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Su Qianqian inadvertently learned that Su Jingbo left the Su Family to stay at the Temple partly because he missed his deceased wife, and partly because he had also fallen victim to the poison of the Chrysanthemum Scented Pillow. Although Su Jingbo did not confront Su Qianqian directly, it was clear to anyone that the pillow, which was a gift from Su Qianqian, was linked to her.
Feeling anxious, Su Qianqian arranged to meet with Su Jingrui, the Third Young Master of the Su Family, at the abandoned Matchmaker Temple in the mountains. This was a place where they had shared countless dates and conspiracies. Coincidentally, that night was a full moon night, coinciding with Lingxiang's time of meditation there.
Su Qianqian sought out Su Jingrui to ask for his advice on how to distance herself from the situation involving the Chrysanthemum Scented Pillow. However, she was met with ridicule from Su Jingrui. In her anger, she took advantage of his momentary distraction and stabbed him with a dagger she carried. Seeing that Su Qianqian still had some value, Su Jingrui did not press her further; he simply pushed her to the ground and hurriedly left while clutching his wound.
Afterward, Su Qianqian accidentally discovered Lingxiang hiding behind some bushes, revealing a large spider. In her fright, her soul left her body in an instinctive bid for survival.
Seeing this, Lingxiang had no choice but to attach his Yuan Shen to Su Qianqian's body, guiding her back to the Su Family before leaving to search for her soul. To Lingxiang's surprise, Su Qianqian's soul had also returned home and instinctively hidden inside a Red Bone Umbrella.
"This means that the Red Bone Umbrella should belong to the Su Family. Why then did it appear at the Ruined Temple and get picked up by passing merchants?"
"I don't know!" Su Qianqian shook her head. "Perhaps after I fell ill, one of the maids in my courtyard cleaned up and threw out the Red Bone Umbrella, which someone then picked up and took to the Matchmaker Temple, only for it to be found by passing merchants."
"I suspect it might have been done by Su Qianqian herself." The fox spoke cautiously; when it did speak, its words were always significant.
"Why do you think so?" Xing Ruyi looked at the fox with a smirk.
"When a living being leaves its body after experiencing shock, their memory can become disoriented or even blank. When Su Qianqian's soul left her body and returned to the Su Residence only to find no one could see her, she must have felt extreme fear. At that moment, she would act like a frightened child seeking refuge in what she perceives as the safest place."
"The Red Bone Umbrella!"
"Exactly! That umbrella was something she obtained from Su Jingbo; it is naturally dear to her and symbolizes his affection for her. That's why she would attach herself to it. However, as time passed, she would gradually calm down and begin to think. She might wonder if her body remained at the Matchmaker Temple and use her ghostly energy to hypnotize a nearby maid into finding someone to take that umbrella back to the Matchmaker Temple."
"That's a good idea!" Xing Ruyi nodded while narrowing her eyes. "But it seems that Su Qianqian's plan has some flaws!"
"Indeed, she underestimated human nature!" The fox smirked. "The maid Xing Ruyi found must be Liu Er; Liu Er was compelled by Su Qianqian's soul and located that passing merchant. The route from the Su Family to Paper Town passes through a forested area; if I'm not mistaken, the Matchmaker Temple is within that forest. Since it's called the Matchmaker Temple, its location shouldn't be too remote; it was likely easily accessible for travelers."
"Exactly! The Matchmaker Temple is easy to find; there would naturally be passing merchants stopping there for rest. That's why I chose to meditate there around midnight," Lingxiang added from the side.
"This arrangement was originally not wrong, and the person Liu Er found was also not wrong. The mistake lies in the fact that the person Liu Er found also had greed. He was a merchant who had come to the Paper Shop to make purchases and happened to encounter someone who gave him an umbrella, asking him to help place it in a Ruined Temple. Whether it was due to his desire for money or simply an appreciation for the umbrella, from the merchant's perspective, he couldn't bear to part with it.
From Su Qianqian's account, we know that her soul indeed returned to that Matchmaker Temple, indicating that the merchant initially intended to leave her there. However, in the end, he could not resist the urge within him and turned back to take the umbrella away. Thus, we later saw her looking at the Fox Demon with a pitiful expression in Paper Town.
"With this in mind, I really have meddled too much," Xing Ruyi lowered her head, regretting her impulsiveness that day.
"Whether you meddled or not, it’s done now; consider it a way to entertain my Fox Demon," the fox said as it reached out to pat Xing Ruyi's head. Xing Ruyi made a face and turned to look at Su Jingrui and the butler, who had already transformed into Donkeys.
"What about them? Should we let them continue as Donkeys or change them back to their original forms and have Brother Su take them back to the Yamen for questioning?"
The fox gave Xing Ruyi a look that said she could handle it however she wanted without any objections from him. Chang Tai leaned towards bringing the two back to the Yamen since there was still the case of the murdered Nursemaid waiting. If these two remained Donkeys, the Nursemaid's case would inevitably become a cold case.
After some deliberation, Xing Ruyi ultimately agreed with Chang Tai's plan. She used magic to restore the two to their original forms but asked the fox to erase part of their memories before handing them over to Chang Tai to take back to the Yamen under the pretext of cooperating with the investigation regarding an unnamed Female Corpse found in Su Family's guest room.
Once Su Jingrui and Su Butler left, they never emerged from the County Office again because Su Butler broke down upon seeing Su Di and revealed everything that had happened years ago.
The Nursemaid was killed by Su Jingrui, and the reason for the murder was similar to what Xing Ruyi and others had previously speculated: it was because the Nursemaid discovered the secret relationship between Su Jingrui and Su Qianqian. She also knew about their involvement in murdering the First Lady. Although Su Butler did not directly participate, he was aware of everything.
In Su Butler's words, he was coerced because Su Jingrui, this esteemed Third Young Master of the Su Family, actually threatened him with his son and daughter's lives. Coupled with financial incentives, Su Butler tacitly allowed this murder. In fact, when Su Jingrui murdered the Nursemaid in his room, Su Butler acted as a lookout and helped move the corpse.
When things were exposed, Su Jingrui was surprisingly candid about it all, admitting everything including his purchase of poisonous Chrysanthemums and other toxins intended for harming the First Lady. He even dragged Su Qianqian, who was currently unconscious in the Su Family home, into this mess.
At Lingxiang's request, Xing Ruyi went to check on Su Guangcai's elderly mother. The old lady’s illness could be described in modern terms as late-stage cancer. Although Lingxiang had been using her demonic power to sustain her life, it wouldn't last much longer. Mrs. Su's time was drawing near; her fate would be decided within a few days.
Lingxiang had no particular feelings about this outcome; she just wanted to spend these final days accompanying the old lady. She planned to leave Dragon Gate Inn in charge of that Clerk and return to her mountain retreat after handling Mrs. Su’s funeral arrangements.
After receiving treatment from Xing Ruyi, Su Qianqian regained consciousness but was met by Yard Officers from the County Office along with heavy shackles awaiting her. Before leaving, she requested Chang Tai for one last glimpse of Su Jingbo."
At that time, Su Jingbo had already returned to the Su Family, but due to the torment of the poison, he had lost his originally handsome appearance. He looked like a thin, withered leaf, as if a gust of wind could blow him off the carriage.
Xing Ruyi had once offered to help Su Jingbo with his illness, but he refused, believing that he was fine as he was. Later, Su Jingbo told Xing Ruyi that he had long known that Su Qianqian was not the true child of the Su Family, nor was she like his mother, now known as Madam Su, who speculated that she was a child born from Master Su and a concubine outside.
The reason his father took in Su Qianqian was entirely due to his deep-seated guilt towards the concubine. The concubine was truly dead, and it was their mother, now Madam Su, who had forced her to death with her words. His father knew this and had distanced himself from their mother over the years because he did not want to repeat the same mistake and did not want his two sons to lose their mother. However, out of guilt and an inability to face the truth, he had treated Su Qianqian as if she were the concubine all these years, trying hard to make amends.
His kindness towards Su Qianqian was at the behest of his mother. Although she did not like Su Qianqian, she could see that his father cared for her. Therefore, she deliberately arranged for Su Jingbo to get close to Su Qianqian, take care of her, and win her favor in order to win back his father's heart. He also knew that over the years, Su Qianqian's feelings for him had long surpassed those of ordinary siblings. Yet under his mother's guidance and for the sake of the Su Family's interests, he tacitly allowed this development and even intentionally left room for Su Qianqian's imagination, maintaining an ambiguous relationship with her until he met the girl he truly wanted to cherish.
Su Jingbo had considered completely cutting off Su Qianqian's feelings for him and had noticed her deep-seated jealousy and hatred towards his wife. However, after so many years of following his mother's arrangements—despite his strong reluctance—he still indulged Su Qianqian's love for him and her hatred for his wife until a grave mistake occurred.
At present, he was both punishing himself and punishing his mother.
Su Jingbo believed that the Su Family was truly cursed; however, it was not a female ghost that cursed them but rather the desires buried deep within their mother’s heart and within each of them.
When leaving the Su Family, it happened to be around the Winter Solstice. Xing Ruyi sat in a carriage with Si Niang and Bell making dumplings when they suddenly heard Li Mao outside say: "Just now, the second young master of the Su Family sent word that the eldest young master has passed away! Moreover, before he left, he instructed the second young master to place only two items in his coffin: the Chrysanthemum Scented Pillow that caused First Lady's death and the Red Bone Umbrella that he was forced to give to Su Qianqian."
"Why take those two items?" Bell asked in confusion.
"Taking the Chrysanthemum Scented Pillow is meant to remind himself; taking the Red Bone Umbrella is because he cannot let go of his wife," Xing Ruyi said as she lifted the curtain and glanced towards the direction of the Su Family. "If I guess correctly, this Red Bone Umbrella was not originally meant for Su Qianqian but for First Lady of the Su Family."
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