Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the deep winter of the North, it rarely rains, but at this moment, winter rain falls from the sky, mixed with icy droplets that resemble snow. Li Mao held an umbrella, standing behind Xing Ruyi, draping a thick cloak over her shoulders, and said, "Shopkeeper, why don't we wait in the carriage?"
"No need for that. Look at the weather; Mother should be coming out soon." Xing Ruyi extended her hand to catch the raindrops, feeling a chilling coldness. "There should still be a spare cloak in the carriage. Bring one over to wrap Mother up later. She's getting older and might not withstand this biting cold."
"The spare cloak has already been taken; it's with A Niu," Li Mao replied as the rain intensified, lowering the umbrella.
Footsteps approached from behind. Turning around, they saw A Niu supporting Old Woman as she walked out from the Ruined Temple. Old Woman had nothing with her, and although Xing Ruyi did not ask anything, she knew in her heart that Abby had gone to where she was meant to be.
Due to the rain, Xing Ruyi and Li Mao took Old Woman back first, leaving A Niu to temporarily look after Abby's body. After Xing Ruyi and Old Woman returned home, Li Mao would drive the carriage over to bring A Niu and Abby's body back for burial.
The journey was silent until they reached Old Woman's house in the mountains. She finally spoke slowly, "Thank you for helping to cover up in the temple. If Abby knew her sister was gone, it would only cause her more worry and make her leave with an unsettled heart."
"How would Mother know that A Zhu is gone?"
"Though my eyes are blind, my ears are not deaf, and my mind is clear." Old Woman groped her way to a corner of the wall and took out a bundle. "A Zhu may not be as gentle as Abby, but she has some stubbornness. Like her sister, she is a kind-hearted child. That year when her sister suffered, she managed to escape. I had some conflicting feelings in my heart, but ultimately I am still her mother; in front of Master, I managed to buy her some time. I know this child has never gone far; she changed her name and stayed within Yun Family Gathering. Although I haven't seen her for years, I know she often visits her sister and comes to see me as well. This is what she left behind."
As Old Woman spoke, she opened the bundle revealing gold beads, silver ingots, jewelry, and various denominations of silver notes.
"At first, she only left some food and scattered silver coins. My eyesight may not be good, but my sense of smell is quite sharp; I could smell various scents from those broken silver coins. So I knew my daughter was not living well outside; all this silver was hard-earned money.
Later on, I met A Niu and asked him to inquire at Yun Family Gathering. That place is quite small; my daughter looks different from ordinary girls—just a little inquiry would reveal everything. I knew she sang at a teahouse and met someone who liked her and married her as his wife. But I never thought of going to find her."
Old Woman carefully wrapped up the bundle again.
"You, as a mother like me, being remembered by Daughter is already a blessing earned from past lives. How could I shamelessly seek her out and disturb her current life? A Zhu may have become someone else's wife, but she has not forgotten me, her mother. The Silver she secretly sends me is increasing, and the silver notes are easy to exchange, yet I have not spent any of it nor let A Niu use even a penny. I plan to have A Niu return these things to her when I am gone. It would already be disgraceful for me, as her mother, not to prepare a dowry for Daughter when she gets married; how could I possibly accept her things?"
"So, when the officials from the Yamen came to find you, you already knew that the deceased Zhu was your Daughter?"
"No! I did not know! Those Yard Officers were all fierce when they came; someone had died near our home and suspected that A Niu and I were the culprits, so they forcibly took us away. When we arrived at the scene, I heard A Niu shouting that he had only met this lady a few times at the market and had no reason to Murder her. As for me, being blind and not knowing this lady, why would I want to kill her?
Seeing that A Niu was eager to defend himself, fearing he might anger those Yard Officers and bring trouble upon himself, I asked him who the deceased was. He then told me that she was the wife of the Wang Family from the silk shop at the Yun Family Gathering, and this lady's surname was Zhu. At that moment, I had a bad feeling and asked A Niu if there were any distinguishing marks on this lady. Coincidentally, A Zhu was not wearing shoes at that time; A Niu told me that this lady had a dignified appearance, somewhat resembling a goddess in a temple, and there seemed to be a black mole on her ankle. At that moment, I knew that the murdered Zhu was my second Daughter, A Zhu."
"You did not inform the Government Office about this matter?"
"No!" The Old Woman shook her head. "Having lived for so many years, I understand well that it is better to avoid trouble than to seek it. If the people at the Government Office found out that this person was my Daughter, they would surely send someone to search my home. And since I still have these things at home, if they ask about them, how could I respond? Should I reveal what happened back then or tell them that this money was secretly sent by A Zhu without her husband's knowledge?
A Zhu is already dead; the dead cannot speak. Those Masters in the Government Office, not all of them are wise; if I say too much, it might drag A Niu into trouble as well. That beggar is a living example of what can happen."
Regarding the Old Woman's explanation, Xing Ruyi believed her. After all, those past events were unclear now, and such a impoverished family hiding so much Silver Coins, it was hard to guarantee that the Government Office wouldn't accuse them of murder for profit.
"Then, on the night that A Zhu was killed, did you hear any noises?"
"Noises? There are always noises in these mountains at night." The Old Woman's eyes turned red. "If I had truly heard something, I would have called out to A Niu. If he had gone out, perhaps my A Zhu would not have died. But aside from the sounds in the mountains, I heard nothing else. A Niu, being young and sleeping soundly, did not hear anything either."
Though unsure which parts of the Old Woman's later words were true or false, Xing Ruyi no longer wished to pursue it further. Regardless of whether she heard anything unusual that night or not, for her, the torment had already been enough.
With a sigh, Xing Ruyi carefully looked at the clear eye of the Old Woman, giving some instructions on what to pay attention to. Then she stood silently on the porch watching the winter rain fall heavier and heavier. This rain was for Abby, as well as being her last remnant in this world.
While helping A Niu to arrange Abby's body, Xing Ruyi took the opportunity to ask about the nails, but she deliberately omitted the word "coffin." Old Woman did not think much of it and recounted the events from that year one by one. When she reached the beams, her tone and demeanor showed no special change; the wood had all been cut from nearby mountains, and the carpenters who made the beams were from nearby villages. As for those nails, most of them were likely brought by the carpenters themselves.
Seeing this situation, Xing Ruyi decided not to press further. The people from that year had either moved away or passed on, and even if she wanted to inquire, she probably wouldn't be able to find out anything. Just as Xing Ruyi was about to leave Old Woman's home with Li Mao, she suddenly said two sentences.
The first sentence: On the day the Temple was completed, which was also the day of Abby's ritual sacrifice, a Taoist priest unexpectedly arrived in the mountains. He claimed to be just passing through and, upon approaching everyone and asking about the reason for building the temple, he jumped onto the roof to take a look at the scenery. Afterward, he left. Since it was merely an episode, those present at the time, including Old Woman herself, did not take it to heart. It was only when Xing Ruyi asked about the nails that Old Woman recalled this incident. She vaguely remembered seeing that Taoist priest nailing something onto a beam but had been too flustered at that time to mention it.
As for that passing Taoist priest, Xing Ruyi had already guessed who he was. In this world, there was no one else who could be so leisurely and eager to meddle in everything except for Moxuyou.
The second sentence: When Daughter A Zhu got married, she had secretly visited the Yun Family Gathering. At that time, her eyesight was still good enough to see some things, and she vaguely recognized the woman standing next to A Zhu. In retrospect, she felt that this woman resembled the Village Chief's Daughter from years ago. However, they had not met many times, so she wasn't entirely sure. Although Old Woman did not know what had happened to her two Daughters while they were fostered at the Village Head's House, after Abby's ritual sacrifice, the calamities in the village not only did not improve but worsened significantly. There was no food left in homes, no water for drinking, and eventually, there were even tragic incidents of cannibalism.
Upon hearing this, Old Woman recounted how after hearing about her family's misfortunes, the Village Chief Daughter returned with her husband and their newborn child. However, as soon as they entered the village, their child was snatched away, and their fate became unknown. Her husband was killed by those frenzied villagers while searching for their child; if it weren't for the protection of Village Chief and his son, she might have also fallen victim to that disaster.
"Given this situation, didn't you worry about A Zhu's safety? After all, considering what happened in the village back then, it's very likely that this Village Chief's Daughter would blame everything on A Zhu."
"How could I not worry? I did have A Niu investigate. This woman is the widow of A Zhu's benefactor and has a different name from that of the former Village Chief's daughter. So I thought... I thought perhaps my eyesight was poor and I mistook someone that day." Old Woman said as she pressed her lips together. "But now that A Zhu has died under suspicious circumstances, I can't help but feel that everything is related to that Village Chief's daughter. Perhaps after that tragedy years ago, she too went into hiding like my daughter A Zhu, remarrying under a new identity."
"Is it possible that the woman you saw back then is actually the same chef who later followed beside A Zhu?"
Comment 0 Comment Count