Chapter 21 It was already dawn.
Inside the room, a rustling sound arose. The maid who was guarding the outer room opened her eyes groggily and saw the door open, and a short figure walked out.
"Young master, what's wrong?" The maid groped for a tinderbox, wanting to light a candle.
The figure stood still. The maid took a lit candle and walked over. Before she could even speak, she saw those dark eyes.
She only saw Zhao Wenqi slightly open his mouth and exhale a stream of black gas before her scream was abruptly cut off.
The maid fell to the ground with a thud, and the extinguished candle rolled to the side beside her.
Zhao Wenqi walked out of his room and headed towards the room of Old Master Zhao and Old Madam Zhao. He reached out his small hand and pushed open the door. The maid who was keeping watch outside was lying stiffly on the bed without any reaction.
The door to the inner room was pushed open. Being an older person, Mrs. Zhao, hearing the sound, asked, "Who is it?"
Grandma Zhao craned her neck, carefully observing the person who entered, using the moonlight filtering in from the window.
With such a short stature, who else could it be but her beloved grandson?
"Qi'er, is that you, Qi'er?"
Not hearing a reply, Grandma Zhao recalled what she had heard in her hometown: some children sleepwalk and shouldn't be woken up, otherwise they might lose their soul.
She anxiously patted the sleeping old man, Mr. Zhao, beside her, saying, "Old man, wake up!"
"Hmm? What happened?" Old Master Zhao grunted twice and opened his eyes.
"Qier is sleepwalking. Quickly light the candles so the child doesn't bump into them."
Grandpa Zhao hurriedly got up to light the candles, and Grandma Zhao also got out of bed quickly and went straight to Zhao Wenqi.
Just as she touched Zhao Wenqi's hand, a bone-chilling cold suddenly crept up her arm from her small hand.
She heard her grandson, whom she had just caught, chuckle.
It was a very strange laugh, the voice clearly sounding like a woman's.
At that moment, the candle was lit, and Grandma Zhao saw her grandson's face clearly.
The child's head was tilted back at an exaggerated angle, his eyes were pitch black, and his mouth was stretched open, revealing an exaggerated and eerie smile.
"Oh no, Qi'er is being blinded by a ghost."
Grandma Zhao had heard that if a child's birth chart showed signs of weakness and they were possessed by a ghost, their eyes would turn black. She had heard that in such cases, one should use a willow branch to whip the possessing ghost forcefully, which would pull the ghost out.
Grandma Zhao's mind raced, and she quickly said to her startled husband, "I'll watch the child. You go out and call someone, and have them find some more willow twigs."
"Okay." Old Master Zhao shuffled out in his slippers, but before his hand even touched the door, there was a loud bang as the open door slammed shut in front of him.
"Mother really dotes on your grandson. When my son had a fever in the middle of the night, you could sleep soundly. Why is it different now?"
Hearing her grandson's childish voice transform into a woman's voice, and with such a familiar tone, Old Mrs. Zhao felt a chill run down her spine, and her scalp tingled.
"You...who are you?" Old Mrs. Zhao suddenly shook off Zhao Wenqi's hand and took several steps back.
Kobayashi smiled and approached her step by step: "I've only been dead for a few days, and Mother doesn't recognize me anymore?"
"Lin... Lin family?"
"Hehe, I knew it! Mother must remember me, just like me. Even after I died, I still remembered Mother and Father."
"Mrs. Lin, let's talk this out." Old Mrs. Zhao said, glancing at Old Mr. Zhao by the door.
Old Master Zhao quietly picked up the vase placed by the door and walked towards Madam Lin.
"I've always wanted to have a proper talk with my parents..." Before Madam Lin could finish speaking, Old Master Zhao's vase smashed hard on her head.
However, Zhao Wenqi did not move his body, but turned his neck back at an exaggerated angle: "Father is really heartless."
The wooden stool next to the table suddenly flew up and slammed hard against Old Master Zhao's legs, once, twice, three times...
Amidst Old Master Zhao's screams, his legs were smashed to pieces by the sturdy wooden stool.
Grandma Zhao dared not harbor any more illusions. Looking at her husband, who was wailing in pain, she knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Mrs. Lin, we are sorry for what we did for you. Please forgive us for all the good Ming'er has done for you over the years. What do you want? Paper money and incense? Just tell me, and I will definitely give it to you."
"Hahaha, he's good to me? If he were good to me, he wouldn't have killed me, and he wouldn't have conspired with you to deceive me for so many years."
The wooden stool that was about to hit Old Master Zhao flew into Xiao Lin's hands. Her hands were too small to hold the stool leg. She carried the stool to Old Madam Zhao, who was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.
"When you and your dear grandson were laughing at me for not dying a good death, did you ever think that today, you would die at his hands?"
As he spoke, he slammed the wooden stool down hard on Old Mrs. Zhao.
"Ah—" Old Mrs. Zhao tried to dodge, but her limbs seemed to be glued to the ground, and she couldn't dodge at all. She could only watch helplessly as the stool came crashing down.
The stool hit her hands and legs, sending waves of pain through her; she was in so much pain that she couldn't even make a sound.
Little Lin squatted down in front of Grandma Zhao, a naive smile on her innocent face. She said in Zhao Wenqi's voice, "Grandma, you love me so much, you will definitely forgive me, right?"
Grandma Zhao opened her eyes wide and watched as her grandson, whom she had once doted on, stood up, walked out of their room, and even considerately closed the door behind him.
Zhao Wenqi's body was carried by resentment towards Zhao Ming's study.
Tonight, Zhao Ming and Su Yao are sleeping together again.
Su Yao had a dream in which she met Xiao Linshi at the Zhao residence when she came to the capital to seek refuge with her aunt.
Her aunt told Xiao Lin that she should stay in the mansion to be her cousin's concubine, and she was overjoyed.
Kobayashi's contemptuous gaze swept over, as if she were looking at something filthy.
Not only did Madam Lin refuse, she also kicked her, her uncle, and her aunt out of the Zhao residence.
The bundle she brought was thrown on the ground, her personal clothing scattered everywhere, and the people passing by seemed to be laughing at her.
Seeing her aunt shouting and cursing outside the mansion, Su Yao vowed in her heart that she absolutely could not leave the capital like this; she had to stay!
Su Yao woke up and turned to look at the sleeping man beside her. Now, she not only stayed in the capital, but also gained everything that Madam Lin possessed.
Her man belongs to her, and her position as the matriarch of the Zhao family will be hers sooner or later.
Her son is ruined, and her own son, in comparison to her son, will become her cousin's favorite child.
That's great.
The next moment, a pair of icy little hands gripped Su Yao's neck.
The intense feeling of suffocation made Su Yao kick her legs and scratch her neck with all her might.
Zhao Ming was awakened and saw his son choking his cousin. He quickly intervened to stop him.
The moment his hand touched that slender little arm, he shivered from the icy touch.
Instead of strangling Su Yao, Kobayashi threw her to the ground just before she was nearly strangled to death.
The candles in the room suddenly lit up, but the candlelight had an eerie green hue.
Zhao Ming watched his son stiffly get off the bed, a chill running down his spine. He immediately realized something was wrong. Despite his experience, he remained calm and collected: "Who are you? Can you tell me whatever you want?"
"Of course, I want you all dead."
Xiao Lin's soft voice came from Zhao Wenqi's mouth, and Zhao Ming looked horrified: "Qiao Niang!"
Wasn't she sealed in a coffin by Master Jingyun?
Master Jingyun clearly stated that once the soul is nailed down, it cannot break free and will feel as if it is being burned by raging fire every day. After more than ten years, the soul will be scattered.
Has someone released her?
No, he had been sending people to guard Kobayashi's grave, and no one had been to the gravesite before tonight.
How did she get out?
Su Yao also came to her senses and, upon hearing their conversation, lunged at the small figure who had just gotten off the bed: "What did you do to my son? He's still a child. Let him go. If you have any grievances, take them out on me."
Kobayashi laughed. She loved this scene. It was so delightful to see the woman, who looked like a rat in the gutter, terrified and desperate.
"Don't worry, how could I harm such a young child? Of course I wouldn't hurt him."
As Ms. Kobayashi spoke, she stretched out her hand, and a dagger flew into her hand.
"I've always had a question that no one has answered, and today I can ask you to answer it for me." Madam Lin came to Su Yao and looked at the woman who looked flustered but still very charming.
"You said it was my fault that you lost a child? When have I ever done such a thing?"
Su Yao's eyes flickered, and she unconsciously looked at Zhao Ming, who was sitting on the bed unable to move.
"I……"
Before she could come up with an excuse, Kobayashi suddenly turned the dagger in her hand and slashed it hard across her face.
That deep wound looked like a smiling mouth.
"Ah—" Su Yao screamed as she looked at the deep cut on her son's face.
"I'll give you one more chance. Answer me properly: When did I ever kill your child?"
"No, you didn't. I lied to my cousin. I deliberately aborted the child so that he would pity me," Su Yao replied shrilly.
Zhao Ming, who was struggling, suddenly stopped and looked incredulously at the woman whose face was covered in tears of fear.
His resentment towards Ms. Kobayashi began with the aborted boy, and now he's being told that the child... wasn't aborted by her?
"How clever you are! You managed to have everything you have today in exchange for an unborn child. No wonder your son is so lovable," Mrs. Kobayashi exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just didn't want to be sent back to my hometown."
“You won’t go back to your hometown. Your dream will come true. You’ll stay in the capital until you die.” Madam Kobayashi comforted her softly, then plunged the knife in her hand into her lower abdomen and stirred it around.
The knife wound wasn't fatal; it just caused the woman, who had been pampered for so many years, a lot of pain.
Kobayashi lost interest in Su Yao and turned to look at Zhao Ming, who was bound by resentment.
"My lord, what have I done to wrong you that you would want to take my life?"
Zhao Ming shook his head repeatedly: "Qiao Niang, this bitch misled me. I was deceived by her."
Madam Kobayashi ignored Zhao Ming's excuses and walked to the bedside: "It's not that you've been deceived, it's that you can't wait to make me disappear. You even managed to use our own son. Didn't you tell me that yourself?"
"No, no, I have my reasons. Let me explain."
“Alright, go ahead, I’m listening.” Kobayashi sat down next to Zhao Ming, the dagger grazing his neck. “If you’re wrong, I’ll cut off a piece of your flesh, like this.”
She used a dagger to cut off a piece of flesh from the side of Zhao Ming's neck.
Zhao Ming endured the pain, cold sweat pouring down his forehead: "I was forced into this. Xue Mingtang wanted you dead."
"Why?"
Zhao Ming swallowed hard. He suddenly realized that even the truth might not make Kobayashi let him off the hook.
However, Ms. Kobayashi did not give him a chance to back out, and the second piece of meat was also cut off.
Zhao Ming suddenly realized that he would not escape death tonight.
"Qiao Niang, for the sake of our past as husband and wife, I'll tell you everything. Just give me a quick death."
"certainly……"
"Because your elder brother was killed by Xue Mingtang. He wanted to enter the forbidden warehouse, so he got to know your elder brother through me. Then your elder brother was controlled by him and secretly opened the forbidden warehouse, causing the Lin family to be exiled."
"So it was to nip the problem in the bud."
"Yes... but I was forced to."
Madam Kobayashi reached out and touched Zhao Ming's face: "How could you be forced? You're so smart. When you introduced my elder brother to Xue Mingtang, you must have foreseen this day. He must have promised you many benefits, right? Promotion and wealth, and you could get rid of me."
Although she never truly understood the man she shared a bed with, they had been together for nearly twenty years, and she knew him very well.
"My wife, I beg you."
Madam Lin sighed, "Husband, do you know how much pain I was in that day when you nailed me to the coffin? I begged you countless times to let me go, but you didn't. You forced me into becoming a vengeful ghost. Everything I'm going through today is the retribution you begged for."
Kobayashi put down the knife, but the resentment emanating from her transformed into countless sharp blades, scraping across Zhao Ming's body. Amidst the man's screams of agony, she laughed uncontrollably.
It was almost dawn when Madam Lin finally stopped. She lay down on the bed and left Zhao Wenqi's body. After she left, the boy's breathing became steady, and he was still fast asleep.
She smiled at the child and floated out the door.
A wisp of smoke rose from beneath her feet. Before disappearing from the Zhao residence, Madam Lin had been gazing in the direction of Zhao Wenyue's courtyard.
She was trapped by the smoke and returned to the place she had been before, where the fox was still sitting on the stool.
It held a piece of yellow paper with writing on it in its paws, gently swaying it over three lit incense sticks.
Looking at the now completely transformed Lin Shi into a vengeful ghost, A Chan asked calmly and gently, "Has Aunt taken her revenge?"
"Aunt? You're Achan, no, who are you?"
Achan replied, "The Achan you knew is dead. Before she died, she lent me her name and body."
Ms. Kobayashi murmured, "I see."
"It's almost dawn, Aunt should be going to the underworld soon."
"Wait a minute." Kobayashi suddenly called out to Achan.
Achan tilted her head and looked at her.
“Zhao Ming told me that Xue Mingtang controlled my elder brother and used him to open the forbidden vault, which harmed the Lin family. You need to be careful in the future.”
"I've noted it down. May you rest in peace, Aunt." Achan lit the paper with Kobayashi's birth date and time on it with incense. The smoke that imprisoned Kobayashi's ghost condensed into a vortex, completely engulfing her resentment until she disappeared without a trace.
The yellow paper burned out in Achan's hand, and the flames climbed up her claws, but she didn't feel any burning pain.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the three incense sticks in front of her were still burning, and the yellow paper under the bowl had turned to ash and fallen to the ground.
She lifted her foot and rubbed it on the few specks of ash, but nothing could be seen anymore.
It was already daylight.
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