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墨書 Inktalez
Listening to the story of the fox, Xing Ruyi's mind unexpectedly conjured up a terrifying image. She seemed to see a butler with a face full of wrinkles standing in the flickering candlelight, his face shifting between light and shadow. She thought she heard the butler's voice, rough like sandpaper, calling out, "The ceremony is complete~"
As the words fell, one of the women who had been restraining the girl released her grip. The girl seemed to see hope in an instant, a faint light bursting from her eyes. She cried out and struggled even harder.
The woman sneered at her, then walked over to the now-dead groom. With scissors in hand, she cut off a lock of his hair and then did the same to the girl, tying the two strands together. She looked at the girl and said, "Black hair entwined with black hair; love remains even after death."
"Ugh..."
The girl watched as the woman tossed the intertwined black hair into the coffin, letting out a piercing wail.
"New lady, please don't cry out. If you frighten the Young Master, both Master and Madam will be angry."
The woman grinned maliciously as she pulled away the cloth that had been gagging the girl.
"What are you going to do? Let me go! Hurry and let me go! I am the General's Wife; I am to be the future General's Wife! You cannot treat me like this!"
"The General's Wife?" The woman looked at her disdainfully from head to toe. "If you want to be the General's Wife, that's not impossible. Once you get there, take good care of our Young Master. Perhaps your wish will come true. As for now, you are just our Young Lady. Don't think that this title is less glorious than General's Wife; here, you are still quite fortunate. Oh, by the way, if you have anything to say, you'd better say it quickly because soon enough, your words will only reach those on the other side."
While her mouth had been gagged, the girl had nearly screamed with all her might. Now that she could speak again, she looked into the woman's eyes and listened to her threatening yet mocking words but couldn't utter a single word.
Tears involuntarily streamed down her face. She trembled as she pleaded, "I was wrong; I was really wrong. Please, please let me go. I didn't mean to harm him; he deceived me first by pretending to be my husband... It was his fault... all his fault. I was just so angry that I did that. I beg you; let me go, please. I don't want to die yet; I haven't found my husband yet; I need to live. I'm begging you."
"At this point, how dare you still speak nonsense?" The high-and-mighty lady finally spoke up, her tone harsh and cold. "Nursemaid, sew up her deceitful mouth so that on Yellow Springs Road she won't say anything unnecessary in front of my son and upset him."
"Yes, Madam!"
The woman called Nursemaid smiled as she picked up a sewing kit from beside her. She selected the thickest needle and threaded it with coarse red thread before stepping in front of the girl.
"Please bear with me a little longer, New Lady. My hands are quite nimble; I've been doing this kind of work for years and can guarantee that I'll sew your mouth quickly and neatly so that you won't utter any nonsense in front of our Young Master."
"What are you going to do? What are you going to do?" The girl began to struggle fiercely again. "I don't want it! I don't want it! I—"
"Look at what our New Lady is saying; our Madam is doing this for your own good. This Underworld is not like the living world. You can't speak well either; if you upset our Young Master over there or anger a Ghost Messenger while you're at it, you'll be in big trouble." The Nursemaid continued as she gritted her teeth and pushed the needle through the girl's mouth, stitching it shut piece by piece. "You need to understand that people often bring disaster upon themselves through their words. Once you're over there, learn to keep quiet. Understand this: Marriage proposals are usually arranged by parents and matchmakers. No matter what kind of connection you have with our Young Master, once you've married and gone through the rites and entered the Wedding Chamber, you're husband and wife. The principle of obeying one's father at home and one's husband after marriage—how can you not understand? If you don't understand that, how can you still fantasize about being in another man's embrace? Tsk tsk, our Young Master may tolerate it; however, our Master and Madam certainly will not."
With that, Nursemaid forcefully yanked on the thread in her hands until it snapped. Then she took a step back as if admiring her handiwork while carefully examining the girl's bloodied mouth.
"Ah! The thread is crooked. It's your fault, new lady, for always being so restless and moving around. At this rate, when you reincarnate in the next life, you'll probably end up with a centipede's mouth," the Nursemaid said, laughing inappropriately.
The pain in her mouth shot straight to her heart. The girl weakly struggled a couple of times before giving up. Tears continued to flow down her cheeks, and the hot droplets touching her lips intensified the pain.
It was almost midnight, and the high-ranking Master and Madam stood up.
The servants first helped their Young Master, who was also the Groom, into the coffin, followed by those burly Women who lifted the girl high into the air.
As the girl watched the coffin draw closer and closer, she felt a bit of strength returning to her body. She struggled and tried to retreat, but it was futile. She was heavily thrown into the coffin, lying next to her already deceased One Night Husband, and she could even smell the stench of death on him. Before she could think further, she was forcefully pressed down into the coffin by several hands. The so-called steward approached with long wooden nails in hand.
The girl widened her eyes in terror as she watched the steward drive those nails into her ankles, wrists, palms, and finally her throat. Then everything plunged into darkness.
She didn't know how long it had been when she woke up from the darkness to find herself still in the coffin. In front of her flickered a small firelight. Amidst the dancing flames, she saw that terrifying face...
Xing Ruyi wanted to ask the fox who that face belonged to when footsteps echoed from outside again. Looking up, she saw A Niu half-supporting and half-dragging someone inside.
"Shopkeeper, come quickly and take a look!"
A Niu entered the courtyard without raising his head and called out.
The fox frowned and looked at Xing Ruyi.
Xing Ruyi chuckled and hurriedly explained, "This is a new Clerk I hired for Xing; I plan to train him as a reserve talent. Just think about it—I have to go back to Qingqiu to marry you, right? At that time, Li Mao, Yin Yuan, and Brother Chang will all have to follow us. We can't abandon our shop at Yun Family Gathering either. After all, it's an inheritance left by Bai Jiao; it can at least earn some silver for our daily expenses. A Niu here is from Yun Family Gathering; he has lived here since childhood and has some education. He can do some accounting and is honest and reliable—he's the most suitable candidate. I've had Li Mao take him under his wing these days. You know that when you're not around, I haven't had much motivation to work, so I haven't been able to pay attention to them."
The fox lightly hummed in response without saying anything more. A Niu had already dragged Hu Da into the room.
"Who is this?"
"Hu Family Master; I ran into him at the intersection this morning. He's completely out of his mind and even broke my incense," A Niu said as he glanced at the bed where the Night Watchman family lay side by side. He couldn't help but feel anxious: "Shopkeeper, I..."
All expressions on A Niu's face froze as he finally saw the fox—the handsome man who looked like he had just stepped out of a painting.
"Shopkeeper, is he... is he a deity?"
"A deity?" Xing Ruyi looked at the fox and smiled: "Sort of! Let me introduce you—this is my husband Lord Yin Chensi; you should have heard about him from Yin Yuan or Li Mao. He just returned today after handling some business. In Xing, everyone usually calls him Yin Ye; you can call him that too. This is A Niu; I've already introduced him to you earlier."
"A Niu has met Yin Ye." A Niu adjusted her clothes and bowed, saying, "No wonder Young Master Yin is so good-looking; it turns out it's all thanks to Yin Ye."
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying it's all Yin Ye's doing? Shopkeeper, am I really that ugly? Can't Yin Yuan look like me?" Xing Ruyi asked several questions in a row.
A Niu realized she had misspoken, chuckled awkwardly, and lowered her head.
"Shopkeeper, my incense has burned out. How are my uncle and Aunt doing? Have they been affected because of me?"
After waiting for a while and seeing that Xing Ruyi was not as angry anymore, A Niu finally asked.
"Your uncle's condition is quite bad; his soul is lost and cannot be retrieved. As for whether to keep him like this or find a day to send him off, it depends on what your Aunt and nephew think. Your Aunt and nephew are fine; they just went through some things and need to rest. I estimate they will wake up by nightfall.
Here, I've already prepared the medicine. Since you have returned, stay here to watch over them. When they wake up, remind them to take the medicine and observe for a while; everything should be fine. As for Hu Da, I remember there is a Temple near the Yun Family Gathering. He has committed many sins and has now fallen into such a state; he can only be sheltered in such a place. Regarding the Hu Family's assets, I will have Brother Chang go to the Yamen shortly to have the Government Office handle it. Half of the Silver Coins will go into the local treasury, and the other half will be donated to the Temple, which will cover Hu Da's expenses for these years."
"Is that okay? What if the people at the Government Office refuse to help?" A Niu asked quietly while glancing at Hu Da.
"When there's profit to be made, people at the Government Office are quicker than anyone else. Don't worry; at most in two days, these matters will be settled." Xing Ruyi took hold of the fox's hand and said, "Alright, I can only help with your uncle's family matters up to this point. My husband has finally returned; I need to leave some time for him as well. Right, my lord Husband?"
The fox raised an eyebrow in a somewhat proud response, while Xing Ruyi had already stepped one foot out the door.
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