Feng Shui techniques years ago. Sometimes, just using these eyes can reveal certain causes and effects."
"What you see is true; my brother was indeed hanged from this Black Sophora. This tree has been here since my ancestors of the Wang Family bought this courtyard at Midnight; no one knows exactly how many years it has grown. Back then, this Sophora Tree was planted inside the yard and not outside."
"The presence of an ancient Sophora indicates an old residence! It seems that saying from books isn't false," Xing Ruyi murmured as she looked at Wang San. "It's alright; please continue!"
"This house is indeed old; my Wang Family has lived here for five generations." Wang San gestured around him. "Ruyi, please look; all the surrounding houses originally belonged to my family and were part of our estate. But my great-grandfather loved gambling too much and lost these properties piece by piece. Now we live in what used to be servants' quarters—essentially the backyard of the entire estate. You see this door? It doesn't open where a proper front door should be because we lost everything in front; both side yards are gone too, so we had no choice but to change our entrance."
"I understand now; your current residence is actually a side area of what used to be the main estate's backyard. The alley in front was originally just a path leading to the backyard. Due to several changes in ownership and renovations of surrounding houses over time, it gradually formed into its current layout. The buyers of these surrounding houses must also know about this situation; that's why they built their houses so tall—to suppress your family's presence and artificially turned your Wang Family home into a place that gathers Yin energy."
"What Ruyi says was also mentioned by a Taoist priest who spoke to my father before. Unfortunately, at that time my father didn't take it seriously, which led to my brother's tragic death!" Wang San sighed as he welcomed Xing Ruyi into his home. In front of where the Black Sophora stump stood was a stone with a large Taoist symbol painted on it in red cinnabar.
"This is—"
"This was drawn by that Taoist priest at my father's request after my Brother passed away. It is a Town Protection Talismans. I'm just a simple person and don't understand these things; I only know that this stone has been standing here for many years, almost since I can remember, and despite the wind and sun, the Cinnabar on this talisman hasn't changed at all."
"It's no wonder. With your family's Feng Shui being so poor, it's surprising that you and your family can still live in peace. It turns out there has been a Master here who set up something to protect the house. But this Cinnabar..." Xing Ruyi was originally just curious and looked at it a bit more closely, not expecting to actually notice something: "What you just mentioned, this Cinnabar hasn't changed at all over the decades. So what's going on in this corner?"
Wang San looked down and saw that the blood-red talisman on the stone was vaguely missing a corner, precisely at the lower right.
"Are you asking about this? This was ruined by Wang Chengjia's child urinating on it. Because of this incident, our two families even had a fight." Wang San said, pointing to a house next to the wall: "That’s Wang Chengjia. Originally, we were considered to be from the same clan; strictly speaking, the ancestors of Wang Cheng were servants of our family. Even the surname Wang was granted by my great-grandfather. Later on, my family declined while Wang Chengjia prospered step by step. By my generation, everything had turned upside down. To use a common saying, it truly is thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river."
"The saying goes that wealth doesn't last beyond three generations, nor does poverty. That's probably what it means. But how could such a precious thing from your family be soiled by Wang Chengjia's child? Could it be that Wang Chengjia did it on purpose?"
Wang San scratched his head and remained silent for a while.
"This story is quite long. If Ruyi isn't in a hurry, you can sit in the pavilion for a while. I'll go fetch some tea and snacks and slowly tell you about these past events. Also, I need to inform my father that you arrived early and are inspecting the courtyard so he won't worry."
Xing Ruyi nodded and went ahead to sit in the pavilion. This pavilion was built in one corner of the courtyard next to the wall and seemed to have been left from earlier times. Surrounding it were still remnants of a Shallow pond; however, it was no longer flowing water but stagnant water. Beside the pond were a gourd ladle and a wooden bucket, presumably for daily maintenance of the pond.
Connecting the pavilion and courtyard was a handmade wooden bridge, rather simply constructed, likely made by the Wang Family. The bridge was about half a meter long and wide, sturdy enough for walking. Inside the pavilion were stone tables and chairs carved from blue stone, with much more exquisite craftsmanship and patterns. The round table and stone stools showed varying degrees of wear, indicating that the owner truly cherished this place.
Wang San moved quickly; when he came back, he carried a tray made of Redwood. On the tray were three plates and a teapot. The three white jade plates held green bean cake, crystal cake, chestnut pastry, etc., which appeared to have been made by the mistress of the Wang Family. The appearance was somewhat rough, but the ingredients were quite substantial. The teapot seemed to be an old item with exquisite craftsmanship; its contents had a pleasant aroma of Tea Leaves, clearly indicating it was new tea harvested this year.
"These items were prepared by my father and mother. You won't find anything delicate like this in an ordinary household; please enjoy them without any reservations."
"Brother Wang, you're being too polite. In the eyes of a Fox Demon, these are far better than what is sold outside." Xing Ruyi said as she picked up a piece of chestnut pastry without caring about her image and took a big bite. Perhaps because she didn't act like an ordinary Lady Qianjin, or perhaps because calling him "Brother Wang" brought them closer together, Wang San also seemed much more relaxed.
"The matter between my family and Wang Chengjia goes back over twenty years."
Twenty-one years ago, on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month shortly after the Lunar New Year, there was still a festive atmosphere lingering in Luoyang City.
That year, Wang Fu had just turned sixteen; he was still an unmarried young man. His neighbor, Wang Shu, was three years older than him and had ancestral ties to his family; they played together often. The eighteenth day of January was when Wang Shu got married; as his brother, naturally, Wang Fu woke up early.
At that time, the surrounding houses had not yet been renovated; the residence of the Wang Family was more spacious than what one sees now. However, Wang Shu's home appeared somewhat dilapidated and crowded. The courtyard where Wang Shu lived had also been divided from the old residence of the Wang Family, but it was located in the least favorable position. The courtyard only had two rooms: one main room that had been renovated into a new house for Wang Shu, and another side room where his parents lived. The kitchen was merely a shed with a roof made of straw. Although their home was shabby, his new wife was extraordinary—she was famous as the beauty from the west side's tofu shop known as Tofu Beauty, often referred to as the first beauty of the Rouge Shop, known as Purple Jade Maiden.
Talented Man and Beautiful Woman can be considered a match made in heaven. After several rounds of drinks, Wang Shu stumbled into the Wedding Chamber. In his drunken haze, he realized that his new Wife was missing! He called for friends and family to search everywhere, but to no avail, leaving everyone astonished.
After searching for a long time and planning to send someone to the Yamen to report the incident, someone discovered the new Wife hanging from the Black Sophora tree at the entrance of the Wang Family home. At that moment, the bride was disheveled, with marks of being bound on her hands and feet, and a character for "Wang" written in her palm. After some contemplation, everyone concluded that the character in her palm was not referring to her groom Wang Shu, but rather indicated the identity of her murderer.
"So, Wang Shu's family suspects that it was your father Wang Fu who kidnapped and even assaulted the bride?"
Wang San sighed softly and nodded: "The body was found at my family's doorstep under the Black Sophora, and at that time my father was drunk at home, also disheveled, with injuries on his forehead. Given all these signs, it’s hard not to suspect him."
"Then is it true that the new Wife's death is related to your father?"
"Of course not! Although my father has no official title, he is self-taught in poetry and propriety; how could he ever betray a friend's wife? Even if she were not Wang Shu's but belonged to a commoner, my father would never entertain such thoughts." Wang San said, shaking his head repeatedly. "This matter eventually reached the Government Office, and at that time, people from the Yamen took my father back for further investigation. But ultimately it was confirmed that my father had indeed been drinking at the Wang Family home and returned alone after getting drunk. The injuries he had were from colliding with someone on his way back, and that person was found as well, confirming that my father's account was truthful. The Coroner examined the bride's body and confirmed it was a suicide, not a murder. Although there were signs of assault, there was no evidence linking it to my family, so my father was exonerated. However, Wang Shu's family remained unyielding and insisted that my father was the murderer."
"What happened afterward?"
"Wang Shu's family caused a ruckus for half a year before things gradually calmed down. However, from then on, our families became enemies, and the brotherly bond between my father and Wang Shu was severed. Later on, when Wang Shu joined the military and became an official, he used his power to seize nearly half of our family's property. My father was heartbroken but felt powerless against an official; plus, my mother was pregnant at that time, so he silently endured it. The following years were relatively peaceful until my elder brother hanged himself from the Black Sophora. Only then did my father realize that our family had long been sabotaged by Wang Shu. That man appears to be a righteous gentleman on the surface but is actually vengeful!"
"What did Wang Shu do?"
"He buried a cat beneath our main house!"
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