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墨書 Inktalez
“Fresh Beef 100 grams, a piece of scalp, an ounce of heart meat, a piece of tongue tendon, a section of intestines, along with star anise, fennel, grass fruit, cinnamon, Clove, ginger, salt, red oil chili pepper, sesame, and soybean oil in appropriate amounts, mixed evenly—this is my exclusive medicinal dish, Couple's Lung Slices.”
Xing Ruyi brought the prepared Couple's Lung Slices to Yun Zhu, revealing a vibrant array of colors—green, red, and bright hues glistening. Although she knew the ingredients used, it still made her swallow in anticipation.
“Now that the Couple's Lung Slices are ready, all you need to do next is serve this dish to your Master and coax him into eating it,” Xing Ruyi said.
“Is it really that simple?” Yun Zhu asked as she lifted the plate of Couple's Lung Slices.
“Most things in this world are simple; it's just that human hearts are complex, which makes everything seem complicated,” Xing Ruyi replied as she placed the prepared bamboo basket on the table. “Do you still remember what Fox Demon said to you before? This medicinal dish is inherently simple; it only depends on whether you are willing to make the effort. If you are willing, you can certainly win your husband’s true heart. If not, then that true heart is something you will have given up yourself.”
“With the Couple's Lung Slices already prepared, how could I possibly hesitate?” Yun Zhu said as she touched the cotton cloth wrapped around her head. “Now, all I hope is that Shopkeeper’s Method works.”
“Of course it works!” Xing Ruyi replied, pressing her hand on the bamboo basket. “There’s one more thing from Fox Demon.”
“Please go ahead, Shopkeeper.”
“If the scalp, heart meat, tongue tendon, and intestines used in this Couple's Lung Slices do not belong to you, do you know what consequences your Master might face after eating it?”
“Could it be… that it would poison my Master?”
“You truly have a sense of humor. Fox Demon makes medicinal dishes, not poison. It’s getting late; please take your leave now. Oh, and one more thing for you: in a few days will be the day when Fox Demon marries your husband. This isn’t a request for gifts; I just want to inform you that starting this afternoon, my Ruyi Cosmetic Shop will be closed to customers. As for this medicinal dish—whether or not to consume it and what the results will be after consumption—Fox Demon will no longer interfere. Please do not come back again; everything I could do for you has already been done.”
Feeling somewhat guilty, Yun Zhu agreed and left some Silver Coins, taking the plate of Couple's Lung Slices with her.
“Have they left?”
The fox quietly appeared behind Xing Ruyi, closing the door with a wave of its hand while also wrapping Xing Ruyi in its embrace.
"You, would this Couple's Lung Slices be something she would give to her husband?"
"After all this effort, I believe that even if she has guessed the outcome, she would still try it out of hope."
"Is there any meaning in such a trial?" Xing Ruyi turned around and looked into the fox's eyes. "Even if you don’t, she doesn’t, I can guess that the girl whose scalp I took and heart I cut that night is not the current Madam Yun Zhu, but rather the Concubine that Master Shen is about to marry. This Yun Zhu truly is too clever for her own good. I tried to help her, yet she intentionally went to make a wedding dress for her rival. I wonder who gave her such a foolish idea."
"Who else could it be?" Just as the fox finished speaking, a maid sitting next to Yun Zhu in the carriage sneezed heavily.
Yun Zhu held the bamboo basket, her gaze somewhat dazed. It wasn't until she heard the maid sneeze that she came back to her senses and asked, "Is what Shopkeeper Xing said true?"
"What did Madam mean by that?"
The maid rubbed her nose and shifted her gaze to the bamboo basket.
"Shopkeeper Xing said that this medicinal dish is meant to capture a man's heart. But now, all the ingredients used in this Couple's Lung Slices were taken from that wretched woman. If I give it to my husband, wouldn’t it make him even more infatuated with her? Am I making a mistake? Looking at that wretched woman's appearance, it seems she hasn’t suffered much harm. If I had been the one lying in bed that night, perhaps... perhaps I wouldn’t have these entanglements today."
Although the maid felt somewhat anxious, the idea was ultimately hers. At this point, regardless of right or wrong, she could only force herself to think positively. Otherwise, given Yun Zhu's temperament, even if she didn’t devour her alive, life wouldn’t be easy for her.
Thinking of Yun Zhu's past methods of punishment made the maid break out in a cold sweat. She quickly reached up to remove the cotton gauze from Yun Zhu's head and spoke softly, "Madam is overthinking. From what I see, it seems that Shopkeeper Xing is deliberately trying to scare us into giving her less Silver. Think about it; whether it's Human Skin or heart meat mixed into this dish, how can we distinguish what's yours and what's from that wretched woman? Furthermore, whether this strange method truly works is still uncertain. Why not let Master try this dish first? Even if it does work, we can always deal with that wretched woman privately afterward and ask Shopkeeper Xing to prepare another dish for Master."
The maid continued, her eyes darting around: "Madam might consider it from another angle—using that wretched woman as our taste tester. If it’s useless, you can always go ask Shopkeeper Xing about it; smashing her signboard would be a light punishment. If it does work, we can have someone sneak that wretched woman away and sell her elsewhere or deal with her privately; it would just cost us some Silver and time for another dish. We wouldn't lose anything significant."
"Are you sure we won't lose anything?" Yun Zhu asked.
"There's not nothing lost," the maid choked slightly, lowering her head to reply, "We've lost some of our time, but given the current situation, we haven't really lost anything. Even without this dish, and even without Shopkeeper Xing's methods, Master still has to marry that wretched woman. Madam, you are also secretly planning to deal with her. It's just that everything has been slightly delayed."
Yun Zhu's gaze turned cold as she said, "What you just said should stay between us. If it gets out..."
"Rest assured, Madam. Even if I die, I will keep these words buried in my heart," the maid quickly lowered her head, breaking into a cold sweat.
When the carriage stopped in front of Yun Residence, Yun Zhu handed the bamboo basket to the maid: "Find a way to get Master to eat this Couple's Lung Slices. Let me know how it goes."
"I understand," the maid replied, taking the basket. Seeing Yun Zhu lift her leg to get out, she hurriedly followed and whispered, "What about my Contract of Servitude..."
"If Master truly cares for me, you will naturally receive your Contract of Servitude. But if Master cares for that woman, do you think you would still have the face to ask me for your Contract of Servitude?"
With that, Yun Zhu tossed her sleeve and left. The maid listened to her footsteps fade away and raised her head, glaring at her back with resentment before slowly biting her lip.
Three days later, when Xing Ruyi was discussing the details of the wedding ceremony with the fox, A Niu brought back some news.
"What? Yun Zhu is dead?" Xing Ruyi put down her pen and turned to look at A Niu. "Even if Yun Zhu fed Master Shen those Couple's Lung Slices, and even if the ingredients used in those Couple's Lung Slices weren't from Yun Zhu, it would only mean that Master Shen prefers that newly arrived Concubine. For Yun Zhu, nothing has changed. Master Shen hasn't been indifferent to her for just a day or two; no matter how bad things get, they can't get much worse."
"So Shopkeeper already knew that Yun Zhu had other intentions?" A Niu leaned closer to Xing Ruyi and the fox's table. "Shopkeeper is right; even if this Madam Yun didn't have these ulterior motives, her relationship with Master wouldn't worsen any further. The problem lies in how this Madam treats her servants poorly on a daily basis. Because of this incident, she promised her maid something but then went back on her word, leading the maid to harbor ill intentions."
"The maid! You are the one beside Yun Zhu! What does this have to do with that maid?" Xing Ruyi glanced at the fox and then showed a look of realization: "Could it be that Yun Zhu was tricked and ended up suffering in silence while helping someone else?"
"Coming up with ideas is secondary. I've heard that Madam Yun promised her maid that if she succeeded in this matter, she would return her Contract of Servitude and set her free. Shopkeeper probably cannot understand the sorrow of these maids who sell themselves into service; one can imagine how heavy this promise is and how appealing it is to that maid.
Although this idea came from that maid, ultimately it was Madam Yun's lack of determination and trust in Shopkeeper that led to today's outcome."
"What exactly happened to Yun Zhu?"
"Today marks the second day since the Concubine entered the household. According to the customs of wealthy families, this concubine should serve tea and pay respects to the wife. However, our Lady Yun Zhu was already not favored by her husband, and due to that plate of Couple's Lung Slices, Master Shen grew even more fond of his new concubine. Naturally, he could not bear to see her suffer right after entering the household, so he waived this procedure.
Lady Yun Zhu was already feeling resentful and seeing her husband so protective of the new concubine only fueled her anger. She vented her frustrations in her own courtyard. As for the target of her anger, it was none other than the maid who had come up with the idea. She could vent all she wanted, but unexpectedly, Lady Yun Zhu lost her footing and fell, her face getting scratched by a tree in the courtyard, leaving her disfigured.
In a flash, she noticed the Contract of Servitude that had fallen from the maid's body as she struggled to escape. This only intensified her rage, and she immediately retaliated fiercely. The maid, realizing she could not escape, also developed murderous intent, and the two became entangled. In the end, the maid narrowly triumphed and killed Lady Yun Zhu with a Vermilion Hairpin she was wearing on her head. Thus, what was supposed to be a joyous occasion for the Shen Family turned into a funeral. I hear that people from the Yun Family have also arrived; judging by their demeanor, it doesn't seem like this will be resolved easily. The Shen Family is likely going to face some turmoil."
Xing Ruyi was just about to sigh when A Niu mysteriously added another remark.
"Regarding that Vermilion Hairpin, there’s still something peculiar about it. When the Yamen investigated that murder weapon, Master Shen recognized it as a gift he had given to his beloved. Although some modifications were made to the hairpin itself, the mark hidden beneath it remained intact. Shopkeeper, can you guess who Master Shen's beloved is?"
"It’s that girl who was killed by Yun Zhu!"
"That's right! It was indeed that girl! She came from a poor background and was not favored by the Shen Family; she never officially entered the household before meeting an untimely death. The Vermilion Hairpin was originally a private gift from Master Shen; that girl treasured it dearly but never wore it. When she was killed by someone hired by Yun Zhu, this maid was present at the scene. Perhaps on a whim, she hid away the Vermilion Hairpin and secretly sought out a craftsman to make some alterations to it. Since Master Shen rarely visited Lady Yun Zhu and when he did, he would leave after only a few words, he had never paid attention to what this maid wore. If it weren't for today's incident, he probably would have never noticed this Vermilion Hairpin at all. Shopkeeper, do you think there’s really some kind of fate at play here?"
"Is it really just fate?" Xing Ruyi said, her eyes fixed on those of the fox.
The fox raised an eyebrow and smiled, pointing at a peach blossom tree in the courtyard: "It seems this year is a warm spring; those peach blossoms are about to bloom!"
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