Bamboo stalks stand tall and straight, evergreen through all seasons, defying snow and frost, neither humble nor arrogant. But now, they have become the ghostly figures that have trapped the Wen family.
The shadows cast by the bamboo fall upon the doors and windows, appearing as if they were dark, shifting shadows, and looking out from the dimly lit room, they seemed like ghostly apparitions.
Wen huddled in the corner of the bed, staring intently at the door and window, her lips moving as if she were muttering something.
"Squeak~"
The tightly closed door was pushed open, and Ms. Wen looked up sharply, but for a moment she couldn't see who it was.
She clutched her collar, staring at the figure in the doorway, dressed in a brocade purple robe and adorned with an exquisite red jade hairpin. "It's you!"
Ms. Wen trembled even more terrified than before. She pulled the blanket over her head and cried out for mercy, "I didn't kill you! It wasn't me!"
"Please don't come looking for me! It wasn't me!"
"Don't come looking for me!!!"
Yun Jinglan looked at the huddled Wen Shi and finally a smile appeared on her face. It was worth it for her to specially make this dress. Heaven knows how much effort she put into buying this set of jewelry.
She feigned surprise, covered her mouth, and asked loudly, "What are you talking about? Who did you kill?"
Mrs. Wen was startled when she heard the familiar voice. After waiting for a long while and seeing no evil spirits come to claim her life, she carefully pulled the quilt down a little, revealing a pair of cloudy eyes. She squinted but couldn't see the person in front of her clearly. "Is it Yun?"
Yun Jinglan smiled. "Who else could it be but me? Could it be that you've really done something you're ashamed of, and that's why you're scared?"
As Yun Jinglan spoke, she walked to the window and pushed it open. Sunlight streamed in, casting a blurry shadow behind her, making it even harder for Wen Shi to see her face clearly. Even knowing it was Yun Jinglan, she was still afraid. The shadow her sister had cast over her was so profound that her mind was now filled with an amplified sense of dread.
“Ms. Yun, come closer to speak.” Ms. Wen’s voice was hoarse, as if it had rolled on a gravel ground.
Yun Jinglan was even more delighted to see that she was genuinely frightened; this was exactly the effect she wanted. She didn't refuse and took a few steps forward. "Is this distance alright?"
"Closer," Madam Wen said, sitting on the edge of the bed and beckoning to the blurry figure. "Why can't I see clearly?"
Yun Jinglan didn't reply. She simply walked closer to the sandalwood incense burner, covered her nose with one hand, and lifted the lid with the other to extinguish the incense.
The bewitching herb is good, but one shouldn't smell it too much. The old woman likes the bewitching herb, and she's always been respectful to her elders, so I can only light some for her. However, she can't stand the smell.
The imperial physician Wang said that inhaling too much of the mind-altering herb would cause one to go insane.
She glanced at Wen Shi, whose hair was disheveled, who had dark circles under her eyes, and whose cheeks were sunken. Seeing her in such a sorry state, she felt that their "filial piety" had not been in vain.
"The doors and windows are tightly closed, and the room is rather dark, so it's normal that you can't see clearly. I just don't know why you called me here?"
In just a few days, too many things changed. After leaving Qiao Muyang's place in a daze that day, Wen fell ill and had been recuperating in her room. She felt weak all over and her spirits were low. Only after she recovered did she realize that she hadn't seen Zheng Xiulan and Qiao Muyang for several days.
But she couldn't get out, and no one could get in. Even those damned girls dared to talk nonsense; she wished she could cut their tongues out.
"I don't like the maids serving outside. Replace them all."
Ms. Wen did not refuse and nodded in agreement.
She won't be staying in this courtyard for much longer. Once she's in the Ministry of Justice prison, she'll have her own jailers to "serve" her, so she won't need these maids anymore.
"I'll have everyone evacuate in a bit."
"You're so thoughtful."
Yun Jinglan's obedience gave Madam Wen some confidence; they probably didn't know about this yet. Treating her like this must be because they were angry that she had kept Zheng and her daughter at home for so long.
"Are you angry that I kept Zheng Shi in the house? Lan'er is my sister's orphan, and I have felt guilty towards her all my life, so I have been a little biased. Yao'er is my own son, and you are my daughter-in-law. I am only nice to her verbally, but everything in the Marquis's mansion belongs to you. Please don't hold it against me for my sake."
Wen Shi spoke to Yun Jinglan like a caring elder, trying to persuade her, but Yun Jinglan only felt like vomiting.
What a joke! She has no face to speak of!
Did she still feel guilty towards her sister? Wasn't it her who wanted to give everything to her daughter and grandson, and used their entire family as a stepping stone?
"I wonder what you feel guilty about?"
Mrs. Wen didn't notice the change in Yun Jinglan's address. When she mentioned how badly Mrs. Wen had treated her, she was filled with resentment.
“Back then, we were twin sisters. I married into the Marquis’s mansion and became a woman of high social standing, but my sister married a good-for-nothing who only knew how to drink and commit domestic violence. You don’t know, the original marriage to the Marquis’s mansion was supposed to be my sister’s, but we swapped and I got the better deal.”
Speaking of this, Madam Wen was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She should have been the mistress of this Marquis's mansion!
Yun was aware of this matter as well; her mother had already inquired about all the relatives of the Marquis's family before her marriage. This secret past could not be hidden from her.
She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, feigning concern, and helped Lady Wen scold herself: "That's not true! Back then, only the Marquis remained in the Marquis's mansion. Lady Wen was greedy for vanity and afraid of becoming a widow after marrying into the family, so she forced you to exchange marriages. If you ask me, all of this is her own fault, and has nothing to do with your mother-in-law!"
Yun Jinglan's indignant and fierce expression, which made her want to curse Xiao Wenshi to death, almost made her faint.
Every word he cursed was directed at her!
"And then there's Lan'er's marriage. She—no, I carefully selected a sickly man for her. I ruined her life! This is what I owe her!"
Yun Jinglan covered her mouth with her sleeve, thinking she had heard some huge joke.
When the Marquis's mansion was choosing a husband for Zheng Xiulan, everyone in the capital knew about it. However, the Zheng family was of modest means; established families looked down on them, and they didn't fancy the newly rich and powerful. In the end, Zheng Xiulan herself chose the Qiao family, one of the wealthiest families in Jingzhou.
Qiao Erlang was handsome and talented. It was Zheng Xiulan's own fault for pushing him into the water during an argument, causing him to drown and fall seriously ill. After Qiao Erlang's death, if it weren't for the sake of the Wenyang Marquis's family, they probably would have beaten Zheng Xiulan to death long ago. How dare she be so arrogant now!
“Your grandfather knows Zheng’s character; she’s just like her mother. If you ask me, she brought it on herself.” Yun Jinglan added fuel to the fire. “By the way, people in Jingzhou are saying that the Qiao family has given Qiao Erlang a son from a collateral branch to inherit the family business, and they’ve said they won’t accept the child born to that poisonous woman Zheng Xiulan.”
"Don't blame me for being harsh, but my aunt really didn't raise Xiulan well. There's always trouble around a widow's door, and she's a widow who was kicked out by her husband's family. It's not good for her to stay in the Marquis's mansion all day long." As she said this, she suddenly grabbed Wen's hand. Today, her makeup was specially made to imitate her mother-in-law's makeup when she was alive, and she deliberately pressed her face close to Wen's face. "I'll drive them away right now!"
Yun Jinglan's last words were chilling and terrifying. Controlled by the mind-altering herb, Wen Shi momentarily mistook Yun Jinglan for her deceased sister and forcefully pushed her away, yelling, "Ahhh! Don't come any closer!"
"A ghost!"
Yun Jinglan was being shoved when she suddenly pulled her hand away from Wen Shi's. Losing her strength, Wen Shi fell backward, hitting her head on the bedpost, and immediately fainted. It was unclear whether she fainted from the impact or from shock.
When Wen was unhappy, Yun Jinglan was happy.
"You have committed many evils, and you will suffer all the consequences in the future. This is just the beginning; none of you three will escape!"
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