Chapter 14 The Shocking Lychee Garden (Fourteen) She was so frightened that she grabbed his arm...
Upon entering the room, Rouge was not there; it was Xiao Ajin who shakily got up and opened the door. She hadn't expected Jiuli to keep her word; she had promised yesterday and delivered the pills today. She was extremely grateful and, before Jiuli could even sit down, knelt down and kowtowed twice.
Jiuli, with her back turned, hadn't noticed yet. Du Zhong quickly helped her up and, upon closer inspection of Xiao Ajin's face, felt a little embarrassed.
When asked about Rouge, Xiao Ajin stammered, "At this time, she, she probably went to Guan Xiaoguan's place."
The group then went to the exhibition room in the East Gate of the garden. On the way, Jiuli saw that Du Zhong's face was still flushed and he was staring at him. Then, belatedly, he remembered what had happened in the room earlier and teased, "That's something else. Go back and tell your uncle that it's important for him to find you a wife first."
Xu Bai looked at Du Zhong and asked with a smile, "Why isn't Brother Du Zhong engaged yet? He's old enough to be getting married."
Du Zhong pushed Jiu Li, saying, "Go away! You worry about yourself first! We're only a few months apart in age, and as a girl, you should be more anxious than me!"
Xu Bai then turned to Jiu Li and asked, "Is Mr. Yu's extended stay in Nanjing this time also intended to find you a good marriage?"
Jiuli didn't like answering that question. She took two steps forward, then twirled her skirt and walked backward, looking at Xu Bai, "So, are you married?"
Xu Bai shook his head, and Zhang Da continued, "The lord has not even been engaged."
She then asked, "You're three or four years older than us, why aren't you engaged yet?"
Xu Bai laughed and said, "Although it is said that one should 'establish a career and start a family,' in my opinion, a man should establish a career first and then start a family."
"You've already become a county magistrate, doesn't that count as having established a career?"
Xu Bai smiled and lowered his head. Zhang Da spoke on his behalf: "Miss Yu'er, you may not know this, but Lord Qi's grandfather was once a high-ranking official of the second rank, and he was very influential in the court. Compared to that, the position of county magistrate is nothing in the Qi family."
Jiuli nodded, "Oh, that's what they call being better off than some but worse off than others."
They slowly made their way to Guan Zhan's room, only to find the door tightly shut. They knocked several times but received no answer; no one knew where he had gone. The small lychee orchard had turned into a game of hide-and-seek, and after another wasted trip, the group had no choice but to head back.
After passing through the bamboo grove ahead, the sun had already set, the last rays of sunlight had faded, and the sky was half-hidden, making the small grove appear even more eerie. Jiu Li looked towards the rock where Miss Li had fallen to her death and suddenly felt something was amiss. The talisman paper on top seemed to have been replaced several times, and its color was much brighter than before.
She exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?" as she climbed the low slope, her feet sinking into the soft, damp soil. "Could it be that someone from the Li family has entered the garden?"
The three followed behind. "What are the Li family doing here?"
“These talismans look newer than when we came last time.” She picked one up, examined it for a moment, and then handed it to Du Zhong. “These incense sticks under the stone also look like they were only lit a few days ago. They weren’t like this when we came last time. Could it be that someone from the Li family came in to pay respects to Miss?”
Zhang Da said, "Someone from the Li family has come in? Why didn't I hear anyone from the servants saying anything?"
Du Zhong refused to accept the talisman, deeming it unlucky, but Xu Bai took it and examined the winding runes closely: "These are talismans for exorcising evil spirits."
Jiuli peeked at him, then looked up at him again, "You recognize the runes?"
“Our Qi family is a large clan with many members. We often go to the temple to perform rituals and ceremonies. We’ve seen it so many times that we recognize some of the people here. It’s rumored that the spirit of Miss Li’s unborn child is haunting this garden, so it’s normal to have talismans here to ward off evil.” He smiled and pressed the talisman back onto the Taihu stone. “Let’s go back first. It’s getting dark and the dew is getting heavy. You’re a young lady with a weak constitution. If you catch a cold in this garden, it won’t be a small matter.”
As the group walked down the path, Jiuli lagged behind. She turned to look at the Taihu stone again. The bright red, swirling runes on the paper appeared black against the dim blue and green, like a ghost in thick smoke. She seemed to hear the sharp, piercing laughter of an infant in the forest. As if possessed, she quietly took another talisman and tucked it into her bosom.
It was getting late, and after the four of them parted ways, Du Zhong realized he hadn't gone to the kitchen to get dinner! Luckily, Wu Sao from the kitchen hadn't noticed him and had brought the food to Yu Qi's room. When they returned, they happened to run into Wu Sao carrying a lantern in the courtyard. Jiu Li quickly pulled her aside and asked where dinner had been sent since Guan Zhan hadn't been in his room all night.
Aunt Wu shook her head, "His dinner was brought by Lu's daughter-in-law today, but who knows where she took it."
"The Lu family's daughter-in-law? Who is that?"
Aunt Wu smiled knowingly, as if there was something more to it. Jiu Li immediately understood that she was probably another woman involved with Guan Zhan.
But judging from her title, she's a married woman. How can she still have entanglements with other men? Men and women in this world really say one thing and do another. When it comes to "unwavering fidelity," they're all saints, but when it comes to actually practicing it, it's a completely different story.
As she pondered the ways of men and women, she heard Yu Qi calling from under the eaves: "Having played all day, aren't you hungry yet? Why don't you come in and eat?"
Jiuli ran towards his blurry figure backlit by the light, laughing, "It's not playing, it's doing something serious!"
"Serious business, huh," he turned with a smile, went inside first, and asked, "What results have you achieved in this serious matter?"
She shook her head in disappointment and blew on her cheek. "I couldn't find Sister Rouge, and I didn't get any information."
He said dismissively, "What are you doing here if not having fun?"
Two candlesticks were placed at either end of the table, illuminating five or six dishes. The bowls and plates they used were ones they had bought themselves and were locked in a drawer in the kitchen. The blue and white porcelain was paired with ordinary sandalwood chopsticks. Although they were not as exquisite as the silver-inlaid ivory chopsticks they used at home, they were clean.
With a smile, Jiu Li placed three sets of bowls and chopsticks in front of everyone, giving Du Zhong a teasing look as she said, "It wasn't a wasted trip. The pills were delivered. I just hope that little A Jin, having taken our medicine, will recover quickly and in the future—"
Yu Qi raised an eyebrow. "What about the future?"
Du Zhong glared at her, then quickly served Yu Qi a bowl of soup and sat down, saying, "It's not good. Master, is little A Jin alright?"
He then heard Jiu Li chuckle twice, which made Yu Qi even more confused. "She's just always been weak, it's alright, she'll get better after a few more days of rest." He saw Jiu Li ladling soup across the table, her back bent, half a piece of yellow paper peeking out from under her slanted shirt. He picked up the bowl and gestured with his chin, "What are you carrying? You're going to drop it into the soup."
Jiuli glanced down, her smile fading, and took out the talisman, handing it to him. "I found this in the small bamboo grove outside Linmo Courtyard. Lord Qi said it's a talisman for exorcising evil spirits, but I feel like something's not quite right. I brought it back for you to take a look."
"Qi Xubai?" Yu Qi glanced at her expressionlessly. Of course, he was the county magistrate in charge of the case; how could he be absent from questioning witnesses? There was no way to avoid him.
He placed the talisman on the table with a look of disdain, glanced at it, and said, "Yellow talisman with vermilion lacquer, it's good for exorcising evil spirits."
Du Zhong asked, "Master, can you also read runes?"
"Having seen many dead people, one naturally recognizes quite a few things related to the dead."
Jiuli asked, "Is there any significance to the use of yellow talismans and vermilion lacquer?"
"Vermilion is cinnabar. Taoists say that cinnabar is mainly yang, red is yang, black is yin, gods are yang, ghosts are yin. Shennong's Materia Medica says that cinnabar nourishes the spirit, calms the soul, and kills evil spirits. This is a common talisman that uses yang to suppress yin. It is not surprising that such talismans are found when performing rituals for people who died unjustly. But why was it picked up in that small bamboo forest?"
Du Zhong chimed in, “Master has never liked to meddle in other people’s business, so he doesn’t know much about it. The owner of this Li Garden is surnamed Li. A few years ago, a young lady of theirs died. She fell to her death on a Taihu rock in that small bamboo grove. I heard she was only two or three years old when she died. Her wet nurse didn’t pay attention.”
At two or three years old, she was just learning to walk. Yu Qi remembered that when he first met Jiu Li, she was about that age, walking unsteadily. She bumped into his leg and simply hugged it, looking up at him and giggling. Coincidentally, he was only ten or so at the time, thinking himself an adult, and disliked children the most, so he didn't pay much attention to her.
Perhaps because he is no longer a young man and has raised nine carp for many years, he no longer feels disgusted by children. Instead, he thinks of the two- or three-year-old Miss Li and can't help but feel a little pity.
He picked up the talisman and examined it closely for a while. "After we finish eating, I'll go take another look in that little bamboo grove."
Du Zhong shuddered at the thought of the eerie atmosphere in the bamboo forest. "Going at night? What if we get possessed by an infant spirit?"
Jiuli rolled her eyes at him fiercely, "Look at how pathetic you are."
Du Zhong was about to scold her, but glancing sideways at Yu Qi, he held back. What could he do? Yu Qi doted on her the most; who in the family dared to argue with her?
Not long after the meal, Yu Qi instructed Du Zhong to light three silk lanterns, intending to head towards the bamboo grove. Upon reaching the underside of the corridor, Yu Qi took a lantern, shone it on Jiu Li, and said, "Go and put on some clothes; the dew is heavy in the grove."
Jiuli insisted that she wasn't cold, and after a few words of argument, seeing that Yu Qi's expression was not good, she was afraid that he would be angry and not take her with him, so she obediently said "Oh" and hurriedly ran to the east room to put on a long robe. She and Du Zhong followed closely behind.
After nightfall, the garden was deserted. Since the houses were no longer inhabited, none of the courtyards were lit with lanterns. Only one or two houses had a faint candlelight shining through. The half-moon hung in the sky, creating a desolate scene, like will-o'-the-wisps in the mountains. These were probably the rooms of government officials or wealthy patients; otherwise, who would be willing to waste lamp oil so late at night?
From time to time, there were rustling sounds from the dark clumps of grass and trees, either from mice or owls. As they walked, Jiuli huddled closer to Du Zhong, their heads touching, their eyes darting around in the darkness. Their hearts were in their throats; they hadn't expected the garden to be so frightening at night, with so many people living there, yet it was even more deserted than their own country house.
Du Zhong squeezed her in, then whispered disdainfully, "Didn't you not believe in ghosts?"
Even if you can't see Jiu Li, you can still glare at him. Whether you believe him or not, it doesn't matter. They are two different things.
Suddenly, something slipped past her skirt and brushed against her, startling her so much that she almost dropped her lantern. She quickly ran up and clung tightly to Yu Qi's arm.
A note from the author:
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