Chapter 36 The Spider Web She fell into the spider web of lies

A few light, hurried footsteps echoed along the path leading to the top of the artificial hill. A flustered maidservant accidentally caught the hem of her two-tone skirt on a small branch growing beside a clump of withered bamboo, looking quite disheveled.

The maid was caught in a dilemma, calling out repeatedly, "Madam, Madam, Madam Dugu..."

"Don't panic, come closer to speak." Dugu Cui had a kind of premonition-like anxiety, and put on a face completely different from when she was chatting with Qing Jing.

This genuine, rather than feigned, irritability startled the maid into silence.

The maidservant hurriedly tore her skirt off the bamboo branch, ignoring the palm-sized tear in it, and rushed to Dugu Cui's side.

After paying her respects to the two ladies, she glanced nervously at Changsun Qingjing. After weighing the pros and cons, she stepped back a few paces and leaned down to whisper in Dugu Cui's ear something that seemed very urgent and needed to be resolved immediately.

Dugu Cui nodded and said, "Go down the mountain and wait for me. I will go with you shortly after." After saying that, she carefully glanced at the maid to show that "this matter is of great importance and should not be spoken of lightly."

As Dugu Cui straightened her robes and got up, she continued to talk and laugh, "But today, no one will drink the penalty wine for you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Dugu Cui followed the maid. While going downhill, her body suddenly lurched forward, lurching several steps before stopping, thankfully without falling. The maid, still shaken, helped Dugu Cui up, then couldn't help but glance back at Changsun Qingjing, a hint of suppressed frustration in her eyes.

My sister-in-law is lying!

Changsun Qingjing confirmed that he had not made wild guesses.

However, Dugu Cui brushed her off with details of the temple greeting ceremony that a newlywed should not interfere with, so she, as an unmarried woman, could not overstep her bounds and follow along.

As she was feeling troubled, she suddenly turned her head and caught sight of two boys whispering to each other and a girl with a lynx as a pillow and a birdcage in her arms.

Suddenly, Changsun Qingjing had an idea. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was with her, she jumped down the path like a village girl and waved to the children.

"Do you guys still need to borrow my lynx and Luo Fufeng?" she teased the three of them.

Unable to resist the immense temptation, the three children gathered around Changsun Qingjing, jumping and skipping, doing their utmost to flatter him.

“I heard from A-Cai that lynxes can both hunt prey and protect their owners, and I’d like to ask my mother to raise one. Of course, I would be very happy if my aunt could lend me her lynx.” Chai Lingwu praised the lynx in various ways, his meaning was self-evident.

Changsun Renpei remained silent, timidly holding the birdcage, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Changsun Qingjing smiled and hugged his niece and nephew, instructing the maid who had been following the three children to go into the room and find some cloaks.

She beckoned the three of them closer, feigning mystery, until their foreheads were almost touching.

Changsun Qingjing secretly made a pact with the young men: "The two young men may borrow the warehouse on the day of the hunt, but we agree not to tell Lady Dugu. Whoever leaks the news will be punished and made to study and practice writing at home when going hunting in the future. Is this acceptable?"

"It's feasible!" The two boys jumped for joy, unable to hide their delight.

“Since it’s feasible, I also have a favor to ask of you two gentlemen. Would you two be willing to help?” Changsun Qingjing said with a smile. She deliberately used the terms “gentlemen” instead of “young gentlemen” to show her respect and trust for the two boys, making them feel like they were kindred spirits among peers. It was as if she were an old friend of Li Chengzong and Chai Lingwu, and the two boys were so moved that they were willing to serve Changsun Qingjing.

“Aunt, please speak freely,” Li Chengzong replied crisply.

Changsun Qingjing tilted his head and said, "Recently, there have been many things going on at home. Your parents are very grateful for your consideration in not bothering me with household matters since I am newly married. However, now that I have eaten millet soup, I would like to share your burdens. Could you two gentlemen tell me what else has been keeping you busy at home besides the wedding? Are Grandmother and Grandmother in good health?"

The two boys, entrusted with this important task, began to think seriously.

“My mother said that my grandmother’s illness is more difficult to bear this year than in previous years…” Li Chengzong recalled seriously, “I didn’t think so at first, but in the few days since I returned to Chang’an, different doctors have been coming and going from the Duke’s mansion almost every day.”

“I heard that my mother, along with her four aunts, made statues of my maternal grandmother at different temples to pray for her recovery.” Chai Lingwu made a gesture of clasping his hands together, earnestly seeking the approval of his eldest grandson, Qingjing. “Aunt, my mother and her aunts made a total of five Buddha statues. They are truly devout. The gods and Buddhas will surely bless my maternal grandmother to recover, right?”

The children became sad for a moment, because in their minds, statues were always associated with bad luck.

“Father said that the last time our family made a statue was when my second uncle was nine years old. He contracted the plague twice in one year and was on the verge of death…” Li Chengzong’s words made the other two children gasp. Changsun Renpei’s almond-shaped eyes even filled with tears, mistakenly thinking that her uncle, who had been chatting and laughing with her this morning, was about to die.

Changsun Qingjing trembled slightly, as if still shaken. "And then what happened?" she couldn't help but ask, even though she knew her husband had escaped unharmed.

“Mother said that Heaven couldn’t bear to take Uncle away, and with Buddha’s protection, his illness suddenly improved.” Li Chengzong suddenly asked, seemingly understanding, “Aunt, my grandmother had five statues, three more than Uncle had back then. Shouldn’t she also recover?”

"Yes, it will, it definitely will!" Changsun Qingjing had no intention of pressing for details. She simply gathered the three children together and comforted them. "I'll stop asking here for today. The lynx is yours now. You don't need to worry. Your grandmother will be fine. Once you've spent the twelfth lunar month and seen the Nuo ritual, you can prepare for the New Year. Go, put on your cloaks and don't catch a cold!"

Changsun Qingjing pointed to the maid who hurriedly came to add clothes for the young master and his ladies.

She stopped asking about Dou's illness, so as not to appear to the Li family's maids as meddling in other people's business before the marriage was even over.

She was afraid that if she couldn't do anything, she would lose the right to use Luo Fufeng.

Changsun Qingjing smiled and pinched her rosy cheeks, tucking the exquisite birdcage and Luo Fufeng into her arms: "I like you just by standing there without saying a word. Your aunt is reluctant to test you, so Luo Fufeng is yours."

She didn't want to ask anymore, couldn't bear to ask anymore, especially not to pry into the words of an innocent child who trusted her wholeheartedly.

For the next half day, Dugu Cui, who had promised to return soon, disappeared without a trace. When San Niang and Si Niang learned from the maid that Changsun Qingjing was wandering around aimlessly, they invited her to play backgammon together.

Changsun Qingjing's chess skills were just as bad as they were on her wedding day, but unfortunately, no one was there to drink the penalty wine for her.

Li Qiongxi laughed and said, "It's not a fair victory. I won a small round today. I bet Erlang will be dissatisfied when he finds out and will definitely stand up for you and get back at me."

Li Longyue complained, "I just don't understand what you and Erlang are always arguing about. Sanhu and Bitihe compete in riding and archery, Zhiyun and Dade compete in chess. I can understand the deeper meaning behind their competition. They just want more praise from their parents and more support from their relatives and friends. You, as a married older sister, always like to be superior to your younger brother. Why is that? Do you think you can be appointed as a pillar of the state or a prime minister?"

"What Fourth Sister said might not be true!" Li Qiongxi said self-deprecatingly.

Changsun Qingjing had just heard Dugu Cui recount the amusing stories between the Third Sister and the Second Brother. It was said that before the Third Sister got married, she often disguised herself as a man and took the Second Brother on outings, forcing him to call her "brother," otherwise she would not take him on the trip.

On the day of San Niang's marriage, when the other relatives came to greet the groom, they all raised their bamboo canes high and stopped short of hitting him. However, Er Lang, whether intentionally or unintentionally, hit the groom Chai Shao and caused him a minor flesh wound, which became a laughing stock for both the Chai and Li families.

It's clear that the siblings are of the same blood. Changsun Qingjing naturally laughed off Fourth Sister's teasing.

As the three were counting the coins, the maid outside the barrier hesitated and dared not approach. Li Longyue got up, and the two whispered a few words to each other at the barrier.

"You mother, you really don't know how to talk properly!" Fourth Sister teased as she left. Her hurried footsteps were quite contrary to her intention to resolve the children's dispute.

Changsun Qingjing and Li Longyue spent half a day together, their relationship both warm and distant. The warmth stemmed from the fact that Changsun Qingjing was indeed the wife of Li Longyue's closest younger brother, and out of love for her, he developed a fondness for this delicate yet stubborn woman.

The two talked about everything from social life and horseback riding to food and clothing; their estrangement stemmed from their careful avoidance of topics that might cause each other sadness or worry, such as Lady Gao being driven out by her stepson, Gao Shilian being demoted to Zhu Yuan, and Li Yuan's constant suspicion and appointment by the emperor, a cycle that felt like walking on thin ice.

For example, Madam Dou's illness was like a riddle, shifting between being relatively harmless and needing to be worshipped for blessings.

A huge, gentle spiderweb of lies slowly unfolded above Changsun Qingjing's head.

Author's note: Well-intentioned deception won't last long.

Madam Dou is dying.

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