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“Winter Pearl is dead!” Neighbor Mother Wang whispered mysteriously into Xing Ruyi's ear.
“It was only discovered after she had been dead for a long time!” Mother Wang quickly added when she saw Xing Ruyi's lack of reaction. “When they carried her back, her face was already rotten; I saw it with my own eyes. Poor Dongzhu's Mother too. When she was young, she was abandoned by the man she loved. At that time, she was already pregnant with Winter Pearl. In the heavy snow, she knelt in the snow begging her man to come back, and even we neighbors felt pity for her. Later, I don’t know if that man softened his heart or just cared about his own reputation, but he went back to Dongzhu's Mother. We didn’t hear anything during the night, but the next morning, Winter Pearl was born, and the two of them were left alone in that broken house, with Winter Pearl's father nowhere to be found.
We all speculated that the heartless man probably saw that all the neighbors had left and hardened his heart again, abandoning Dongzhu's Mother. In her agitation and distress, she gave birth prematurely. Fortunately, the neighbors discovered them early and called for Liu, the shopkeeper from our Ji Sheng Tang. Oh, at that time Liu was still young, but his medical skills were already quite good, and he didn’t ask for any money; he saved both mother and child.
It wasn’t easy for this mother and daughter to get through their difficult lives. No matter how hard it was, they slowly managed to survive. Winter Pearl was a beautiful girl with nimble hands and a kind heart. By her teenage years, she had a decent marriage proposal. But then there were complications; before the marriage could happen, her fiancé went off to join the army and disappeared for three years without a word. Winter Pearl missed him day and night and lost weight significantly. That year, I don’t know what got into her; she secretly went out to find her fiancé without telling her mother. As fate would have it, she encountered trouble—rumor has it she was kidnapped by bandits. Just think about it: such a beautiful young lady encountering a group of bandits—what good could come of it? This girl had a fiery temperament; perhaps wanting to preserve her purity, she took her own life.
This is all speculation on our part, but it’s not far from the truth. There were many similar incidents during those years; it’s just that people in the city saw less and knew less about them. In any case, in the end, Dongzhu's Mother went searching for her daughter and found Winter Pearl’s body after much effort; they brought her back home. You can’t imagine the stench—it lingered for quite some time. However, we didn’t hold it against them; we all watched Winter Pearl grow up, so encountering such a tragedy made us all feel sorrowful.
Mother Wang then discreetly pointed at Dongzhu's Mother and quietly asked, “What are you doing here? I see you following Dongzhu's Mother, could it be that she came to ask you to treat her daughter?”
“I’m not a doctor; I sell rouge and face powder,” said Xing Ruyi. “That lady bought some rouge from my shop today and paid for it but didn’t take anything with her. I noticed she seemed a bit dazed, so I quietly followed her—not only to deliver her purchase but also because I was worried and wanted to see if there was anything I could help with.”
“I could tell you’re a kind-hearted girl,” Mother Wang replied while waving her hand dismissively. “But there’s no need for rouge or face powder anymore.” She continued: “Dongzhu's Mother only has one daughter—after Winter Pearl died, her mind hasn’t been quite right; she keeps insisting that her daughter is still alive. But just think about it: with a face so rotten and reeking so badly that it could kill someone, how could she still be alive?”
As Mother Wang spoke here, she lowered her voice further and whispered to Xing Ruyi: “Listen to me; don’t send any rouge. When Dongzhu's Mother remembers it herself, she will come looking for you. It’s not that I want you to miss out on an opportunity; it’s just that you can’t go there.”
“Why not?” Xing Ruyi countered.
Earlier at the Ruyi Rouge shop, after hearing Dongzhu's Mother’s story, she had offered to accompany her back to help treat her daughter. But Dongzhu's Mother refused everything. After listening to neighbor Mother Wang, she had likely reached a conclusion in her mind: if Winter Pearl truly had passed away all those years ago, then what remained in the house now would only be something akin to a living corpse like Dongzhu's Mother.
No! It couldn’t be a living corpse!
For something to be considered a living corpse, there must be one prerequisite: it must retain some semblance of life. Just now, Mother Wang mentioned that when they found Winter Pearl, her face was rotten. Although it couldn’t yet be determined whether Winter Pearl’s face had been beaten or bruised or simply decayed—the overwhelming stench emanating from her body made it clear: Winter Pearl was not alive.
Indeed, Mother Wang's words confirmed Xing Ruyi's earlier speculation.
Mother Wang said, "I saw Winter Pearl being carried inside, but since then, she has never been brought out again. Years ago, we also tried to inquire about her from Dongzhu's Mother, but ever since her man left, she has become increasingly eccentric and reclusive. Her demeanor has turned strange, and even her gaze has become terrifying. We all sought out Common People’s homes and sympathized with her plight, thinking that even if she had a corpse at home, it wouldn't stir up much trouble. But after all, the living and the dead are on different paths. Just look at the houses around us; they all hang red cloth for protection. This is because Winter Pearl's family is haunted!"
"Thank you, Mother Wang. I have noted everything you just said," Fox Demon replied. "However, I still need to deliver this Rouge. Besides, matters of ghosts and spirits are always based on belief; if you believe in them, they exist; if not, they don't. If you are worried, perhaps you should invite a Bodhisattva to place in your home for some comfort."
"Oh dear, why are you so stubborn? I, Mother Wang, am only looking out for your well-being; I'm not just gossiping." Mother Wang waved her hand. "Come see my house; I have invited more than one Bodhisattva, but what good does it do? I can hear Winter Pearl moving around at night. I've long been half in the grave myself; I'm not particularly afraid of ghosts or monsters—everyone has to die eventually, right? At most, in another couple of years, I'll end up like her; who fears whom? I'm concerned for you as a young girl; I don't want you to attract any misfortune. Yet here you are, throwing words back at me."
"The old saying goes: if one does not do anything wrong, one will not be startled by a knock at midnight. The reason you can hear Winter Pearl moving next door is not because her ghost is haunting you but because there is something guilty in your heart." Xing Ruyi suddenly grasped Mother Wang's left hand and lifted it up. On Mother Wang's wrist was a golden bracelet. The quality of the bracelet was average, but it was polished to a shine.
"This bracelet on your wrist originally belonged to Winter Pearl, didn't it?"
"You... what nonsense are you talking? This bracelet is mine; my husband gave it to me when we got married."
"You are lying!" Xing Ruyi held onto her hand tightly. "This bracelet was originally part of a pair and is a style that has only become popular in the last ten years. Both the thickness of the bracelet and the carved patterns are suitable for young girls to wear. Therefore, what you just said about this being something from your wedding is itself a lie."
"This is because I later saw other girls wearing beautiful ones and destroyed the original bracelet to have a craftsman make this one instead. What’s wrong with that?" Mother Wang fiercely protected the bracelet on her wrist.
"There’s nothing wrong with that, but there is an issue with the pattern on this bracelet." Xing Ruyi tightened her grip on Mother Wang's hand. "You take great care in polishing it every day; I imagine you are quite familiar with the design on this bracelet. As Winter Pearl's neighbor, do you know what the name 'Winter Pearl' means? Let me tell you: it’s because Winter Pearl was born in winter under a bright silver moon, and that beam of moonlight happened to shine through a broken window onto the face of the newborn girl, making her radiate a charm like that of a pearl. Moreover, she was her mother's only hope and thus precious like a pearl in her mother’s heart."
"What does that have to do with my bracelet?"
"Of course it does! Because this bracelet was originally part of a pair that Dongzhu's Mother carefully prepared as a gift for Winter Pearl before she was born; it also served as part of her dowry."
The bracelet depicted is not the usual dragon and phoenix motif or any simple pattern, but rather the scene of Dongzhu's birth. This is not a custom of us people from the Central Plains, but a unique tradition from the hometown of Dongzhu's Mother.
Xing Ruyi took the bracelet from Mother Wang's hand and raised it high for her to see. "This bracelet is carved using the Yin-Yang method, meaning its design features one yin and one yang, with one side concave and the other convex responding to each other. Moreover, the patterns on the front and back, as well as those on the left and right sides, are interconnected."
Seeing Mother Wang in a daze, Xing Ruyi smiled and continued, "Mother Wang, are you curious? Curious about how I know this bracelet is a pair? And even more curious why you didn't see the other one when you stole this bracelet back then?"
Mother Wang pursed her dry lips.
"Now, let me reveal the answer!" Xing Ruyi held the bracelet in her hand. "As fate would have it, I know this bracelet was originally a pair because the other one is in my home. But I am different from you; your bracelet was stolen from Winter Pearl's family, while mine was gifted by a friend. Mother Wang, do you remember what just happened? It was Liu Zhanggui from Jishengtang who saved Winter Pearl and her mother without asking for a penny."
Mother Wang nodded.
"In fact, Liu Zhanggui did not take anything for free; he took the other bracelet from this pair. At that time, besides these bracelets, Dongzhu's Mother had no other valuables. The debt of gratitude for saving a life outweighed everything else. According to Dongzhu's Mother's character, she certainly would not want to accept this favor without giving something in return, so she gifted one of these bracelets to Liu Zhanggui as payment for medical expenses.
Later on, when Liu Zhanggui got married, he passed this bracelet on to his wife. As for me, I have a close relationship with Madam Liu and have also helped their family with significant matters, so this bracelet was eventually given to me by Madam Liu. Coincidentally, she had also told me about the origins of this bracelet, and her description matched exactly what Dongzhu's Mother had told me."
"Just based on this alone, you can't claim that I took this bracelet from Winter Pearl!"
"Of course it's not just based on that; I have other discoveries too. Mother Wang, would you like to hear them?"
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