Chapter 38: Summoning Souls
The emperor suddenly turned to look at Pei Ji, his eyes like lightning. Pei Ji calmly met the emperor's scrutiny, the silver fish bag at his waist not moving at all.
He had expected that something unexpected would happen today, but he didn't expect that the other party would dare to attack on the prince's death anniversary.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard on Chengtian Street, and the cold light of the Royal Guards' armor pierced the sky.
"The emperor has given his orders, all outsiders must retreat!"
The people panicked and fled, only to see a group of soldiers heading straight for the Changning Marquis's residence. The old man selling pancakes trembled, and the hot pancakes rolled into the dust: "Isn't this Pei Qingtian's residence?"
At the window on the second floor of the teahouse, the scholar in blue shook the teacup in his hand - everyone knew that Pei Ji was a favorite of the emperor, so how could his mansion be suddenly surrounded?
Inside the Qin'an Palace, Ying Shuo was sweating profusely. Censor Zhang knelt outside the palace gate, unable to get up, and kept saying he wanted to impeach Pei Ji.
The worst thing was that the old stubborn man actually shouted in public that there was another hidden story behind the prince's death.
"How dare you!" The emperor suddenly shouted, frightening the grandson so much that he shrank back behind his dragon robe.
The incense stick in Prince Rui's hand snapped, its ash falling onto the blue bricks. Prince Jin stared down at his gold-embroidered black boots, his lips pressed together in a straight line.
A strong wind suddenly blew up outside the palace, carrying dead leaves and slapping against the window frames. The emperor looked at the extinguished eternal lamp in front of the prince's ancestral tablet, and vaguely saw his eldest son's hand clutching his sleeve as he died.
That hand had drawn his first bow and approved his first memorial, but in the end, it gradually grew cold in the scent of medicine.
…
The sound of the carriage rolling over the bluestone road was particularly harsh. Earl Changning stared at the gold-painted food box on his knees, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the newly bought silver-gilt and kingfisher-inlaid hairpin.
The twilight coming through the diamond-shaped window wandered on the hairpin, reflecting the thin layer of sweat oozing from his temples - just now in the Treasure Pavilion, the shopkeeper said that this was the favorite style of noble ladies nowadays.
"Turn around Zhuque Street and go back home." He suddenly stuffed the hairpin into the brocade box and shouted to the outside of the carriage curtain, "Laicai, make a detour to the Chu Mansion to deliver some..." The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he changed his tone and said, "Say you're delivering cakes to Ji'er. If he asks, just say it was sent by the Madam."
The carriage suddenly jolted violently, and the brocade box clattered onto the carriage board. Just as Earl Changning was about to explode, Laicai, with a pale face, lifted the carriage curtain and said, "Master! There are so many people gathered in front of the mansion..."
Before the vermilion-lacquered gate, imperial guards in black armor stood with swords drawn. The setting sun's rays glimpsed the cold blades, illuminating the golden plaque hanging above the lintel, which read "The Mansion of the Earl of Changning Built by Imperial Order." The Earl of Changning felt a sweet, fishy taste in his throat as the kingfisher hairpin slipped from his trembling fingers and shattered in two on the bluestone slab.
"Pei Ji...it must be Pei Ji..." He staggered off the carriage, his cloud-patterned brocade boots stepping on the magnolia petals all over the ground.
Ten years ago, in late autumn, a twelve-year-old fool suddenly began to recite "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital". That night, he knelt in the ancestral hall and burned incense to his ancestors, saying that the Pei family was finally going to have someone who would bring honor to the family.
The sound of mixed footsteps came from the alley entrance, and his half-brother Pei Kaijin and the elders of the clan surrounded him.
The third uncle pounded his red sandalwood cane on the ground and said tremblingly, "The Imperial Guards have been surrounding the mansion for half an hour, and people from the Ministry of Justice are carrying wooden boxes in and out."
"Brother, listen to my advice!" Pei Kaijin grabbed his arm, his voice low and fierce, "Before the imperial edict is issued, you should hurry to the palace to apologize. Say that Pei Ji was possessed by an evil spirit ten years ago, and our Pei family is also a victim!"
Lord Changning was trembling all over, and the scene half a year ago suddenly flashed before his eyes.
Pei Ji returned home late at night, with a bleeding bandage wrapped under his black cloak, but he still smiled and comforted him: "Don't worry, father, it's just some superficial injuries." That smile overlapped with the silly smile of the idiot boy when he was young, with drooling eyes, which scared him so much that he dropped the teacup.
"No!" He violently shook off his half-brother's hand, "Ji'er is now the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple!"
"Shao Qing?" Fifth Uncle interrupted with a sneer. "Last month, he impeached the Duke of Fengguo for encroaching on the people's land, and yesterday he refuted the Minister of Revenue in court. If he doesn't know how to restrain himself, he will get into trouble sooner or later!"
Before he could finish his words, wails erupted from within the mansion. The wife of the Earl of Changning was dragged out of the house by two maids, her long black hair tangled like a madwoman, clutching a ball of bright yellow silk tightly in her arms. Where the silk fell, a half-carved paulownia doll, studded with mahogany nails, was revealed.
"Ji'er! Give my Ji'er back to me!" She suddenly broke free from her shackles and pounced on the official from the Ministry of Justice, biting his arm with bloodshot eyes. "You evil ghosts! You evil spirits! Don't even think about harming my child!"
Earl Changning was struck by lightning. Three days ago, he had gone to the White Horse Monastery to fetch someone, and the abbot had clearly said that his wife was simply seeking a talisman for safety. And now, the birth date and eight characters written in cinnabar on the doll's chest were clearly the prince's!
There was chaos in front of the Changning Marquis's Mansion.
Pei Kaisong's brocade sleeves were pulled by his relatives until they were as wrinkled as pickles. He stared with wide eyes at these relatives who changed their minds faster than turning the pages of a book.
I still remember that when Pei Ji was selected as the prince's companion, these people came to his house at night with gifts and competed to put their own sons and nephews in front of Ji'er.
"Ji'er is a rare talent in our Pei family that we only see once in a hundred years!" That day, Third Uncle was leaning on a cane, his wrinkled face smiling like a chrysanthemum.
"If you ask me, Mr. Ji is a late bloomer and will definitely be a prime minister in the future!" The second cousin held the emerald cabbage in his hands and flattered him so much that he wanted to lie on the ground.
At this moment, their faces were as ferocious as evil spirits, and they were trying to tear the father and son into pieces with their hands and feet.
"Brother, don't be confused!" The fourth uncle's spit sprayed on Pei Kaisong's face, "That Pei Ji is clearly a monster. My sister-in-law said so herself back then."
"Bullshit!"
Pei Kaisong suddenly threw everyone off, stumbling into the doorpost. His crimson eyes swept across every hypocritical face, and suddenly he laughed out loud, "Back then, when I begged Ji'er for help, why didn't you call him a monster? Now he's so quick to change his ways!"
The clan members were about to gather around, but Pei Kaisong grabbed the bronze candlestick by the door and said, "If anyone dares to insult my son again, I'll smash his skull!"
The candlesticks shone coldly in the sunlight, frightening everyone so much that they stepped back.
The door of the mansion was suddenly pushed open, and the sound of armor colliding was like hail hitting the ground.
Pei Kaisong turned and was met with the stern face of Ye Shengwei, the commander of the Imperial Guards. Beneath his red-tasseled helmet, those eagle eyes surveyed him. Everyone said the Earl of Changning was a playboy, living a life of idleness and waiting for death, but now he stood as straight as a pine tree, bearing some resemblance to a military family.
"Commander Ye." Pei Kaisong threw the candlestick to the ground with a clang, sending sparks flying. "May I ask why the emperor has surrounded my residence? Where is my son Pei Ji now?"
Ye Shengwei stroked the dragon pattern on the hilt with his thumb and said lightly: "Lord Pei is accompanying the emperor in the palace." Before he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of the goose yellow skirt outside the crack of the door - Miss Luo's carriage had been waiting at the wall for half a day.
Pei Kaisong breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and was about to step over the threshold.
Suddenly, Lai Cai's heart-wrenching cry came from behind: "Master! Master, please think twice!"
He stopped and looked back. The servant was being held by two swords, his face covered in tears. This loyal servant, who had followed him since childhood, was now desperately pointing westward in the direction of the Chu Mansion - there lay the last hope of survival.
"Why are you crying?" Pei Kaisong cursed with a smile, and walked into the mansion with a flick of his sleeves. "Go ask for a pot of good wine from Old Chu, and wait for the master to come back and have a drink!"
The vermilion lacquered door slammed shut, cutting off Laicai's heart-wrenching wails.
The sound of the Royal Guards' iron boots stepping on the bluestone slabs startled the spring swallows nesting under the eaves.
In the carriage at the foot of the wall, Luo Zhaohan's slender fingers gently lifted the curtain. The sun's shadow filtered through the gauze curtain, casting a mottled halo on her snow-white cheek.
"Miss, Master Pei will be alright, right?"
"Of course not!"
She looked at the strict formation of the Imperial Guards, and her eyes reflected the peeling lacquer painting on the lintel of Pei Mansion.
The image of the young Pei Ji carrying her through the flood on a rainy night in the previous life suddenly became clear - his thin back then was now able to bear the bloody wind and rain.
…
As the Earl of Changning crossed the gate, a chill suddenly ran down the back of his neck. He had initially thought Ye Shengwei was going to detain him in the side hall, and now he was still thinking about finding out about Pei Ji.
"Commander Ye, where is my son now? Did he offend the emperor in front of the emperor?" Earl Changning followed the steps of the commander of the Black Armor Guards, his blue satin and black boots making a small sound as they rolled over the blue bricks. "Ji'er has always been upright and honest, and as an official he is very conscientious about his duties. He would never do anything out of line!"
Ye Shengwei suddenly stopped in his tracks, his black iron wristband gleaming coldly in the twilight. "Master, why don't you go to the west wing first?"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head. The blood drained from the face of the Earl of Changning. Without a care for decorum, he lifted the corner of his robe and hurried west. When he turned through the hanging flower gate, he saw the west courtyard door was wide open, and the ashes of burnt paper drifted among the mess on the ground.
West wing.
As the hour of You approached, Nanny Ai had already set up the incense table, cushion, and offerings. Lady Changning knelt on the embroidered cushion, a low table before her, cinnabar talisman paper and a silver knife placed on it. Her hand, gripping the mahogany doll, trembled, the cinnabar tip hovering above the doll's eyebrows, refusing to fall.
"Madam, it's time to add the finishing touches." Aunt Ai urged softly.
Mrs. Bo suddenly looked up, her eyes red: "If Ji'er comes back, what will happen to him?"
The "he" was self-explanatory. A dark glint flashed in Ai Ma's eyes as she gently advised, "I know you're reluctant to leave. The prince has been diligently visiting you day and night for years. But think about it: if the young master returns, this evil spirit will be utterly shattered."
Before she could finish her words, Madam Bo's body trembled violently, and the cinnabar from the tip of her brush "slapped" on the doll's eye sockets. Although the eyes painted with cinnabar could not be identified, they were vivid and lifelike, just like a real person. Aunt Ai took the opportunity to hand over the silver knife: "It's time to summon the soul."
As the blade slid across her fingertips, Mrs. Bo vaguely recalled that rainy night ten years ago. Seven-year-old Pei Ji had a persistent fever. She knelt before the Buddha and vowed to shorten her life by twenty years if it meant her son's health. Three days later, the child awoke, but those eyes...
"Ji'er, come back and see your mother..." Lady Bo handed the blood-stained doll to Aunt Ai, her tears soaking the lotus-embroidered cuffs as she clasped her hands and chanted. She remembered Pei Ji, braving the snow, rushing back from the Hanlin Academy last year just to give her a copy of the newly copied Buddhist scriptures; she remembered how, on his coming of age, he stood quietly outside the ancestral hall, waiting for her to finish her chanting, even though he should have been performing the ceremony.
Aunt Ai turned around holding the doll, and the yellow talisman hidden in her sleeve quietly slid into the incense burner.
This talisman was given by the man in black the day before yesterday, who said it could help the lady fulfill her wish.
She thought of her two children - her son's future as a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue and her daughter's upcoming betrothal family, and she gripped the doll even tighter.
The Buddhist hall was filled with smoke, and the wife of the Earl of Changning was kneeling on the cushion, shivering.
Ai Mama turned her back to her master and reached into her bosom. Her fingers, like dry bark, had just touched the edge of the talisman paper covered with her birth date and eight characters when she suddenly heard a thunderous shout from above her head: "Stop!"
Ling Ji jumped off the beam like a hawk, and his big hands like iron clamps tightly grasped Ai Mama's wrist.
The old woman howled in pain like a pig being slaughtered, and the talisman paper hidden in her sleeve fell to the ground - on it was written the birth date of Crown Prince Chao Yinjie.
"Ji'er!" Lady Changning suddenly screamed and lunged at the altar. Her hair disheveled, her fingers clutching the small, paulownia-carved figurine tightly, as if grasping at a last straw. She didn't even feel her abdomen colliding with the sharp corners of the incense table, trembling as she tried to put the figurine back in its place.
Jiang Xi snatched the puppet in one swift step, the fatal talisman tucked between his fingers. "Madam, do you understand that this is a grave crime punishable by the extermination of all nine generations of your clan?" He was trembling with anger. "If we let the prince's horoscope be affixed to it, the Imperial Guards would raze the Earl's Mansion in no time!"
Incense ash rustled onto the blue bricks, and the Lady of Changning looked up in bewilderment. Jiang Xi, holding the talisman paper, took a half-step closer. "That old fellow beside you has already been bribed! If you succeed tonight, everyone in the court will be saying you used witchcraft to curse the Crown Prince—and the young master is carrying a heavy burden for you in the palace!"
The eternal lamp on the altar flickered, casting a shadow on the tear-stained face of the Madam. Jiang Xi recalled the winter night last year when the young master braved the snow and returned from the Ministry of Justice, the knife wound on his shoulder still bleeding, yet he had instructed them not to let Madam know. The blood-soaked bandage overlapped with the talisman paper before him, causing his eyes to burn.
"Last year on Laba Festival, the young master was assassinated while investigating the canal transport case. He had a high fever for three days and kept saying, 'Don't be afraid, mother.'" Jiang Xi's voice was hoarse. "Last month, you punished the young master by making him kneel in the snow at the ancestral hall. He coughed up blood and stopped us from calling a doctor, saying, 'Don't worry mother.'"
Ling Ji suddenly threw Aunt Ai to the ground. The old woman's hair bun unfurled, and a token from the Eastern Palace fell out. Jiang Xi stepped on the token and sneered, "This servant has been bribed, and Madam still believes her lies?"
The wife of the Earl of Changning slumped down on the futon, the doll in her arms falling to the ground with a thud. The paulownia head rolled under the altar, revealing the dense patch of needle marks on the back of her neck—all of which she had personally pierced over the past ten years.
"Young Master knew you were going to practice witchcraft, yet you asked us to protect this harmful creature." Jiang Xi bent down to pick up the doll, his fingertips stroking the old scars. "He said, 'If Mother wants to be treated, then do it. It will at least ease her pain.'"
"Just wait and see! In a few moments, the commander of the Imperial Guards will arrive with his troops. They will witness you practicing the mysterious art of witchcraft with their own eyes. The evidence is irrefutable and beyond doubt!"
"If the young master hadn't seen through the schemes of these villains beforehand, you would have been facing a tragic fate, with your entire clan implicated, for allegedly using witchcraft to curse the deceased prince!"
"Madam has narrowly escaped this disaster today, but have you ever considered the trials the young master faces in the palace right now? How much pressure will he endure? And how many people are slandering him?"
"But who is willing to sympathize with our lonely young master, madam?"
"Have you heard of the countless kindhearted people out there who have suffered unjustifiable injustices, eagerly hoping that the young master will exonerate them? The case files on his desk are piled higher than he is, and in the dark, countless sharp swords hang over his head, ready to pierce his body at any moment. Have you noticed this?"
"Madam! Please have mercy on our young master and show him some compassion. Do not beat him with sticks or disturb his peace!"
Jiang Xi said this in one breath, as if the depression that had accumulated in his heart for a long time was finally released.
He understood that he had violated the young master's taboo. After the situation calmed down, he would definitely take the initiative to ask for punishment and take this opportunity to bid farewell to the young master. He only hoped that the lady would show mercy, let the young master go, and give him a little care!
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