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墨書 Inktalez
"Regarding this Miss Yun from the Yun family, I heard the county magistrate mention her when I first arrived at the paper shop. The case is not complicated, just a bit brutal."
Chang Tai is an honest man; whatever Xing Ruyi asks, he answers without noticing the admiration in the eyes of the villagers when he mentions the county magistrate.
The county magistrate! To the court, he may be just a minor official, but to ordinary villagers, he is a significant figure. Yet this young man speaks so casually about "the county magistrate mentioned," leading them to wonder what kind of background this young fellow has.
Aside from Chang Tai, the villagers also noticed the young lady who had just asked him a question—Xing Ruyi—and the fox standing beside her, along with two luxurious carriages behind them and a beautiful young woman and another girl peering out from one of the carriages.
Their gaze returned from the curious face of the girl to Xing Ruyi and the fox. Although the fox had adopted a more ordinary appearance, his outstanding demeanor, combined with Xing Ruyi's expensive attire, made it seem as though this group was returning home from some wealthy family in the city. After mulling over this in his mind, the village chief stepped forward and asked, "May I inquire who these esteemed guests are?"
"Just passing through!" Xing Ruyi replied shyly, pointing to Yin Yuan, who was squeezed among the crowd. "We're looking for someone!"
At that moment, everyone noticed that a pretty child had joined their group without them realizing it. The child's face was both charming and mischievous, instantly capturing most of the villagers' attention.
When Yin Yuan respectfully called out "Mother" to Xing Ruyi, everyone collectively gasped. Then when Yin Yuan called out "Father" to the fox, another gasp followed. The reason was simple: if someone as beautiful as Xing Ruyi had a child who looked even better than her, it seemed normal. However, if her partner was the rather plain-looking fox beside her, it felt somewhat unusual.
Xing Ruyi lightly cleared her throat and said, "This is my adopted son Yin Yuan; he is my fiancé with the surname Yin. This is Brother Chang, a Constable serving in Divine Capital. The two people in the carriage behind are my family members, and this one squeezed among the crowd is our assistant. We encountered some issues on our way here, so our assistant brought the child to stay in the village while we rushed over to pick them up this morning."
The village chief nodded and looked at Chang Tai with newfound respect. "So you are a Constable serving in Divine Capital; no wonder you appear so imposing."
Imposing? Isn't that how one describes statues in temples? Xing Ruyi examined Chang Tai; although he wasn't smiling today, he didn't seem particularly imposing either—just somewhat authoritative. However, she could guess what was on the villagers' minds; if she were in her own time period, she would have felt apprehensive—oh no, respectful—toward those dressed in official robes and would have kept her distance.
"Brother Chang, quickly tell me what happened with this Miss Yun! I am genuinely curious; looking at her attire doesn't seem like she comes from an ordinary family, and she doesn't appear to be someone malicious either."
"I don't know how Miss Yun was before," Chang Tai replied while glancing at Miss Yun lying on the ground. She wore a bright red wedding garment soaked with cold well water that clung to her body. Her hair was disheveled, her complexion pale with hints of blue, and her eyes tightly closed; she looked almost as if she were merely asleep.
Chang Tai thought for a moment before taking off his outer robe and walking over to cover Miss Yun with it. "Please ask the village chief to find an old garment to cover this gentleman's body as well. Regardless of how he lived before, once dead he should not be exposed like this in front of everyone; it feels quite inappropriate."
"Of course! That one over there—Dog Er—take off your outer shirt and cover him," said the village chief while pointing at Dog Er. Reluctantly, Dog Er removed his outer shirt and draped it over Old Wei's body while standing there rubbing his arms as if he would freeze without that shirt. Seeing this, Xing Ruyi immediately signaled Li Mao with her eyes. When Li Mao returned from the carriage, he held two garments.
One was for Chang Tai and one for Dog Er. The garment for Chang Tai was specially made by Xing Ruyi at a brocade shop when they left Luoyang for winter wear; not only did Chang Tai receive one but Li Mao and Shengzi also prepared theirs together. The garment for Dog Er was an old piece that Li Mao had worn before but was superior in quality and warmth compared to what Dog Er had just taken off.
With new clothing now available, Dog Er was naturally thrilled; even those villagers who hadn't taken off their clothes regretted not doing so sooner. They thought that if they had removed their outer garments earlier, perhaps they could have worn those new clothes instead.
The case concerning Miss Yun is indeed not complicated; strictly speaking, it is a murder case arising from a romantic dispute. Miss Yun was eighteen years old and had been promised in marriage to Young Master Ma from Lincheng since childhood; they had agreed that once she turned eighteen, he would come to propose marriage.
Time passed quickly, and soon Sister Yun turned eighteen. The Ma Family, as agreed, sent Young Master Ma along with family servants to propose marriage, and the Yun Family naturally received them warmly. On one hand, they were reluctant to marry off their daughter so soon; on the other hand, they wanted Sister Yun to spend more time with Young Master Ma, hoping that the two would develop feelings for each other before getting married, making their future life more harmonious. Thus, the Yun Family retained Young Master Ma for a few more days.
At first, everything went well. During this time, Eldest Sister Yun would meet with Young Master Ma a couple of times under the arrangements of her father and Concubine, sharing their thoughts and chatting. However, just as Young Master Ma was about to return home, he suddenly presented two conditions to Lord Yun.
First, he wanted to buy the freedom of Eldest Sister Yun's maid. Second, he hoped to dissolve his engagement with Eldest Sister Yun. The reason was simple: Young Master Ma had taken a liking to the maid beside Sister Yun and vowed that he would only marry her.
Lord Yun felt embarrassed and angry but maintained his composure in front of Young Master Ma. Instead, he sent someone to ask his daughter for her opinion. Sister Yun replied that while she could agree to let Young Master Ma buy the maid's freedom, the engagement could not be dissolved. The reason was straightforward: this engagement had been established years ago, and everyone knew that Sister Yun was to marry Young Master Ma; backing out now would be tantamount to ruining her reputation.
If Young Master Ma liked her maid, that was acceptable because the maid was originally Sister Yun's personal servant and would naturally serve as her dowry maid when she married into the Ma Family. If Young Master Ma liked her, he could take her as a Concubine after Sister Yun entered the family.
Eldest Sister Yun was well-educated and refined, a standard lady from a prominent family who had long been favored by Madam Ma; otherwise, she wouldn't have been betrothed so early. Faced with such an embarrassing situation, she did not become angry but instead proposed a solution with grace. Naturally, Young Master Ma had nothing to say and could only agree. The marriage between the Yun Family and the Ma Family proceeded as planned.
On the wedding day, Young Master Ma rode a tall horse and led a grand wedding procession to the Yun Family to fetch his bride. According to local customs, when the groom arrives at the bride's home for the wedding, they must eat dumplings. As soon as the groom entered, the bride's family began boiling dumplings. Once cooked, they served an even number in bowls for both the groom and bride to eat.
While cooking dumplings had no particular requirements, eating them did have its rules: both the groom and bride had to eat an even number from their respective bowls. Typically, each bowl would contain one dumpling; eating six or eight dumplings was reasonable since it symbolized leaving some for the bride's family—indicating that they couldn't consume everything! Similarly, the bride also needed to leave some behind to signify that she wouldn't take all of her family's belongings away.
The dumplings that Young Master Ma ate were personally made by Sister Yun; even the filling was chopped by her own hands. However, on his wedding day, it seemed that Young Master Ma had little interest in what he was eating; even during the meal, his gaze wandered through the crowd. Finally, after finishing his sixth dumpling and while the maids were busy collecting bowls, he asked Sister Yun: "What about her?"
This "her" referred not to anyone else but Sister Yun's personal maid—the one whom Young Master Ma had set his sights on and held dear in his heart.
Sister Yun's expression changed immediately but she still tried hard to suppress her feelings and asked Young Master Ma: "Do you really like her that much?"
Young Master Ma nodded. Looking at Sister Yun's not-so-pleasant face, he intensified his tone: "I am marrying you today because our families have an engagement; you are my Daughter-in-law from the Ma Family, and that will never change. But please remember that my heart only cares for her. Even if she is just your dowry maid or merely a concubine in my family, I will cherish her greatly. What you can have is merely the title of my wife."
Sister Yun remained silent for a while until prompted by the Matchmaker beside them; then she looked at Young Master Ma and asked: "Was that bowl of dumplings good?"
Young Master Ma frowned and instinctively glanced at the porcelain bowl in his hands—a beautifully crafted white porcelain soup bowl filled with clear broth fragrant with sesame oil sprinkled with chives on top. Beneath it lay uneaten dumplings—neatly wrapped and tightly sealed. The dumpling skins were translucent pinkish-white like delicate skin of a young girl.
"Was this dumpling good?"
Sister Yun asked again.
Young Master Ma looked down at her; in truth, he hadn't paid attention to the taste of those dumplings at all—his mind was entirely on his beloved person. Before marriage, his parents forbade him from visiting the Yun Family or even inquiring about anything related to his beloved. While others saw Sister Yun as an educated lady who would make an excellent wife, only he knew about the true nature hidden beneath that refined exterior. He worried that his beloved might be bullied by Sister Yun; especially since he had been there for quite some time without seeing that person who occupied his thoughts constantly.
At this moment, Master Ma found it hard to understand Sister Yun's thoughts, so he replied sullenly, "It's not bad!"
"Is that all? Just 'not bad'?" Sister Yun smiled oddly and suddenly leaned closer to Master Ma, asking, "Do you know what filling is used to make the dumplings?"
"What filling?" Master Ma felt flustered by Sister Yun's smile, and a sense of foreboding crept up from his heart. "What have you done to her?"
"What have I done to her? What could I possibly do?" Sister Yun began to laugh maniacally, pointing at Master Ma as she spoke. "Of course, I cleaned her up, chopped her into pieces, and then personally wrapped her into dumplings to present them to you. Then I watched as you swallowed her bite by bite into your own stomach. Don't you like her very much? Doesn't she like you too? Great! I'll make sure you two are together for all eternity, never to be apart even in death!"
"Yun Pianpian, you crazy woman!" Master Ma's expression changed as he suddenly began to vomit.
"Vomit? It seems you don't like her that much after all. Oh, by the way, she doesn't seem to like you as much as you think. When I cut through her tender skin with a knife, guess what she said to me? She didn't like you at all; it was you who forced her! She never even thought about being with you; she begged me—begged me to let her go! But how could that be possible? Who am I? I am Yun Pianpian! If I can't have something, no one else can either. Even if it's something I don't want, others still can't have it."
As Yun Pianpian spoke, she smashed the dishes and removed her wedding garment. Right in front of Master Ma, she tore their marriage certificate into shreds.
"Yes! I do like you and have fantasized countless times about marrying you." Yun Pianpian looked at Master Ma and smiled. "You haven't seen me, but I've seen you many times—countless times. From the moment I saw you, I knew I would become your wife, so I secretly brought my maid to watch you. I thought I would be very happy. I thought that being with you would bring us both happiness, but I never expected that my happiness would end before it even began.
For the sake of happiness, I can clear away all obstacles in my path, but the only thing I can't sweep away is your heart. I know you don't want to marry me; I, Yun Pianpian, can also have the dignity not to marry you. Yes! I can choose not to marry you!"
After saying this, Yun Pianpian, the eldest daughter of the Yun family, jumped down from the second floor where she had been preparing for marriage.
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