8. Soul swap?

◎The Second Sister Hua is quite skilled at searching for spirits and ghosts.◎

The next day, before dawn, the window paper was still covered with a faint bluish-gray.

Hua Yao lay on the couch, seemingly still asleep, but her brows were furrowed.

She was awakened by a loud banging on the door.

Who is it?!

Where did this brat come from so early in the morning? If she catches him, she'll definitely give him a good beating.

The voice outside the door grew shriller, "Second sister, second sister! I brought a new cricket, it's fiercer than the last one."

Hua Yao rolled over and covered her ears tightly with her hands.

"Second sister, second sister, come out quickly! This time I promise I won't let Grandmother know. I got up early this morning and rushed here. Mother didn't even see me!"

Hua Yao opened her eyes and stared at the top of the tent with a mournful expression.

She heard Pianzhu urgently urging in a low voice, "Young master, please stop calling, the young lady is still resting."

The newcomer seemed enraged, his voice arrogant and unreasonable. With the sound of approaching footsteps, he shouted, "Get out of my way! Who do you think you are? How dare you block my way!"

"Young master! The young lady is really still resting..." Pianzhu's voice was both flustered and urgent.

Immediately afterwards, a crisp "snap" sounded.

Hua Yao's heart skipped a beat, and she anxiously propped herself up to sit up.

She fumbled for her outer garment by the bed and hastily tied it with a ribbon.

As soon as I opened the door, a piercing howl rushed towards me: "Ah! My cricket!"

Hua Yao was shocked by the scene before her... Pian Zhu stood to the side, her hands tucked in in fear, while a boy squatted on the ground searching for something. In front of him was a scattered cricket box.

She breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it wasn't Pianzhu who got beaten up.

“Miss.” Pianzhu lowered her head and looked down, her voice filled with self-reproach and grievance.

Hua Ling was looking for crickets when she heard the sound and quickly looked up and stood up.

Upon seeing Hua Yao, his hostility subsided considerably, and a warm smile appeared on his face. "Second Sister."

Hua Yao looked at the boy before her. He was dressed in fine clothes, with handsome features. This must be Hua Ling.

Hua Ling was unusually warm towards Hua Yao, "Second sister, I caught you some new crickets," he said, then glared at Pian Zhu beside him, "It's all her fault! She stopped me from seeing you and knocked over my crickets."

Before dawn, the cricket disappeared in no time, and he became increasingly angry.

Hua Yao observed his expression. "How about this? She knocked over your cricket, and I'll pick one to return to you another day. But today you came to my courtyard shouting and making a scene, and even insulted my people. Shouldn't you apologize to her first?"

Pianzhu said that Hua Ling was spoiled by Aunt Fang and, relying on being the only male in the Prime Minister's Mansion, he was arrogant and only became close to the equally tainted Second Miss Hua.

However, with just this one complaint, Hua Yao had already guessed most of his thoughts. Children only play with a certain person because they resemble that person.

"How can I apologize to her? She offended me."

Hua Yao looked at him and said, "If that's the case, then you should go back. Don't come to my courtyard again." With that, she turned to go back into the house.

“Hey,” Hua Ling tugged at Hua Yao’s sleeve, lowered her head, and whispered, “If I apologize to her, will Second Sister come with me to catch crickets?”

"Won't."

Hua Ling snorted and released Hua Yao without hesitation.

Hua Yao ignored him and walked straight into the house.

Pianzhu quickly followed, "Does the young lady still need to rest?"

Hua Yao sighed softly, "Help me wash up, then come with me to see my grandmother later, and then we'll leave the mansion together."

Hua Ling withdrew her gaze from her second sister's retreating figure and shifted her attention to the broken cricket box on the ground...

--

Hua Yao's face was reflected in the bronze mirror, her features exquisitely beautiful.

She remembered that Hua Ling was a tutor to the Crown Prince in the palace.

"When did he return? I didn't see him yesterday."

“Yesterday at Hai Shi (9-11 PM), the young lady had already retired for the night.” Pianzhu lowered her eyes and carefully smoothed Hua Yao’s hair.

Hua Yao turned around. "Hai Shi (9-11 PM)? Returning to the manor at this time?"

"It is said that His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly fell seriously ill, and the palace was in chaos. All the attendants were sent out overnight."

"Hmm," Hua Yao responded faintly, then turned to face the bronze mirror. For some reason, she had a bad feeling.

However, this is not her business.

...

The carriage rolled over the bluestone road.

Hua Yao hooked a corner of the window curtain with her fingertips, her gaze sweeping lightly across the street.

It was the same street corner as last time, where the little girl with her hair in two buns was squatting on the ground, gently scratching with a twig.

Hua Yao smiled slightly, then lowered the curtain, shutting out the bustling scene outside.

Pianzhu laughed along, "What interesting thing did you see, young lady?"

"Pianzhu, would you like to learn to write?"

Pianzhu touched her ear, her eyes darting around, "Miss thinks too highly of me."

Hua Yao's eyes were firm. "Nothing is impossible."

...

In the east of the city, there was a wooden platform built next to a teahouse, surrounded by layers of people.

A slender scholar on the stage cupped his hands and looked around, his voice clear and resonant, “Today we gather to exchange ideas through literature, and the rules are simple. I will pose a question, and everyone will try to answer it. Those who answer correctly may leave one question for others to test.”

The people below whispered and murmured amongst themselves.

He raised his voice again, "First question: Where does the saying 'The luxuriant sweet pear tree, do not cut it down' originate? What tree is it referring to? And what is its deeper meaning?"

The question caused a moment of silence in the crowd.

Immediately, a slightly arrogant voice rang out, "It comes from the Book of Songs, 'Zhao Nan,' which mentions the pear tree. This line expresses remembrance of the virtuous rule of Duke Shao."

Everyone looked over and saw a young man in fine clothes, waving a folding fan, looking smug.

The scholar smiled slightly, "Young master only answered the first two questions correctly. As for the 'deeper meaning'..."

The young master's expression stiffened slightly.

At this moment, a clear and melodious female voice came from behind the crowd. The voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

"The 'lasting love of the sweet pear tree' is intended to admonish future generations not to damage the relics of virtuous people, as a way of showing remembrance. This sentence emphasizes 'remembering the person,' not just 'recording the event.' Duke Shao heard lawsuits under the sweet pear tree, and later generations loved the tree and could not bear to damage it, which shows the far-reaching influence of his benevolence."

The crowd unconsciously parted to make way for them.

Hua Yao stepped forward, dressed simply and plainly, with a calm gaze.

She nodded slightly toward the stage and continued, "To interpret it as mere reminiscence would be superficial. Its essence lies in using objects to express feelings and revealing great virtues through small things."

The scholar's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, exclaiming, "Young lady, your insight is brilliant! It hits the nail on the head!"

The young master blushed, closed his folding fan, took a half step back awkwardly, and glanced at Hua Yao again.

Hua Yao turned to the scholar and asked, "In that case, may I leave you a topic?"

"nature."

Hua Yao didn't rush to speak, but lowered her eyes as if thinking.

The crowd below whispered among themselves, "This girl is clearly from an official family."

"Yes, a woman actually outshone the young master of the Xie family."

"She looks like the second daughter of the Prime Minister's family."

"No way, I heard that the second daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion is immoral and incompetent in all arts, and is a complete idiot."

"Oh, I don't know either."

Hua Yao's gaze swept over the crowd, her voice clear and gentle, "My topic is, as recorded in ancient scrolls, 'Sea travelers speak of Yingzhou, its misty waves making it hard to find.' This 'Yingzhou' is a secluded fairyland, ethereal and elusive."

"However, have you ever heard of any mortals in this world who, like celestial beings, suddenly see a fairy mountain or stumble into a paradise at some time and place, and then disappear without a trace, as if it were all a dream?"

"If so, how should this be interpreted? Is such a strange encounter merely a tale of the supernatural, or..." She paused slightly, "...a hidden paradise?"

She glanced around at the crowd, a faint, encouraging smile playing on her lips, and slowly added, "This question is not limited to any classical text or correct interpretation."

"You may speak freely about whatever you have learned, whether it be strange tales or anecdotes you have heard in your daily life, or even rural legends."

Even if it's just hearsay, we might as well say it as a lighthearted conversation.

As Hua Yao finished speaking, there was a moment of silence both on and off the stage.

Then, the discussion spread like boiling water.

Unlike their previous solemn or furrowed brows when they heard about classics and history, many people showed surprise on their faces, which then turned into a relaxed expression of interest.

In the past, poetry gatherings and literary debates always revolved around classics, histories, philosophical works, and the subtle words of sages. The threshold was extremely high, and ordinary people could not easily get a word in edgewise.

But the question this young lady asked wasn't about testing academic knowledge; it was clearly about recounting the past and discussing the unusual, prompting people to ponder.

This question doesn't require years of hard study; anyone who has heard a bit about it or any stories about it can probably say a few words about it.

The undercurrent of rivalry among intellectuals dissipated instantly, replaced by a lively and curious atmosphere reminiscent of listening to storytelling in the marketplace.

A man in rough clothes scratched his head, as if recalling something. The next moment, his eyes lit up.

“In my younger days, I was a merchant in the southwest. I heard from the mountain people that there was a ‘Misty Valley’ deep in the mountains. Every ten years, the thick fog in the valley would dissipate for a day. Inside, it wasn’t a forest at all, but a strange, extremely tall and huge house. However, it had no door or windows. When the fog dissipated, the thing was gone too. Isn’t that strange?”

A refined scholar chimed in, his tone more reserved, “There is a similar record in the ‘Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang,’ which is called ‘mirage,’ a kind of illusion of light and shadow.”

"However, I heard a strange story from my uncle. It is said that a fisherman by the sea was shocked to see a huge 'iron bird' flying across the sea one night. The light was dazzling and accompanied by the sound of thunder. In an instant, it fell into the deep sea. The next day, the wind and waves were calm and there was no trace. The village elders all said that it was the 'breath of a mirage dragon'."

Hua Yao pondered, "Could this be referring to a UFO?"

Several more people shared some strange and interesting stories, but none of them were what Hua Yao wanted to hear.

At this moment, an elderly man, huddled at the back of the crowd and dressed in somewhat shabby clothes, timidly interjected.

His voice was hoarse, “This old man…this old man did hear my ancestors mention it once, saying that in the previous dynasty, there was such a family.”

"The head of the household was fine when he left home in the morning, but when his family went to look for him at noon, they found him lying on the edge of his own field. When he woke up... it was as if his soul had been replaced!"

"He spouts incomprehensible nonsense, can't even dress himself properly, yet he can write strange characters with remarkably neat handwriting. He complains that carriages aren't as fast as cars, and that it's inconvenient to move around at night without lights. His wife says he's gone crazy from working so hard and has started to complain about the oil lamp in their house..."

Hua Yao's pupils suddenly contracted.

Cars, lights, can't wear ancient clothes, and spouts incomprehensible nonsense.

Every word struck Hua Yao's heart hard.

The hand hidden in the sleeve clenched into a fist, trembling uncontrollably, the nails almost digging into the palm.

Hua Yao still wore the same smile as before, neither too deep nor too shallow.

She didn't ask immediately, but waited for the other listeners to chatter amongst themselves, saying things like "it's probably haunted by evil spirits" or "it might be a case of loss of spirit," before slowly speaking.

As if merely aroused by ordinary curiosity, she said, "This is unheard of," her gaze falling on the old man, her tone calm. "Old man, may I ask where this strange event your ancestors mentioned took place?"

Seeing that this remarkable young woman had personally inquired about his situation, the old man thought back carefully to avoid making a mistake. “I only heard my grandfather mention it a few times when I was young. He said it was Yuncang,” he added, “Oh, that’s Lingzhou today.”

Lingzhou?

Hua Yao silently memorized these two words.

"Miss Hua has such refined tastes."

As Hua Yao's heart was churning with emotion, a detached voice was thrown down from the second floor behind her.

The crowd fell silent instantly.

All eyes turned to the teahouse window.

Cui Xun sat by the window, a cup of clear tea in his hand, the steam rising and obscuring half of his expression, revealing only the sharp lines of his jaw and his slightly drooping eyelashes.

The silence lasted only a moment before a low murmur arose from the crowd.

"How could the King of Hell be here?"

Hua Yao also wanted to know, how did she run into this guy again?

"She really is the second daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion."

"He doesn't seem as arrogant as the rumors say..."

Amidst the hushed whispers around her, Hua Yao looked straight up to the second floor, where the man was also looking at her, their eyes meeting.

Cui Xun smiled slightly, "Miss Hua's ability to search for spirits and ghosts is quite remarkable."

"I wonder if the second young lady finds it novel, or if she seeks the path to immortality..."

His gaze was extremely deep. "Or perhaps, you want to switch souls?"

[Author's Note]

A list of citations:

1. “The luxuriant sweet pear tree, do not cut it down, do not fell it” comes from the “Sweet Pear Tree” chapter of the “Airs of Zhaonan” section of the Book of Songs.

2. “Sea travelers talk of Yingzhou, but its misty waves make it hard to find” is from Li Bai’s “Dreaming of Visiting Tianmu Mountain”.