Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Monsters in the Lights and Shadows Humans, go to...

Duan Zhiwei patted Du Yourong on the shoulder and consoled her: "How is this possible? You must have seen it wrong."

Furthermore, planting willow trees is a traditional custom during the Qingming Festival. It is rumored that women who tie willow tree rings in their hair on the Qingming Festival can stay young and beautiful. It must be that some beauty-loving lady tied a willow tree ring and wore it there.

As they were talking, they heard the jingling of bells and bracelets from behind. More than ten maids came in one after another, holding white porcelain plates or jade pots in their hands. It seemed that the banquet was about to begin.

After all, there were many people sitting in the main hall, some of whom were Du Yourong's relatives, so she had to suppress her doubts and sit down according to the rules.

In order to prepare for this luxurious banquet for the nobles, Duan Zhiwei did not eat much for breakfast. He just ate two bites of Hu bing and now stared at the plate in the maid's hand with great anticipation.

only......

The camel hump soup, roasted venison and fried cherry dishes that I had imagined were nowhere to be found. Instead, the exquisite plates only contained cold food soup, cold food noodles, jujube cakes and fried dough sticks.

All of them are cold foods unique to the Qingming Cold Food Festival.

Although Duan Zhiwei was really hungry, facing the pile of cold food at the wedding, she and Du Yourong looked at each other and did not dare to pick up their chopsticks. Apparently, others thought so too. The bustling main hall suddenly became silent.

Liu Pei, the Lieutenant Colonel of the Jinwu Guard, was also a burly middle-aged man, but he looked haggard and old. He stood in the middle of the main hall and bowed to everyone, saying, "Thank you all for coming to my son's wedding."

Then he sat down quietly in the hall. On the other side of the hall sat an old lady with snow-white hair, wearing a simple black dress.

Duan Zhiwei quietly asked Du Yourong, "Is that the one who tortured your aunt from the Pei family?"

Du Yourong also looked confused: "No, that person likes to wear gold and silver the most, why would the eldest son dress so simply for his wedding? It must be the in-laws..."

As the two were talking, Duan Zhiwei felt a gust of cold wind blowing past, making the back of her neck feel cold. She looked up and saw the bride and groom entering.

The music started, but it was not the usual festive tune, but rather the sound of stringed instruments with a hint of sadness. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw the bride, dressed in traditional wedding gown, with a flower crown on her head and a round fan in her hand to cover her face, walking slowly towards them, supported by her maid.

The wedding dress was exquisitely embroidered, and the gold thread sparkled in the candlelight. The bride's steps were stiff, and it seemed as if someone was holding the string with every step. The face behind the round fan was vaguely visible, with a hint of paleness faintly visible.

And the groom... the groom was actually a wooden figurine made of paulownia wood!

The wooden figurine was dragged into the main hall by two servants on a wooden cart. It wore a black fu hat and a vermilion round-necked robe embroidered with the most fashionable twined grape pattern in Chang'an at that time.

Many of the visitors were military officers serving in the Jinwu Guard. Seeing this bizarre scene, how could they sit still? A bearded general kicked the food table in front of him, and the cold porridge on the table spilled all over the floor. He pointed at Liu Pei and said, "What kind of evil wedding is this? I'm afraid it's witchcraft. Liu Zhonglangjiang, how can a Jinwu Guard perform such an evil magic? I will report you to the saint!"

Liu Pei looked lonely and helpless, he just lowered his head silently without saying a word. But the old woman next to him just waved her sleeves, and the military officer suddenly stopped talking and sat down with his eyes wide open.

The two maids quickly ran over to straighten the dining table and wiped the oatmeal porridge off the floor. Seeing this, the other guests did not dare to raise any objection.

The joints of the wooden figurine are finely carved, the fingers can move, and it can even bend over to follow the bride's movements during the wedding ceremony.

Fortunately, this strange wedding ceremony did not last long and ended in just a short while. The old woman sitting in the hall looked very satisfied. She nodded at Liu Pei, then got up and left.

After Liu Pei respectfully escorted the old woman out of the door, he returned to the main hall and greeted the guests one by one. No one in the hall paid any attention to him, so he just hurried out.

Duan Zhiwei was so frightened that her hands felt cold and numb. Yuan Shenji stood in front and escorted her and Du Yourong to the carriage.

Outside, there was a storm with thunder and lightning. After Yuan Shenji sent Du Yourong back to Pei's residence and Duan Zhiwei to the restaurant, it was getting dark and the curfew drum sounded in the distance.

Everyone in the restaurant had finished their evening meal and were about to go back to the backyard to rest. When they saw the two of them coming back, Aunt Duan asked, "Why did you come back at this time? How was the wedding banquet at the Liu Mansion? Did you get to eat the cherry biro you were dreaming about?"

Duan Zhiwei's hands were still cold, and were tightly held by Yuan Shenji. After returning to the familiar and warm restaurant, she finally felt relieved. Then she asked Aunt Duan, "Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."

It was a weird wedding atmosphere, with the table full of cold food, and not a single guest in the entire hall dared to pick up their chopsticks. She hadn't eaten for a whole day.

The restaurant business has been unusually good these past two days, and there are not many fresh vegetables left in the kitchen. She searched the whole fire room, took down some pickled sausages from the beam, added some chopped shepherd's purse, and threw them into the pot with the raw rice to cook.

When you're hungry, nothing is more comforting than a bowl of steaming hot rice with sausage. The moment Duan Zhiwei opened the wooden lid, a rich aroma hit him in the face.

Serve it in a bowl, the plump rice grains are distinct and soaked in oil, the chopped mustard greens are baked soft and glutinous by the heat of the rice, and the sausage is sizzling with oil.

The two of them finished the big bowl of rice in silence. Duan Zhiwei then felt no longer as hungry, cold and frightened as he had in the afternoon.

The military officers of the Jinwu Guard really did what they said. On the second day, impeachment memorials from the Censorate fell on the Daming Palace like snowflakes. The whole Chang'an was talking about the wedding of the Right General of the Central Army. It must have been arranged by Liu Pei for his seriously ill wife, intending to bring good luck.

The emperor had no choice but to temporarily dismiss Liu Pei from his official position and replace him with Yuan Shenji. Although it was only temporary, since both of them were of the same rank of fourth rank, it could not be considered a promotion.

The Jinwu Guards were responsible for the defense of the entire Chang'an. This temporary replacement was enough to show how much the saint valued Yuan Shenji. Soon, many carriages were parked in front of Yuan's mansion, all of them were colleagues who came to deliver gifts.

In order to avoid being idle, Yuan Shenji stayed temporarily in the restaurant. He was not very happy about this appointment. He believed that a real man should act uprightly. Liu Pei looked exhausted and his wife seemed to be on the verge of death. It was obviously not a gentleman's behavior to take over someone else's official position at this time.

Seeing that he was frowning all day, Duan Zhiwei had no choice but to say, "Why don't you go to Liu's mansion to visit him and ask General Liu about the cause and effect of the matter? If it is feasible, you can write a letter to ask the saint to revoke his decision."

What she said was childish. The saint is the Son of Heaven, how could he easily take back his order? However, it is indeed feasible to visit Liu's house.

Yuan Shenji originally wanted to go alone, but Duan Zhiwei was worried and insisted on following him, so he had no choice but to let her go, and reminded her to stay away if anything happened.

Duan Zhiwei nodded vigorously.

There was no one at the front door of Liu's mansion. The two red lanterns had been taken down at some point. Duan Zhiwei and Yuan Shenji walked through the winding corridor under the guidance of the housekeeper.

Although Liu Pei was dismissed from his post, the Liu Mansion was still magnificent and elegant, with rugged rockery, gurgling water, and maids and servants tending to flowers and plants, but everyone's face was a little gloomy.

Not to mention the owner of the mansion, Liu Pei, who barely stood up, exchanged a greeting with Yuan Shenji, and then sat back down.

Yuan Shenji was a warrior and did not like false politeness. He asked Liu Pei directly about the wedding. There was a lot of discussion in Chang'an. Most of the guests were rich or noble, and they were more or less related by marriage. Some even claimed that they saw their deceased relatives and friends among the wedding guests.

The sage disliked the talk of ghosts and gods the most. After hearing these rumors, all the angry dragon power was directed at Liu Pei. Fortunately, Liu's ancestor had made great contributions in saving the emperor, so now he was only dismissed from his official position. If other things happened later, he would be inevitably convicted.

Yuan Shenji spoke so impolitely and in such a cold tone that Duan Zhiwei was afraid that his master would be unhappy, so he wanted to quietly push him from behind, signaling him to be gentler. Unexpectedly, Liu Pei did not care about this and actually covered his face and burst into tears on the spot.

Seeing him like this, Yuan Shenji looked a little embarrassed.

After Liu Pei had cried enough, he wiped his tears and told the truth.

It turned out that a few days ago, his wife, who had always been healthy, had developed a serious heart disease for some unknown reason. She often complained of heart pain. Liu Pei had no choice but to seek medical treatment everywhere, from famous folk doctors to imperial doctors in the Daming Palace. He looked for them all, and spent money on medicine like water, but his wife's illness still did not get better.

One night, Liu Pei was lying on the bed sighing, when he suddenly saw an old woman with white hair and less than three inches tall slowly walking out from the shadow of the glass lamp on the table.

The old woman slowly walked to Liu Pei with her cane. Her eyes were cloudy and deep like an abandoned well, but she stared at Liu Pei and said, "Madam, you are sick, and I am the only one who can cure you. Why don't you pray to me?"

Liu Pei had always been upright and incorruptible, and he hated things like ghosts and gods. He immediately determined that the old woman in front of him was a monster. So he got up from the bed, went to the study, took out the sword given to his grandfather by the late emperor, and stabbed her.

Thinking that this sword did have some real dragon spirit in it, the old woman took a step back in fear, glared at him fiercely and screamed, "Don't regret it! Don't regret! She stretched out her dry branch-like finger, pointed at her wife on the bed, and then disappeared.

Liu's wife, who was lying on the bed, suddenly covered her chest with her hands, her whole body twitched violently, she groaned in pain, and her face turned ashen.

Liu Pei had no choice but to quickly invite a doctor. He asked someone to open a clinic at night and brought the doctor over. After a long time, the doctor took one look at the patient and shook his head helplessly, and asked the Liu family to prepare for the funeral.

Liu Pei was really at a loss, so he gritted his teeth and prayed to the lamplight. The old woman appeared again, picked up a bowl of tea on the table, chanted some spells, and asked Liu Pei to give it to his wife.

The wife felt better and the pain in her heart was gone.

But it was clear that dealing with monsters came at a price. A few days later, the old woman reappeared from the shadows of the lamp and said, "I have a daughter who has just reached the age of marriage. I see that your eldest son is well-born and well-mannered. Why don't you marry my daughter?"

Liu Pei really didn't want to, but he didn't dare to offend her, so he could only say: "If this was an ordinary lady, it would be fine, but this person is Lu Shu, it's really hard to fulfill your wish!"

The old woman said, "I'm not really looking for a husband, I just want to carve a model out of paulownia wood."

These were small requests, which Liu Pei could accept, but the old woman suggested that the wedding must be grand and that relatives and friends from both sides must attend. She also said that the bride's relatives and friends could not eat hot food, so some cold food could be prepared for the wedding.

Liu Pei had no choice but to do as he was told, which led to the ridiculous wedding that followed.

Yuan Shenji and Duan Zhiwei had never imagined that this story would be so bizarre and tortuous, with too many strange and supernatural elements in it. If they reported it truthfully, even the emperor might not believe it.

Yuan Shenji said: "This old woman can threaten people once, and she can threaten them again and again. General Liu was once a brave general who guarded Beiting. He beat the Tuqishi many times and made them flee in panic. How can he be threatened by this three-inch monster? I'm afraid we have to think of a way to solve the problem once and for all."

Duan Zhiwei had been standing at the back and couldn't help but interrupt, "For matters like these, how about asking the Monster Catcher to come over?"

Liu Pei sighed: "The Monster Catching Division is not in the three provinces and six ministries, it only obeys the orders of the saints. I have begged all my relatives, my wife's mother's family, the Hedong Pei family, a wealthy family, and I don't know how many prime ministers have come, but I can't even get into the Monster Catching Division..."

Duan Zhiwei thought of Dugu, who often came to the restaurant to eat and drink without paying, and his Jinhua cat, who was fostered in the restaurant and could not help at all but ate a lot of fish...

The two men stood up and assured Liu Pei that they would be able to invite the demon-catching officials. Liu Pei sent them out of the mansion with tears in his eyes.

After some inquiries, they heard that Dugu was in a villa in Zhongnan and would not be back for two days. The two had no choice but to wait.

The next morning, Duan Zhiwei was setting up a pot to cook duck bone soup as usual, when a familiar carriage stopped at the door. Du Yourong opened the curtain and looked at her, asking her for two servings of meat-filled noodles.

Duan Zhiwei approached with two breakfasts, and saw that she was wearing a white dress with red eyes. He couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Who passed away? Are you okay?"

Du Yourong, however, did not show any sign of sadness. She took a bite of the noodles and said, "It's okay. My eyes were irritated by the sweet-scented osmanthus oil. Aunt Pei died of a heart attack last night. My husband refused to eat or drink and was sad all night. I was kneeling behind her, but I was starving."

Huang Ying wanted to cover her mouth from behind: "My dear wife, please don't say anything more..."

Du Yourong felt much better after eating two servings of Yujian noodles. She waved to Duan Zhiwei and said, "Okay, I'm leaving. I need to continue kneeling when I get back. I came here in a hurry and didn't bring any money. These two servings of Yujian noodles will be put on the bill."

She said it lightly, lowered the curtain and walked away gracefully. Duan Zhiwei quickly changed out of her silver-red skirt with twined branches into plain clothes, and followed Yuan Shenji to visit again.

Liu Pei couldn't stop crying: "It's all my fault. The old woman came out from the shadow of the lamp again last night, saying that she had a little daughter who needed to be married off. If we hold this wedding again, it will definitely anger the emperor and bring disaster! I couldn't help but raised my sword and stabbed her again, and the result was..."

The result is self-evident, as it was evident from the mourning in the hall and the wailing everywhere.

A maid suddenly ran over and said, "My lord, something bad has happened... The young lady has suddenly had a heart attack and fainted."

Liu Pei gritted his teeth and said, "I will resign now. Once the mourning period is over, I will return to Taiyuan with my family and never set foot in Chang'an again!"

After giving the order, all the servants in the house started to move. But after a while, the housekeeper came to report: "Master, it's bad. Everything in the house seems to be nailed down. Even a pair of light shoes can't be moved!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shenji immediately bent down and tried to lift the rosewood table on the ground. The table looked heavy, but it should not be a problem for a general who was skilled in using the Mo Dao to lift it. However, he lifted it for a long time, veins on his hands bulged, but the table lay on the ground without moving at all.

Duan Zhiwei picked up a pot of peony under the pavilion and tried to lift it, but it felt as heavy as a thousand pieces of gold and was stuck to the ground, unable to move at all.

Liu Pei knelt on the ground and cried bitterly. Many people came to Liu's house to pay their respects and to comfort him.

A group of monks from the Da Ci'en Temple and Taoists from the Qingyun Temple were invited, and they chanted Sanskrit and Taoist texts over and over again, but all the objects in the Liu Mansion remained motionless, and Liu Pei's youngest daughter was unconscious on the bed.

Just when everyone was feeling helpless, a young man came in from outside the door laughing. He was wearing a cloth robe and a wooden hairpin on his head. The clothes looked like they hadn't been washed for several days.

Liu Pei was originally sad, but seeing someone laughing so happily, he was extremely angry and wanted to beat him up with his bare hands, but was stopped by Duan Zhiwei: "General Zhonglang, calm down, that is Dugu, the commander of the demon-catching department!"

Dugu said: "I met a very ugly yaksha on the way here, and he snatched back your young lady's heart." As he spoke, he took out a squirming cloth bag from his sleeve, which seemed to contain some living creature.

He asked Liu Pei as if no one was around: "Where is the young lady whose heart was stolen? Take me there quickly."

Liu Pei then woke up from his dream and led him over.

Seeing them walking away, Duan Zhiwei picked up two small Hu beds casually, as if all the furniture in Liu's mansion could be moved again.