Chapter 15 The Shocking Lychee Garden (Fifteen) He felt he had committed a heinous crime...
Yu Qi turned around and raised the silk lantern to shine on it. A small shadow darted away quickly and disappeared into the roadside flower bushes in a moment. The flowers swayed rustling in the dim moonlight.
“It’s probably a stray cat. The house hasn’t been lived in for a long time, so it’s become a place for these little creatures to shelter from the wind and rain.” After he finished speaking, he looked at the two hands that were tightly gripping his arms and couldn’t help but laugh. “When you were seven or eight years old, you loved to pester people to tell you ghost stories, but now you’re afraid of ghosts.”
“She’s always been afraid, but she just pretends not to be. Master doesn’t know that back then she was so scared that she didn’t dare to sleep at night and insisted on sleeping with me. Now she’s trying to be tough with me,” Du Zhong chimed in.
At that time, Du Zhong had just lost his parents and was learning medicine from Yu Qi. Yu Qi placed him in his home, calling him an apprentice, but he was treated the same as Jiu Li, with his own room and servants. So no matter what others said about Yu Qi being heartless and only caring about money, he respected him just like Jiu Li.
Yu Qi said it casually, "Back then, I told you that what's scary in this world isn't ghosts, it's people."
Jiuli, still stubborn, clung to him, "What's so scary about people?"
"What's terrifying is the unpredictability of the human heart."
She was secretly resentful, but remained silent. He always spoke of the world in such a negative light, mostly to scare her, not to prevent her from thinking about going out for a stroll.
Before long they reached the bamboo grove, which appeared even more chaotic at night, with branches casting slanted shadows everywhere, like ghosts and monsters. A gentle breeze blew, and the candlelight flickered. Jiu Li grew increasingly frightened, clinging to Yu Qi's arm, making it impossible for him to avoid her.
He peered at her in the darkness. Her hair was piled high in a loose bun, and she wore no earrings, but her two bright eyes darted left and right, sparkling like jeweled pendants. She had always looked rather thin, but she seemed unexpectedly soft, almost boneless. Her chest brushed against his arm inadvertently, and he felt awkwardly that she had indeed grown up and was now a woman.
Reaching the Taihu stone, he held up his lantern and shone it up to its half-height top, where several talismans, the same ones Jiu Li had picked up, were still lying. At his feet were several incense sticks, not yet half-burnt, so he bent down and picked one up to examine it.
Jiuli followed and said, "Even these incense sticks and candles are newly replaced. Du Zhong, do you remember when we delivered the medicine that day, the incense sticks and candles on the ground had all burned out?"
Du Zhong thought for a moment and shook his head, "I don't remember, I didn't pay much attention to these things at all."
"You never forget to eat," Jiuli muttered, then added, "I remember the talismans used back then were all yellow and black. Uncle, why were the talismans used to commemorate the infant spirit of Miss different?"
Yu Qi tossed aside the unburnt incense and rubbed the ash from his fingertips. "The time, method, and purpose of the sacrifice will all affect the type of talisman used."
As if hearing footsteps on the path outside the woods, Yu Qi quickly told the two men to blow out their lanterns, and the three of them hid behind a Taihu rock. Sure enough, after a short while, they saw a person walking gracefully towards them, also carrying a lantern. The dim yellow light illuminated the embroidered robe on his body, making it impossible to discern the color of the robe. However, from the elegant manner of his walk and the intricate and gorgeous embroidery, one could glean that he was a young gentleman from a wealthy family.
Jiuli asked quietly, "Is that Guan Zhan?"
Du Zhong nodded, "I don't know where he went, he only just came back now."
Guan Zhan was walking under the Taihu stone when he suddenly heard a woman calling him from behind. He stopped and seemed to sigh, but her voice was too soft to hear clearly.
He slowly turned around, twisted one arm behind his back, and called out as the woman ran over, "Don't run, or you'll fall."
The woman was Rouge, carrying a lantern. The light was dim, but it was clear that she had dressed up carefully. She glared at him as she approached and said, "Don't pretend to be kind. Humph, you think I'm afraid I'll fall? You probably just wish I'd fall to my death so you wouldn't bother me anymore."
Guan Zhan laughed, "What are you talking about? As the saying goes, even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness. Even if we weren't husband and wife, we still had a brief affair. How could I curse you to die?"
"You'd love for it to be just a fleeting affair, so you can wash your hands of it cleanly as soon as you turn around."
Guan Zhan's smile faded slightly, but his voice remained gentle. "Besides a fleeting affair, what else do you hope for? I've already made it clear to you that I already have a wife at home, and according to the Guan family's rules, I cannot take you as a concubine." He paused slightly, then smiled again. "If you want anything else, that's easy to say. My Guan family has plenty of money."
"Pah!" Rouge spat, turned around, and raised her arms imposingly, facing the Taihu stone on the slope. "This old lady doesn't need your little bit of money. Go out and ask around how much silver I earn in a month."
"To be honest, I liked your chivalrous spirit and straightforward temperament when you stood up for that little Ajin and came to my room on your own initiative. Now that so much time has passed, it's all over. Why bother with it? It would only make you lose your straightforward personality." He smiled at her profile from a distance.
His voice sounded languid, as if he didn't care about anything, yet also seemed genuinely affectionate. Jiu Li couldn't see his face clearly, but judging from his voice alone, he must be a handsome man. Of course, if he weren't, a woman of Rou Ge's temperament wouldn't be so captivated by him.
She seemed to see Rouge's eyes filled with tears, as if a fragment of the moon had fallen into her eyes. She remained silent for a long time, probably afraid of letting out a sob from her throat.
For some reason, Jiuli's nose suddenly felt a little sore. She glanced at Yu Qi in the darkness, unable to see his expression, but she thought that he would never be moved by other people's private feelings, and he never talked about love between men and women.
Yu Qi seemed to notice her looking at him and glanced at her in return. She seemed lost in thought, her eyes unfocused, her mind wandering elsewhere. A young woman of marriageable age is usually quite perceptive of romantic feelings, and he was genuinely worried that the two people on the path might engage in some intimate behavior; otherwise, wouldn't the three of them be embarrassed?
After a while, Rouge finally spoke, her voice sounding unnatural, "Stop flattering me, I'm not buying it. I know better than anyone how casual relationships can be. Once we leave this lychee garden, we'll be strangers or strangers, but if we don't leave, we'll be lovers for a day. That's what we agreed on beforehand. You're the one who broke your promise, how come you've gotten involved with that Lu family's daughter-in-law?"
Guan Zhan laughed again, "Does that mean you can only have one lover? Men are always fickle, no matter when or where."
Rouge turned around, raised the lantern to illuminate his face, and asked, "You admit to having an affair with that Lu family daughter-in-law?"
"I've never denied it."
Rouge smiled and nodded, as if she had no other choice but to put the lantern down.
Seeing that she remained silent and did not leave, Guan Zhan gently persuaded her, "It's so late, let me take you back to rest. People say this forest is haunted, aren't you afraid?"
"Haunted?" She scoffed, glancing into the dark woods. "What a joke! Others may be afraid, but I'm not. A prostitute like me lives in the underworld, why would I be afraid of ghosts?"
"Alright, alright, you're being stubborn again. It's unbearable to hear you say such things. I'll take you home. If you want to argue, come back tomorrow. It's very cold now. You've only just recovered from your illness, don't make it worse again."
He then led her out of the woods, coaxing and pulling her along. He held her hand, and her voice softened as she said, "You say ghosts are trying to scare me? Your neighbor, Master Lin, died, and I never saw you afraid of him."
“I’m afraid of him? He’s a nobody, and even as a ghost he’ll be a vile one. I have no reason to be afraid of him.”
"You only talk about others, as if you're the only one from the upper class. Don't you also like to fool around with women?"
"No, no, I'm with women for love. He's just after sex. When lustful people get impatient, they might not even care about choosing what to eat."
Rouge smiled and spat at him, "I think they're all the same!"
As they spoke, the two finally emerged from the woods, and the lantern disappeared from sight. Jiu Li and the other two then walked down the slope from behind the Taihu rock. Before they could even light the lantern, the woods were covered in moss, and Jiu Li stumbled a few steps without paying attention. Fortunately, Yu Qi turned around, and she immediately fell into his arms.
She was already confused by the debate between "love" and "lust" that the two men had been talking about, and hearing his heartbeat made her even more dizzy and her face flushed.
"You're so old and still stumbling around like that," Yu Qi said reproachfully, but his voice was low and gentle, without any hint of blame.
Du Zhong hurriedly lit the lantern and handed it over. The candlelight quickly swept across his face, and he looked very uncomfortable. He led Jiu Li down the slope and then let go of her hand, walking ahead alone. Jiu Li watched his back from behind and always felt that there was something unusual about that back: a dejected and indifferent demeanor.
She couldn't fall asleep for a long time that night. Strangely, the tea was brewed too strong. She couldn't lie in bed, so she got up and climbed onto the couch, sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest. She didn't know what time it was, but the moon outside the gauze window was much brighter than before. Looking up at it, she remembered Rouge's tearful eyes.
The moonlight, like a sharp blade, slanted in through the window onto Yu Qi's desk, striking even in the dim light.
Although a lamp was lit on the table, the flame flickered listlessly, as if dozing off. He dared not light another lamp, for he kept thinking of the scene of Jiuli stumbling into his arms, of the "warm and soft jade" touch. He felt utterly ashamed, as if he had committed the most heinous and wicked sin. Yet, on the other hand, he felt that constantly thinking about it was like reliving the past. The unconscious smile that flickered across his face in the darkness only compounded his sin.
After a while, he closed his eyes, and only opened them again after a long time. He suddenly realized that the current situation was dangerous for both of them.
The next morning, he went to the east wing and instructed Du Zhong to invite Xu Bai over. Jiu Li was sitting cross-legged on the couch eating breakfast when she heard that Xu Bai was to be invited. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with surprise. "Did you discover something last night?"
Du Zhong told him to sit at one end, then squeezed over to Jiu Li's end with his bowl. He sat down and asked, "Do you remember those incense sticks that were only half-burnt?"
Du Zhong nodded repeatedly, "Is there something wrong with those incense sticks and candles?"
"There's nothing wrong with the incense and candles, but we can deduce the time of the ceremony from them."
After a moment's thought, Jiu Li put down the bowl. "I understand now. When we delivered the medicine to Lin Mo that day, we saw the old talisman paper and the burnt incense and candles. It's clear that someone did go to pay respects to Miss Li after that time, which is why those things were replaced. But the incense and candles only burned halfway, probably because of the rain. And in the past few days, it only rained on the night Lin Mo died."
Yu Qi's eyes revealed a hint of admiration.
Du Zhong was bewildered. "What does this have to do with Lin Mo's death?"
Jiuli tapped him on the head. "You're such a pig-brain! Think about it, the bamboo grove is right outside Lin Mo's house. It's very possible that the person who was making the offerings saw the crime that night. Or perhaps—the murderer is actually that person who made the offerings!"
Upon hearing this, Du Zhong suddenly realized, "Doesn't this mean that the Li family is highly suspicious?"
Yu Qi said, "I asked you to invite Lord Qi over because I wanted to ask about the Li family. Go quickly after you finish your meal."
After giving the instructions, Du Zhong and Jiu Li ate a few bites of food hastily and then dragged each other out. Jiu Li wanted to come along, but Du Zhong wouldn't allow it.
Yu Qi was listening quietly to their argument in the corner of the corridor for a while when he suddenly spoke up, "If Yu'er wants to go, let her go with you."
No matter how reluctant he was, it was time to arrange a marriage for Jiuli. If he delayed any longer, something might happen that he couldn't control. She was overly dependent on him, and a man could easily turn a woman's dependence into love, let alone a young girl who hadn't yet experienced love.
As for Jiuli's marriage, considering his talent and appearance, Xu Bai is a suitable candidate. Moreover, it's said that the Qi family is a scholarly family. Although their official career is currently somewhat stagnant, minor officials have their own kind of freedom, and they are still some distance from the treacherous politics of the court. Besides, the Qi family has accumulated considerable wealth and influence over generations. Since there's no better candidate at the moment, it's not unreasonable to allow them to maintain a polite relationship for now.
However, despite these plans, his voice betrayed a sense of reluctance, implying a feeling of dejection after a helpless compromise.
A note from the author:
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Thank you for reading.
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