East Gate
What is it?
At night, the dew drips down, thoroughly drenching the delicate flowers and leaves.
However, this water was a timely and auspicious rain, a blessing from heaven, and it seemed to break through the gloom. She said, "This... is not convenient to say."
It was past midnight again. She looked exhausted and patted Xie Lingjun's shoulder. "It's dark on the way back to Zhuozhi Garden. Brother, would you like to see us off?"
The latter suppressed his many doubts and said, "Okay."
The last time Liu Xu visited Zhuozhi Garden was in late autumn of last year. Now, the garden is lush and the flowers are soft, a truly captivating sight. As he entered, he shakily stood up from his wheelchair. "Brother, you have keen eyes. Could it be that you noticed something amiss?"
He took a few steps, his movements fluid and graceful, clearly unharmed.
That night, he climbed down from the window of the pavilion, only to feel a pain in his calf, and then he ran for ten miles.
When she took off her shoes and socks, her ankle was swollen and covered in red and purple marks.
Xiao Yin found him a skilled doctor and applied his precious prescription, but claimed to others—
When Lord Liu went to the Qilou to check the accounts of the broken furniture, he accidentally fell out of the broken window frame and broke both his legs.
Xie Lingxi glanced at him in the mirror, took off her hairpin, and said, "That's hard to say."
but……
She said, "Your leg injury hasn't healed yet, so it's best to avoid moving around too much."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xu sat down, gently stroking the bedding on the bed, but his gaze was fixed on his wife's face. He suddenly said, "This bedding is damp, how can we sleep?"
"It's damp?" The snow had only been melting for a little over a month, yet the spring tide had arrived so rapidly.
Like a stream that never sleeps or rests.
Xie Lingxi reached out and touched the incredibly soft Sichuan brocade—her mother clearly kept a close watch on her room! Even the bedding was changed seasonally!
She glared at me and said, "Are you trying to trick me again?"
"How could that be?"
Liu Xu took her hand and whispered in her ear, "Why are your palms so sweaty?"
She was indeed covered in sweat.
Perhaps it was due to the dampness of the spring night and the secrets they were discussing, but more so because of Xie Lingjun's cup of hot tea.
My intuition tells me something is wrong.
She raised her sleeve, but the person beside her wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead first. All was quiet, except for Liu Xu saying, "Have someone change the bedding and bring a bucket of hot water."
"?!"
Now, Xie Lingxi finally understood what Liu Xu meant when he said "the mattress is damp"! It was none other than that indescribable night of passion—
"You, you...you're so shameless...!"
Even knowing that this was part of a scheme the two had discussed, how could they possibly use such a thing to deceive or play tricks?
Liu Chengzhi spoke frankly and smiled charmingly, “Isn’t this what my wife said—that we must be careful and sneaky so that no one will find out? This is naturally the best excuse for our affair.”
One minute she's all dressed up and holding a respectable position, the next she's in bed with Liu Chengzhi... How can her brother possibly feel about this?
—Besides, the young man who should be "doing the work" is lame.
Xie Lingxi recalled the words she had said to Xie Lingjun, "It's inconvenient to tell my brother," and her vision blurred, a flash of light appeared, and she almost fainted.
She subtly twitched her eye: "Okay, okay, okay."
After saying "okay" three times, he said expressionlessly, "Go ahead, just pretend I'm unconscious. Go and fetch water."
Liu Xu pushed the wooden wedge wheel out the door.
...Only Xie Lingxi remained in the room.
She was not afraid of being alone before, but now that she has a husband and is getting older, she has developed a "shameful" weakness. Thinking of this, she lit all the candles in the room, filling the room with light.
Just now, her face was flushed as if she had drunk three cups of strong liquor. She pushed open half of the window, letting the cold night wind billow her clothes.
Such peaceful days... are wonderful.
This peaceful place allows for far-reaching gains, while others in the rear share the burden. However, Liu Xu is not an unfortunate party, but a true hero—
The man slipped into the ancestral hall, flew past a row of sandalwood shelves, found the most recent volume among the dozens of Xie family genealogies, hid it in his sleeve, and flipped it out the window.
That's when I stepped on a flower, "crunch!"
The sound was especially loud at night. He was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat. After a few moments of silence, seeing no dark figure emerge, he leaped away.
In Zhuozhi Garden, there is an enormous peach tree, lush and verdant. Sitting on its branches, one can glimpse the brightest moonlight and the fairies.
Liu Xu climbed over several courtyard walls and onto a tree, where he could just make out the window of Xie Lingxi's room.
The wooden window, weathered by apricot blossom rain and willow breeze, and constantly tested by spring, summer, autumn and winter, is now slightly ajar, exuding an alluring springtime charm.
He, the "night owl," went to investigate.
Xie Lingxi suddenly looked up and saw this scene—
Her husband was like a celestial being under the moon, or a fleeting ephemera in the night, quietly leaning against the horizon, his entire being exuding elegance and grace.
The peach tree shed a few petals as the young man pressed down on it. The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with a love as pure and gentle as moonlight.
"Husband...why are you in the tree?"
Xie Lingxi spoke softly, afraid of disturbing the moon goddess in the sky, but the sound still caused a series of ripples to spread across the pond.
How could this be? What kind of sound could carry such weight, causing the water to ripple so deeply?
Her heart skipped a beat, and then she saw Liu Xu subtly point to the wide sleeves and chuckle, "I brought them back."
Xie Lingxi touched the flower branch through the window, feeling the soft, bright red petals. Her fingertips still had traces of pinkish-yellow stamens. She was momentarily stunned, and what she heard seemed to be "I'm back!"
A subtle fragrance drifts on the clear, shallow water.
Her expression softened. "Okay, come down quickly, be careful not to fall."
His wheelchair was securely hidden behind the mountain view in the courtyard. Liu Xu brushed against the window lattice, jumped in, and then closed the window tightly.
He fiddled with the inner pocket in his sleeve, unfolded the family tree, and Xie Lingxi leaned closer. The two of them focused intently and meticulously on the names and places of origin.
The family genealogy was revised last year, and the names of Liu Xu and Liu Chengzhi were added. Liu Xu gently stroked the characters, "Shi Liu Xu..."
Xie Lingxi whispered, "...Stop reading it."
"Put it back quickly after you're done reading."
Just now, the maids and servants were searching for bedding and boiling water, making a commotion in the corridor. Liu Xu went to call for people, and after a brief stroll in the courtyard, he quietly left Zhuozhi Garden.
The Xie family genealogy is in the ancestral hall. It is very thick and heavy and should not be flipped through casually on ordinary days. Xie Lingxi disregarded this and only asked her husband to "borrow" it to take a look.
Unexpectedly, this brute stole the family genealogy! She couldn't very well accuse Liu Xu of going to such lengths; after all, she was the one asking him for a favor, so there was no reason for her to complain.
Liu Xu seemed to see through her thoughts and explained, "I originally wanted to take a closer look, but then I suddenly heard a strange noise outside the window. I didn't care about anything else and just grabbed it and left."
"Strange noise?"
Is it a person? If it's just rats or weasels, then so be it...
Xie Lingxi rubbed her temples. "It's alright. Just make sure you don't get into trouble if anything really happens."
"...Xie Wanjun married a young man from the He family in Chang'an and lived in Xuanyi Ward."
"Huh?"
Xie Lingxi pointed to the words with her fingertip, gesturing for Liu Xu to look over—
"How come this aunt is registered under my grandfather's name and is the sixth in line? That means she should be younger than my aunt Yunzhi, but I have never heard of such a person in the family."
She said, “My father had four brothers and sisters. My eldest uncle broke with the family in his early years and passed away due to illness. My third and fourth uncles both held important positions in the prefecture. I also had an aunt who married into the Cui family.”
This is very strange.
What horrifying past events have caused everyone to fall silent? It seems to have vanished from the world?
The ink on the paper had completely dried. Xie Lingxi touched the words, which showed how old it was. "Could it be that Mian Niang?"
Birds chirped outside, and dawn broke.
The two quickly flipped through the last few pages to make sure nothing was missed. They glanced outside and saw the maids slumped over on the narrow couch, fast asleep. Liu Xu tucked the genealogy book into his pocket and tiptoed out.
Xie Lingxi copied down what he had just noted down, displaying a beautiful and elegant hand in small regular script.
She unconsciously circled several names on the paper—were these correct? Who exactly was Xie Wanjun? And what was her relationship with the Xie family and the Prince of Pingnan?
Xie Lingxi stroked the three characters "He Shi Lang" with her fingertips and clenched her fist.
...
The He family runs a dyeing shop. Although the entrance is sparse, the space is large, and weeds grow in the corners of the walls, as if it has not been maintained for a long time.
Xie Lingxi walked through the strips of dyed cloth hanging from bamboo poles, around a well, and knocked on the door. "Is anyone home?"
She knocked three times, but no one answered.
Liu Xu did not use a wheelchair today, but pretended to use a cane.
He saw a spider hanging upside down in front of him, spinning its web. He frowned, reached out and pushed it slightly. With a "whoosh," some dust settled between the door and the frame, and the door opened loosely.
The two men exchanged a glance and called into the house, "Boss He?"
There was no response.
Is anyone really living in this house? Looking back, the dyed cloths also seem a bit old, as if they were carelessly abandoned here.
Xie Lingxi stopped thinking about it and took Liu Xu's arm to step inside.
The furnishings inside the house were extremely simple, and it was clear that the family did not live a wealthy life, and was even struggling financially.
——
The bedside table was clearly homemade, and the craftsmanship was poor. Now, a few old books were scattered on it, discussing various trades and skills. The young man's clothes were neatly folded and stacked on the chair. However, the woman's belongings, such as silk flowers, hairbands, needles and thread, were nowhere to be found.
The table was spotless, except for a single straw cricket.
Xie Lingxi saw those crickets for sale in the West Market a few days ago; they were toys for children, costing two coins each.
No one lives in this house!
Her doubts deepened. "It's so clean, it doesn't look like they've made a fortune. I've found out that He Ren doesn't do anything else, he only dyes and weaves cloth. Since he's gone, why didn't he take the cloth from the doorway?"
—“Because he didn’t move; he died a violent death in his home not long ago. Later, someone came and completely erased all traces of life in the house.”
Suddenly, someone spoke behind her. Xie Lingxi felt a chill run down her spine, and the voice sounded familiar. She turned around and was shocked:
"father?!"
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