Chapter 85. A...person who's always there.
To be honest, the salt field was not as interesting as Leng Cuizhu had imagined. Not only was it not interesting, but the environment was also extremely harsh, with dust everywhere.
Because the mining is of cliff salt and it is not approved by the government, most of the work and rest areas are hidden in the renovated caves, where they are not exposed to the light of day.
“This land of Young Master Si was originally vacant. At most, it was allowed for nearby farmers to grow some vegetables or graze cattle here,” Chen Xun explained as he led Leng Cuizhu and Lu Miaolian inside. “The caves and grottoes we are passing through now were all expanded from the original site to accommodate more salt workers and unprocessed coarse salt.”
"Don't worry, ladies, I'm just showing you around. Tonight, we'll sleep in the tents we set up outside."
Leng Cuizhu looked up at the beam in the cave and said, "Why does this place feel... a bit unsafe?"
Chen Xun waved his hand: "Hey, wife, the salt workers are earning money by risking their lives. If salt mining were a safe job with no risks, everyone would be doing it. There would be no shortage of people willing to risk their lives, and the wages wouldn't be so high now."
Lu Miaolian looked around and said, "Lord Chen, how can the salt workers' sleeping area be right next to the salt piles? What if they can't hold it in and relieve themselves in the salt piles? What if they get sick and vomit everywhere, contaminating the salt? Will we have to compensate for this loss?"
"Lord Chen, although we are not engaged in legitimate business, you can't really disregard your own dignity. You must hold yourself and your subordinates to the standards of official regulations."
“Oh dear,” Chen Xun had no rebuttal, “Change it immediately! I’ll have the person in charge change it tomorrow morning!”
"Ladies, the dust will get even worse if we go any further in. We don't want to choke you. Shall we head back home? It's time for dinner."
Chen Xun led them toward the cave entrance. Leng Cuizhu turned her head and took one last look at the smoke-filled cave, her thoughts wandering.
After dinner, Chen Xun led her for a stroll on the grass. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"My lord, has all the earth and wood in this place been rebuilt? Are there any survivors... of the former Young Master Si Qing?"
Chen Xun put his hands behind his back and nodded, saying, "Yes, of course."
"The small house that Young Master Si Qing ordered to be built has not been demolished and is still inhabited."
"Did people live in that little house?"
Chen Xun smiled and said, "My wife, I'll take you there."
When she arrived at the place, she realized that the small house was not inhabited at all, but was inhabited by dozens of cats.
Chen Xun kept saying he didn't like coming to this place while adding food to the cat's bowl.
“These cats were all caught by the Marquis outside, and after being neutered, they were all sent here to be raised,” Chen Xun said. “My little raccoon was picked from here. The Marquis’s third aunt said I could choose any one I wanted.”
"...Third Aunt?"
"Yes, and there's also my second uncle, seventh uncle, and aunt. After the Marquis passed away, his relatives took care of all the flowers, birds, fish, and insects he had under his command."
The courtyard was teeming with raccoon dogs, their eyes gleaming in the darkness, all staring at her intently, making her uneasy.
"Excuse me, sir, may I come inside?"
Chen Xun reluctantly put the cat down: "Yes, of course."
"However, we came here on a whim, so I didn't bring the house key. Please wait here while I go back to get the key, and I'll be right back."
"good……"
After Chen Xun left, she became even more afraid.
The cats, big and small, around her feet were so affectionate that they kept jumping on her, and some even climbed onto her back, scratching her shoulders until they hurt.
Being scratched by the cat was bad enough, but what really drove her crazy was the rustling sound of the wind all around her, like whispers.
Looking at the dark bamboo forest outside the courtyard, she always felt that someone was hiding inside.
If only it were a cat hiding.
But those eyes were so cold, like a pool of frozen, stagnant water, and they were perched high above.
That's so tall, much taller than her, how could it be a cat?
Even with the constant meowing of raccoons around her, she couldn't ignore the eyes in the bamboo forest and the faint sighs that seemed both near and far.
It sounded like a question, yet also like a lament.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Chen Xun returned with the keys and hurriedly asked him to lead her inside.
"Wait a minute, my wife, this key hasn't been used in a long time. Let me figure out how to use it!"
She looked around, already seeing danger everywhere: "Hurry up!" she said, raising her hand to slap Chen Xun's arm.
"Okay, okay! Coming right away!"
He gets flustered and makes a mess of things, taking a long time to finally open the old wooden door.
Leng Cuizhu hurriedly went inside, and Chen Xun followed her into the house, making sure to lock the door from the inside.
The room was empty, with little furniture, just a bed and a broken chair.
Leng Cuizhu sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes lowered as she touched her heart.
Seeing this, Chen Xun turned around and sat on the broken chair. As soon as he sat down, the chair creaked and groaned, and its four legs looked like they were about to break.
He gripped the handrail, forcing himself to remain calm: "Wife, let's rest here for a while, then go back later. This room is dark and eerie without any candles."
She was busy looking for the will and nodded casually, "Okay, sure."
“My lord, if you are tired, please close your eyes and rest. I would like to walk around this room a little longer.” She stood up and made room for Chen Xun. “My lord, please come to the bed.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the tightly closed window rattled.
The two of them looked in the direction of the sound.
"It's probably just too windy," Chen Xun murmured. "There's no way anyone could be passing by in this desolate wilderness..."
He quickly sat on the bed, curled up with his hands around his knees, looking anxious and uneasy.
Leng Cuizhu searched the room for a long time, even lifting up the floorboards, but still couldn't find any suspicious boxes, let alone a will.
"My lady," Chen Xun called out to her, "shall we finish this quickly, shall we?"
She looked up and said, "Okay, I'll try my best."
She was squatting on the ground, sweating profusely as she searched for something, while Chen Xun was fast asleep in bed.
Leng Cuizhu spent several quarters of an hour searching for the will, but not only did she fail to find it in the dilapidated house, she also ended up with her hands covered in dust, looking quite disheveled.
With her hands covered in dust, she grabbed Chen Xun's arm and shook him awake: "My lord, get up."
Chen Xun, still half-asleep, said, "Oh, okay... we can go now, right?"
He walked to the door in a daze, tried to open it, and then suddenly stopped.
Leng Cuizhu peeked out: "What's wrong?"
"Why is the door locked...?"
"Didn't you just lock it yourself?"
“No,” Chen Xun shook his head in astonishment, “It’s locked from the outside, I can’t open it.”
"ah?"
She hurried to the window and tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. Turning to Chen Xun, she glared at him, "Sir, what should we do...?"
Chen Xun didn't answer her directly, her eyes darting around: "Yeah, what should we do?"
He clapped his hands and said, "Why don't we spend the night here?"
The door opened.
"Wife, run!" Chen Xun grabbed her and ran outside.
The two ran as if being chased by some monster, running non-stop until they reached an open space where they could barely stop to catch their breath.
Chen Xun untied the water bottle from his waist, unscrewed the stopper, and handed it to her. He then rubbed his back and said, "That house must be haunted! If we really spend the night there, we might get eaten by ghosts in the middle of the night!"
She drank the water too quickly and choked several times: "Cough, cough... Thank goodness there were adults here."
But actually, she felt that the series of anomalies were more man-made than ghosts.
A person who is always by your side.
She didn't want it to be that person.
In any case, she will never venture out at night again. Once the candlelight is out, nothing can be seen, making it easy to commit heinous acts, which is truly terrifying.
The next day, she got up early and went to the salt field with Lu Miaolian to observe, but this time she went to see the salt workers managing the salt and, incidentally, to look for the will she had been longing for.
They wanted to ask Chen Xun to lead the way, but the manager told them that Chen Xun was not there. He had gone out to run errands before dawn and would not return until dusk. So they could only wander around the area on their own.
"How did you sleep last night? Were you alright?" Lu Miaolian asked her.
"Uh," she forced a smile, "it's alright, it's alright..."
“I’m leaving this afternoon,” Lu Miaolian sighed, patting her shoulder. “I have to go back to prepare a banquet and finalize the guest list. Why don’t you stay here for a few days and enjoy yourself before you go back? You can go back when you’re done!” “Next time you want to come, just write to me in advance and I’ll come pick you up.” She added, “We don’t have to come here, we don’t necessarily have to come here. We can go somewhere else together… as long as you’re willing.”
Leng Cuizhu looked up: "Why... so suddenly?"
She had originally planned to take this opportunity to catch up with Lu Miaolian. After all, they had known each other for over twenty years, and neither of them wanted their friendship to fade. They were both carefully maintaining their friendship, especially Xiaolian. She could feel that Xiaolian relied on her just like before.
Friends can't stay together for life; most friendships are sifted out by hurdles. Starting a family and establishing a career is one such hurdle. She had previously married Yin Yuan behind Xiao Lian's back, and she and Xiao Lian couldn't overcome this hurdle. After the marriage, they broke off their relationship and had no further contact. Meeting again in her middle age is a rare and precious opportunity, and she should cherish it.
For Leng Cuizhu now, her sisters are far more important than her husband. Men would exploit her and despise her because of her inferior character and background, but her sisters would not. Her sisters had shared hardships with her, and even when they became successful, they did not look down on her and did not forget to support her.
Lu Miaolian waved her hand: "It was arranged a long time ago, but I didn't want to tell you. Seeing you so happy..."
"See you next time! It's not like we're dead and will never see each other again."
After she saw Lu Miaolian off in the afternoon, Chen Xun also returned. Although she had long lost interest in shopping, she still forced a smile and had dinner with Chen Xun.
After the meal, he took her to the cave to see how salt was processed.
Chen Xun chattered incessantly the whole way, his words flowing like a river, while she followed behind, listening silently and occasionally responding.
"By the way, my lady, how has Lord Yin been lately?"
She took a while to reply: "It's alright... just like before. If you want to say hello to him, I can pass on the message for you."
"No, no need for you to take me, my lady!" Chen Xun waved his hand and raised his head. "Who would care about a useless person? I'm worried about Mimi."
She smiled and nodded, understanding perfectly: "Don't worry, sir, Miss Jiang is doing quite well. She gets along well with everyone in the manor, uh, except for Lord Yin, and Leng Zhen too."
Chen Xun smiled and said, "That's good."
“MiMi has always preferred playing with girls since she was little and didn’t like being around boys. Those men looked down on her, perhaps because of her inferiority complex. After all, MiMi is so outstanding. Those men have nothing to offer but their bodies. In fact, their bodies are not worth mentioning either. They are just arrogant.”
"Um……"
She lowered her eyes in thought, and accidentally stepped on a pebble on the ground, stumbling and falling to the ground. Luckily, Chen Xun caught her arm so she didn't fall face-first.
"This road is difficult to travel, my wife, please be careful."
"Thank you, sir..." Leng Cuizhu pursed her lips, looked up in surprise, and met the eyes of the man in front of her.
Several stones rolled off the corner.
The two of them went to keep watch together.
Chen Xun: "It should be a rat, right?"
"Yes, that should be it." She nodded in agreement.
"My wife, take my arm and we'll walk together, that way we won't fall."
"good."
The two walked closely together toward the other side of the cave.
Seeing this, the guard hiding around the corner hurriedly tiptoed to follow, but was stopped by Yin Yuan.
"No need to go." Yin Yuan snorted coldly, rubbing the salt between his fingers. "There's no need to confirm things that are set in stone."
"Alright. Then... sir, what should we do next?"
Yin Yuanzheng said, "To allow such crudely made salt grains to enter the market is to be an accomplice to evil."
He was not settling a personal score or acting on impulse. Private salt production was forbidden, especially for an official in the court. He did not use this as leverage to impeach Chen Xun, which was already more than enough.
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