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Once, Xing Ruyi transformed the unfilial son of Zhang Po's in-laws into a donkey as punishment, ultimately turning him into donkey-hide gelatin and a delicacy for others. The gelatin is still preserved in her Ruyi Rouge shop. Today, she once again saw the person who had been turned into a donkey, but this time it was not her doing; it was the seemingly delicate innkeeper Lingxiang from Longmen Inn.
Initially, it was not Xing Ruyi who discovered the donkeys, but rather a fox. He held her hand and quietly wrote a character in her palm: "donkey!" So she glanced towards the pen where the donkeys were kept.
At first glance, nothing seemed amiss; however, as for Lingxiang, they were all old and weak donkeys, except for the one closest to the corner.
She looked at the fox with a puzzled expression, but he made a "look more closely" gesture. So she earnestly used her Ghost Eye to take another look. To her surprise, upon closer inspection, she was somewhat startled to find that all the donkeys in the pen were actually transformed humans.
Looking again at Lingxiang, wasn't she a demon? Moreover, she was a demon with considerable cultivation. If it weren't for her relatively high-level Ghost Eye, it would have been difficult to discover her true form right away. Not knowing Lingxiang's intentions behind turning these people into donkeys, she took the opportunity while ordering food to probe further and unexpectedly uncovered some truths.
If her guess was correct, Lingxiang's missing husband Su Guangcai was not truly missing; he had been transformed into a donkey and locked in that pen. This answer came directly from Lingxiang herself; she had just mentioned that these donkeys were sold to those in the countryside who needed their strength. However, so many old and weak donkeys had been sold off, yet the strongest one—looking the most vibrant and valuable—had been left behind. Judging by its shadow and the state of the pen, this donkey had been kept there for at least two or three years, coinciding perfectly with the time Su Guangcai went missing.
Xing Ruyi didn't care what Su Guangcai had turned into because such infidelity in marriage—especially with a scumbag who had beaten his original wife three times—was deserving of being turned into a donkey for others to ride and beat, even to be skinned and butchered. It could be considered his last contribution to humanity.
She couldn't quite fathom Lingxiang's thoughts.
At that moment, seeing Lingxiang instinctively pursing her lips, Xing Ruyi realized that this sentimental female demon still couldn't let go of that scumbag; otherwise, she would have long since skinned him alive instead of keeping him well-fed in the donkey pen for three years.
Her eyes darted around before Xing Ruyi addressed the waiting assistant: "To make donkey intestines, the process is quite complicated. First, soak the intestines in clean water for a while. Then turn them inside out and place them on a cutting board. Use a knife to gently scrape off any impurities before rinsing them thoroughly with water. Next, put them in boiling water with cooking wine and cook for about ten minutes. Afterward, take them out and rinse several times with clean water to completely remove any odor before letting them dry for later use.
Then use salt, soy sauce, chili peppers, and a spice bag containing cardamom, grass fruit, sand ginger, cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, and garlic segments. Place everything in a pot of clean water and bring it to a boil to make a marinade. After that, add the dried intestines; first boil them on high heat and then simmer on low heat before cutting them into inch-long pieces for serving."
After Xing Ruyi finished speaking, she made an expression of longing for delicious food that made the assistant lower his head and chuckle.
"Don't worry, Miss. I've noted everything you just said; rest assured it will be done according to your instructions." The assistant turned to face Lingxiang. "Innkeeper, do you have any other instructions? If not, I will go fetch the donkey from the pen."
"I have no other instructions; you may go!" Lingxiang replied while also lowering her head slightly towards Xing Ruyi. "Later I will instruct someone to serve our signature dishes to these esteemed guests. Please enjoy your meal first; if you need anything else, feel free to call me over."
Xing Ruyi smiled and made a gesture indicating that they should help themselves. As Lingxiang turned around and went downstairs,
Once Lingxiang left, Xing Ruyi looked at Chang Tai and said: "Brother Chang, do you dare bet with Fox Demon that Innkeeper Lingxiang is definitely not going to attend to any guests but rather check on that donkey?"
"Could it be that she's worried about that assistant?" Chang Tai replied as he glanced toward the courtyard. From his angle, he could only see the assistant going to fetch the donkey but couldn't tell if Lingxiang was standing in the courtyard.
"She's not worried about that assistant; she's reluctant to part with that donkey!" Xing Ruyi stood up and walked over to look at the listless donkey. "Brother Chang, have you never considered that Lingxiang's husband—the missing Su Guangcai—might still be alive?"
"That hypothesis certainly exists. However, it's been three years now; no matter how heartless Su Guangcai might be—or as you put it Fox Demon—he's quite scummy towards Lingxiang and irresponsible towards this inn; willingly living with that Liu widow must have resulted in some news reaching back."
As far as I know, Su Guangcai also has a mother. Before Su Guangcai met Lingxiang, he often went out on business trips, and no matter how long he was away, he would always ask someone to send a message to his Old Mother to let her know he was safe. He would even ask them to bring back some silver. However, during the time he has been missing, there has been no news at all. This is why the Government Office leans towards what Lingxiang said—that Liu Guafu is greedy for money and killed Su Guangcai.
"What evidence is there? Does Liu Guafu have a history of greed?"
"Yes! Fox Demon, do you know how Liu Guafu became a widow?"
"Brother Chang laughed, 'Fox Demon, I don't know this Liu Guafu, how would I know how she became a widow?' Xing Ruyi fiddled with two chopsticks. 'Brother Chang, stop keeping me in suspense. You don't have the skills to run a teahouse; just tell me the truth. If we wait any longer, we might miss another good show.'"
"Another good show?" Chang Tai asked in confusion.
"First, about Liu Guafu—how did she become a widow? Could it be that she murdered her husband for his wealth? Oh wait, if she really did murder her husband, she wouldn't just become a widow; she'd be a prisoner!"
"Indeed, although this Liu Guafu is greedy and loves money, there is one point where you, Fox Demon, are quite similar."
"What point? Surely I'm not as capable and beautiful as she is?"
Chang Tai shook his head. "Of course she can't compare to your capabilities, Fox Demon. As for beauty, I wouldn't know because I've never seen Liu Guafu."
"Not as capable as me and not as beautiful either. Could it be that she's lucky like me and found a unique Husband? Tsk tsk, the odds are too slim. If she really found a good Husband, she wouldn't be willing to become a widow. So I truly can't imagine what similarities this Liu Guafu has with me besides being a woman."
"Women love money and acquire it through proper means; that's the only similarity!" Chang Tai said while dipping his finger in water and drawing a dot on the table. "Of course, she can't match your skills, Fox Demon. You have real talent and earn money through your own abilities, while her methods are somewhat clumsy but still quite effective."
"Brother Chang, you're really going around in circles!" Xing Ruyi wiped away the dot with her hand. "So what exactly did she do to perfectly transform herself into a widow?"
"This Liu Guafu has married five husbands in total. Except for the first husband who was her original spouse, the others were all subsequent marriages. A subsequent marriage refers to marrying again after the first wife has passed away. Regardless of whether it was the original spouse or later husbands, Liu Guafu chose partners older than herself, each one older than the last. The last one was one of the oldest men in Paper Shop Town at seventy-two years old."
"And then? Did this Liu Guafu just wait for her husbands to die one by one?"
"Wait?" Chang Tai shook his head. "I suppose you could say that! Liu Guafu's first husband was only a little over ten years older than her; he was a hunter who died accidentally while hunting in the mountains. Liu Guafu mourned him for three years before marrying her second husband under her mother's arrangement. She must have had some feelings for her first husband since she didn't choose the second one herself."
"When she married her second husband at nineteen years old, he was forty-two—a craftsman whose wife died during childbirth, leaving behind a daughter. After his daughter married far away, he wanted to remarry but couldn't find anyone suitable until he met Liu Guafu."
"So how did her second husband die? It couldn't have been an accident again?"
"It was human-caused and involved a murder case where Liu Guafu was considered a victim in this case."
"This is quite fresh!" Xing Ruyi began to take an interest in this Liu Guafu. "So what happened with this case?"
"According to the records in the official documents, Liu Widow's second husband was very jealous. Although he admired Liu Widow's beauty, he did not allow her to speak with any other man, and he would even get angry if someone merely looked at her. However, his family was not wealthy, nor did they have a large estate to support Liu Widow, so such situations were unavoidable. As a result, his jealousy grew increasingly intense, and he became more and more stubborn.
One day, a guest of this second husband came to visit while the husband was out. Naturally, Liu Widow received him. In fact, they only exchanged a few words at the door. When the husband returned and saw Liu Widow smiling, he immediately suspected that there was an affair between them and started a fight right there. Liu Widow's second husband was of average build, while the guest was tall and strong; in a moment of rage, he accidentally killed the guest. Thus, Liu Widow became a widow for the second time.
What happened with the third and fourth husbands? Was it also an accident?
As for what happened with the third husband, no one knows; there are no records from the authorities. The fourth husband seems to have died from illness, and as for the fifth husband, he probably just died of old age.
In this way, Liu Widow can be considered quite a remarkable person!
Remarkable?" Chang Tai pondered over that word. "Whether Liu Widow is remarkable or not, I don't know, but in folklore, she is referred to as a 'husband-killer,' so after that, she never remarried. Of course, no man dared to take her home again.
How old was Liu Widow when she disappeared?
About twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, which is older than Su Guangcai.
She is indeed a pitiful person!" Xing Ruyi said as she stood up and walked downstairs. "Brother Chang, do you want to see another good show? I think now would be just the right time."
A good show?" Chang Tai looked at the unmoving fox and wasn't sure if he should make a move."
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