Chapter 55 Ghost Festival
She let go of the door, turned around, and went inside.
Seeing her awkward posture, Tao Tao, supporting her waist, slowly moved into the house.
Fangyun stood in front of the child, smiling gently, radiating maternal love, and reached out to touch the child's cheek.
"Xiao Bao, come inside and play. Mommy and this older sister have something to talk about."
Upon hearing this, the child timidly looked up at Tao Tao standing at the door, obediently nodded, and then ran into the house.
Fangyun hurriedly ran over and closed the door.
She turned to look at her and said, "I was originally a widow from Suizhou, and this child is indeed not Liu Rong's child..."
On their wedding day, her husband suddenly fell ill and died on the spot. Her in-laws believed that she had brought death to their son and forced her to return to her parents' home to break off the engagement.
Unexpectedly, her parents refused to return the betrothal gifts, citing the saying that a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup, and kicked her and her husband's family out.
Enraged, her in-laws beat her and sold her to a brothel, where she was humiliated for two years. Later, she became pregnant with someone else's child, and the madam, knowing this, was forced to abort the child. She managed to escape from that hellhole with all her might.
She wandered the streets and was found by Liu Rong, who came to Suizhou to buy beans. Liu Rong settled her in a small courtyard, and she pretended to repay him by offering herself to him, but in reality, she wanted to seek a stable life for the child in her womb.
Liu Rong was overjoyed to learn that she was pregnant, but he remained silent about marrying her.
She panicked. With the baby about to be born, she was forced to ask him questions before she learned that Liu Rong was actually a married man.
All his income was controlled by his wife. Even the tofu shop wasn't his. Moreover, his wife was jealous, and the laws of the Celestial Empire stipulated that commoners could only take concubines after the age of forty.
Weighing the pros and cons, she had no choice but to become a mistress, at least someone would support her and her child.
Later, when the child was already five years old, he still couldn't be seen in public and was called a fatherless bastard by other children. He was sullen and silent all day long. How could a mother not feel heartbroken?
So she pressured Liu Rong to divorce his wife. Some time ago, Liu Rong sent her a letter asking her to take the child to the capital. She thought he had abandoned his wife, but she never expected this to happen.
Later, Liu Rong comforted her, saying that he had obtained the skill of making stuffed tofu and the land deed, and that he would marry her once the storm had passed. However, things developed as they are now because Tao Tao came to him.
"I...I never wanted Lady Liu to die! I didn't mean to harm anyone!"
“Liu Rong is not impotent, and I don’t know why I haven’t been able to get pregnant. But my son calls him Dad and takes his surname, so his family line won’t be cut off. I am a mother, and I have no choice but to do this for my son.”
Tao Tao watched coldly as she played the victim and acted pitiful.
"How could you not have harmed anyone? You destroyed a harmonious family! You forced Liu Rong to harbor evil thoughts and kill his wife who had always loved him. Such a heartless and ungrateful man, when he slept next to you, didn't you feel terrified?"
"Now that Liu Rong is dead and has no value, you woman don't even bother to collect the body of your savior. You are just like him, a selfish, vicious, and ungrateful wretch!"
Fangyun didn't even blush when she was talked to; she just kept crying.
“You can’t leave. Tomorrow is the Ghost Festival and also the seventh day after her death. You must go to Lady Liu’s grave to kowtow and apologize.”
Upon hearing this, she looked up at her in astonishment.
“I…I…it was my fault. I do need to offer incense and kowtow to Madam Liu.”
Feeling guilty and ashamed, she realized that Liu Niangzi's tragic death was indeed due to her own fault. After much deliberation, she decided to go and pay her respects, hoping to accumulate good karma for her son.
After Tao Tao came out, she went to Yu Shan and Yu He's house to call them to come to the shop to move a coffin.
Thinking about the mission, and the fact that tomorrow is the Ghost Festival, she feared that something strange might happen. Originally, she was indifferent to these superstitious beliefs, but she still needed to have some reverence for them.
Preparing the body for burial was a simple matter; she went to the market to retrieve Liu Rong's body and planned to bury it in the mountains the next day when she went up to pay respects to Lady Liu.
He was despicable. Anyway, she was doing it for the mission, so she couldn't possibly give her the proper funeral arrangements. She just reluctantly threw a handful of paper money into the coffin.
On the day of the Ghost Festival, every household prepares offerings for the deceased.
This year, Tao Tao's shop sold out ahead of schedule, and the people of Chengnan Street went elsewhere to buy paper offerings, which made the other three shops quite profitable, so they didn't hate her as much.
The emperor, along with his harem, officials, and princes, set off for Gongtian County in a grand procession before dawn.
We should arrive around noon.
On the other side, Tao Tao and the others went to the outskirts. Today, the Taoist temple and the temple were open. The Taoist temple would also hold a sacrificial ceremony, burn paper money to form a money mountain, commemorate the soldiers who died on the battlefield, and set up a Taoist temple to deliver the souls of the wandering ghosts.
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Ullambana Festival in Buddhism, is a time when temples hold Ullambana feasts and tell the Ullambana Sutra for the public to enjoy. The sutra mainly tells the story of the eminent monk Maudgalyayana saving his deceased mother's soul, which has great significance in spreading the word.
It was a rare and lively scene, and in the evening there were also activities such as watching lantern shows, releasing river lanterns, and burning street clothes.
On this day, ghosts are no longer frightening, but rather evoke longing.
The sun gradually sets, and dusk descends.
Tao Tao sat on the edge of the bridge, her palm supporting her chin, looking at the colorful halo reflected in Wangyang Lake. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she was thinking about something.
Downstream, people are releasing river lanterns, symbolizing guiding lost souls across the Bridge of Helplessness so they can be reborn.
There is no curfew today, and the streets are bustling with activity. All kinds of stalls are available, selling lanterns, fried dough sticks, and pastries. The shouts of vendors can be heard all over the place.
"Tao'er! Tao'er..."
Tu Miaoling, carrying a flower and grass lamp in one hand and a package of oil paper in the other, was running bouncyly from the bridgehead.
Her face was filled with excitement and joy, which lessened the sadness she felt during the day when she went to pay respects to the dead.
Tao Tao smiled as she watched her run over.
"Look, I bought a very elegant floral lamp, I'm sure you'll like it. And also, this is a fried dough stick, it's delicious!"
"One for each of us."
She shoved the flower lamp into her hand, then unfolded the oil paper, revealing two hot and fragrant fried dough cakes in front of her.
Tao Tao looked down at the flower and plant lamp, thinking that it was almost the same as paper crafts.
It's a pity her hand hasn't healed yet, otherwise she could make a batch of paper lanterns, which would definitely be very popular, and the money would come in.
Sigh, another chance to make a fortune has been missed.
She shook her head helplessly.
"What's wrong? Eat."
Tu Miaoling smiled, but there was a hint of doubt in her eyes.
If making a batch doesn't work, making one is fine too.
Tao Tao suddenly stood up, turned around, picked up the fried dough, and said, "Come on, come on! Let's go to my house, I'll make you something fun."
"What's fun?"
Tu Miaoling looked at her, her eyes shining with excitement.
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