Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Yun Family Compound.
The mist thickened, as if trying hard to conceal the secrets of the Luo family estate that were about to be revealed.
Starting from Ruyi Rouge, passing through the main street and crossing the Fulu Bridge, turning into Furong Alley, and traversing a narrow, long alley, one finally arrived at the Luo family.
Unlike the bustling scene when Luo Fu was getting married last time, today the Luo family was unusually quiet. The white walls and blue tiles stood out, with freshly pasted Spring Festival couplets now covered by a layer of white mourning banners, making it appear somewhat jarring compared to the surrounding residences.
Xing Ruyi and Deer Lady exchanged a glance and walked to the door, lightly knocking twice on the door panel.
The door creaked open.
A child of about eleven or twelve years old appeared, still looking sleepy and dressed in coarse clothing. Upon seeing Xing Ruyi and Deer Lady, he paused for a moment, rubbed his eyes, and said, "The old master is ill and is not receiving guests today."
"The old master is ill?" Xing Ruyi glanced at the child and said, "That's just right; I am a doctor. My surname is Xing, my name is Fox Demon. I am your Young Lady's attending physician. I came here today as previously arranged with your Young Lady to provide her with a consultation. Please inform your family."
The boy looked at Xing Ruyi with confusion but, seeing her certainty, hesitated to question further and replied, "Please wait here; I will go ask my lady first."
Xing Ruyi nodded and stood properly in place, showing no intention of stepping inside.
Through the crack of the door, one could see the shadow wall of the Luo family, which also bore a gloomy aura of death, adding an extra layer of lifelessness to the already vast estate.
When the boy left in a daze and walked slowly, he returned running out of breath. Upon seeing Xing Ruyi, he bowed and said, "Miss, please come in! My eyes were dull; I didn't realize you were an esteemed guest invited by our Young Lady."
"What esteemed guest? I'm just a doctor here to see patients. By the way, what is your name? I vaguely remember that the person responsible for guarding the door was slightly older than you."
"Yes! I was temporarily assigned to help out. There have been many matters in the household recently, and there aren't enough hands."
"In that case, it must be difficult for you. Looking at your age, those dark circles under your eyes are quite heavy; you probably haven't had much rest these past few days."
The boy shyly scratched his head and said, "There are some strange happenings in the residence. There’s all sorts of things going on, and I live alone at the corner gate. I worry about making mistakes and getting scolded by the steward, and I'm also afraid of the rumors circulating in the house. So at night, I always dare not sleep, and I can't fall asleep either."
As he spoke, he arrived at the courtyard where Young Master Luo Ping and Young Lady Yunxi lived.
A new couplet was posted on the courtyard door. It was unclear whether it was a mistake by the Luo family's servants or if they were being considerate of Yunxi's pregnancy, but there were no white mourning couplets attached; instead, it still bore auspicious phrases.
Xing Ruyi immediately noticed the character for "boat," which looked odd because it was missing a horizontal stroke.
"Who wrote this couplet?" Xing Ruyi pointed at the character for "boat." "Why is the last stroke missing?"
"The last stroke of the character for 'boat'? What do you mean by that?"
Xing Ruyi gently traced a horizontal line below the character for "mouth." "There should be a horizontal stroke here, but now it's missing. I don't know if the person who wrote this couplet did it on purpose or simply forgot while writing."
The boy examined the character closely, then glanced at Xing Ruyi with some embarrassment and said, "Although I've read a few books with the steward, I only recognize very simple characters. I don’t know this character for 'boat,' so I can't tell if that stroke was ever there or not. However, I've heard that in previous years, the couplets in the residence were written by the master himself. This year has been eventful; I don't know if it was still written by him."
The last sentence was spoken with great care, and his voice was very low.
Xing Ruyi gave him an understanding look and then discreetly had Deer Lady give him some loose silver coins, saying, "This money is to treat you to tea and stories."
"I can't accept! If my Young Master or Young Lady finds out, who knows how they would scold me."
The boy repeatedly declined, but Xing Ruyi did not insist. She secretly signaled to Deer Lady. While the boy turned to leave, Deer Lady quietly placed a protective talisman on him.
In such troubled times for the Luo family, it was better to protect an innocent person if possible.
Upon entering the courtyard, she not only saw Yunxi, who was six months pregnant but also Luo Ping beside her. Luo Ping seemed much older and appeared exceptionally fatigued.
"Young Master Luo! Young Lady!"
“Ruyi!” Yunxi's lips moved slightly as she glanced at her husband, Luo Ping.
“Listen, Yunxi, Ruyi, you are a doctor. I wonder if you could please take a look at my father.”
“Luo Laoye?”
“Luo Ping knew that this request was somewhat sudden and might put you in a difficult position. It's just that my father is stubborn and refuses to let anyone go out to find a doctor, but I…”
“Luo Shaojie’s meaning is understood by Fox Demon. Since we are here, I don't mind seeing one more patient.”
“Ruyi, please follow me!”
Luo Ping said this and first escorted Yunxi back to their bedroom before leading them to an old courtyard.
“This is my father's residence.” Luo Ping noticed the concern in Xing Ruyi's eyes and pointed to the old courtyard. “According to the housekeeper, this is how our Luo family originally looked. Although our business has improved over time and the courtyard has expanded, this place has never changed. My father has always lived here and refuses to move out.”
Xing Ruyi scanned the area with her big eyes. The courtyard was indeed small, with walls that appeared lower compared to the surrounding courtyards. In fact, one of the walls had wild grass growing on top of it. The black door was slightly ajar, and through the crack, she could see that there were quite a few flowers and plants growing inside, though none of them were particularly valuable.
Xing Ruyi exchanged glances with Deer Lady before stepping inside.
The door to the main room was open, and it was dimly lit inside. Luo Ping stood at the entrance and called out, “Father, it's your son! May I come in?”
“Is it Ping'er? Come in!”
After a brief silence, a man's voice came from inside. The voice was heavy and clearly belonged to someone who was ill, and not lightly so.
“Son… I brought someone with me; it's the Female Doctor who helped Yunxi before.”
“A doctor…” Luo Laoye hesitated for a moment. “Since you are here, then come in together!”
Xing Ruyi entered the room.
As soon as she stepped inside, she clearly felt a chill in the air, mixed with a coldness that was different from the warmth of the living world.
A few seconds later, Xing Ruyi's eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she saw a beautiful young woman standing beside the bed curtains. When their eyes met, Xing Ruyi used her ghostly powers and heard Deer Lady say to the beautiful woman, "The road is the road, and the bridge is the bridge. We have no intention of interfering in your past grievances, but since we have come at someone's request, we hope not to encounter any meddlesome spirits."
"Xi'er does not wish to do anything."
The beautiful woman replied, her gaze never leaving Xing Ruyi.
"Xi'er has sought out Ruyi, not out of boldness or intent to offend, but because Xi'er has a story to tell you. Cui Daren said that young ladies love stories. Once this story is finished, Xi'er will be able to truly leave."
"Please go ahead, Miss Xi'er!"
Xing Ruyi said to Xi'er while walking over to Lord Luo's side and whispering another sentence to him.
"Can the Fox Demon take a pulse for the lord?"
Lord Luo looked seriously at Xing Ruyi and did not refuse. Thus, while Xing Ruyi took Lord Luo's pulse, she listened to Xi'er tell her story.
More than twenty years ago, there was chaos near Yun Village. This chaos seemed to be triggered by a single event, but its roots lay thousands of miles away in Chang'an.
It was said that one deep night, Empress Wu had a strange dream.
She dreamed that a monster was chasing her. The creature had an unusual appearance; it was neither human nor beast, neither demon nor monster. From afar it looked like nothing in particular, but up close it had no eyebrows, nose, or eyes—only a mouth with an upper lip visible, while the lower lip was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing this creature filled Empress Wu with fear. She turned to flee and called out for her guards on either side. However, no matter how loudly she shouted, it seemed that in the vast darkness she was all alone, and she could never shake off that monster.
Finally, the monster cornered her in a dead end. It said in a strange tone, "Without hands, without legs, without a body, but I still have a mouth."
Wu Zetian suddenly woke up.
The bedroom was dark, with not a sound to be heard.
She urgently ordered the Court Lady to light the candles and look around, but how could the scenes from the Nightmare overlap with reality? However, Wu Zetian did not think so; she felt that the recent Nightmare was some kind of hint given to her. So she wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and issued the first Imperial Edict, which was quite inexplicable but very cold-blooded.
The first edict was to execute the palace guards on duty at night, reasoning that when she encountered danger in her dream, not a single guard came to save her.
The second edict was to eliminate the remnants of the Consort of Sin. Not only would the Nine Clans be punished, but everyone associated with them would also be executed, even those who were not blood relatives. As for who this handless, legless, bodiless Consort of Sin was, everyone in the world knew.
The third edict was to seek out extraordinary individuals and conduct dealings with the underworld, using living souls as sacrifices to seal the mouth of the Consort of Sin.
Among these three Imperial Edicts, the first and second were public decrees, while the third was a secret decree and the most outrageous of all. But Wu Zetian took it seriously; who wouldn't?
Xi Er was the sacrificial maiden chosen by folk sorcerers for Wu Zetian. To ensure she died appropriately, those people even gave her the title of "remnant of the Consort of Sin."
As for Lord Luo, he was not just a Peddler; he was actually a palace dark guard selected by the court to choose sacrificial maidens.
Comment 0 Comment Count