Chapter 80 Begging: "I'm very useful. If you ever need anything in the future..."
*
Shen Qinglu felt like she had walked a very long way. She came out of Jingxin Courtyard, walked through the entire Shen Mansion, and wandered aimlessly through the antique and bustling city.
The bustling city life was like a fleeting glimpse, with music drifting through the dimly lit streets.
Countless people passed by her, and she could hear their laughter but couldn't see their faces. Everything around her seemed illusory, including herself, as if it were all unreal.
As she walked, unaware of the passage of time or the twisting of space and time, it seemed as if a very long time had passed before her eyes. Suddenly, as if the fog had dissipated and things were gradually becoming clearer, she found herself back in her home from her previous life.
The little girl with her back to her is her former self.
"Brother, my name is Azhu."
She followed the little girl's gaze and saw the fair-skinned, gentle-looking boy standing at the door.
The rising sun shone on the boy, bathing him in golden light. It was so beautiful, so beautiful that it brought tears to his eyes.
“Azhu, my name is Mubai.”
Young Mu Bai slowly approached, and then a lollipop appeared in front of her.
Even in her dreams, she seemed to remember that sweet taste, the sweetest candy she had ever tasted before she was eight years old. That sweetness was something she could savor even in her dreams.
"elder brother……"
She was pulled back to reality by her own sobs. When she opened her eyes, she saw a red tent ceiling, reflecting the tears in her eyes, making her feel lost and disappointed.
The sweetness from her dream seemed to linger on her lips. She extended her soft tongue and licked it, as if tasting a scent that didn't belong to her. But upon licking again, she felt it was just her imagination.
Suddenly she remembered something, looked at the desk, and then felt a chill. She slipped on her shoes and went over.
Everything on the desk was neatly arranged and clean, with the four treasures of the study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper) all in their proper places. There was no Xuan paper laid out, nor any calligraphy written by her.
She didn't get up at night to write because she couldn't sleep, and then...
Did she remember it wrong?
Hearing the noise, Xia Chan came in and saw her standing in front of the desk in a daze, wearing only a thin shirt. She quickly asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"
She frowned her pretty brows and said, "It's nothing."
The idea that I might get up in the middle of the night to write because I can't sleep is just a dream.
After washing up, she sat down in front of the mirror.
Xia Chan held the sandalwood comb tightly and carefully combed her hair. She was still thinking about last night's dream, her dark eyes somewhat unfocused, as if shrouded in a thick, inky mist.
The beauty in the mirror looks somewhat dreamy and casual, yet possesses a unique languid charm, making her even more stunning and beautiful.
"Girl, that medicine is indeed excellent; there's no trace of the mark on your forehead left."
Xia Chan's words startled her from her chaotic thoughts.
She instantly realized that today was the seventh day.
In other words, some people will come to check on the effectiveness of her application of the medicine, and they are very likely to come in the middle of the night.
Just as she was pondering this, Renchun came in and said that someone had delivered a letter to Xiachan.
The envelope was blank, except for a drawing of a plum blossom, which immediately made it clear that the letter was from Mei Wu. The contents of the letter were concise and to the point: Sifang Inn, Bonsai.
Sifang Inn was one of the inns where they displayed their paintings, and the bonsai was a secret code agreed upon by Shen Qinglu and the innkeepers.
Before the carriage even got close, Xia Chan couldn't wait to lift the curtain and peek out. When she saw a pot of boxwood next to the door of the Sifang Inn, she was so excited that her breathing became rapid.
It was quite a coincidence that this inn was the one that left the deepest impression on them.
The reason is simple: this is the place where I had the argument with Zhuang Lanyi last time.
The innkeeper's eyes lit up as soon as he saw them. His slightly plump face was flushed with excitement as he told them that the person had been found.
"Found...found it?" Xia Chan couldn't believe her ears and was momentarily stunned.
Along the way, they thought they would at most find some clues, but they never expected that they would actually find the person.
"Where is that person?" Shen Qinglu hurriedly asked the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper rubbed his hands and said, "The people are in the backyard. It's quite a coincidence. Their hometown suffered a disaster, so they came to the capital to beg for food. Someone recognized their daughter and said something, and that's how they came to our door."
Shen Qinglu gave Ma Er outside a wink, and Ma Er immediately followed her in.
The master and servants followed the innkeeper to the backyard of the inn.
The backyard was where we lived, with a kitchen, a stable, and a pile of odds and ends.
In the center of the courtyard was a well, and a family of three sat beside it. Judging from their appearance and simple, rough clothing, they must have been farmers who worked year-round.
The shopkeeper pointed to one of the girls and said, "That's the person you're looking for."
The girl sat next to the woman, looking down at the ground; her age seemed to match.
Xia Chan could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and softly called out, "Er Ya."
The girl raised her head, revealing her entire face, and her features did indeed bear a striking resemblance to the girl in the painting.
The woman beside her grabbed Xia Chan's hand, "We've finally found you!"
After saying this, she wiped away her tears and recounted what had happened back then.
According to her, the village where she lived was not far from Xia Chan's hometown. On the day Xia Chan's younger sister went missing, she happened to be going to the market in town and found Er Ya on her way home.
"...It was already dark when we were hurrying along when we heard a child crying in the woods. I wondered if it had encountered something unclean, but my husband was brave enough to insist on going to check. It was lucky that the child was alive; if it hadn't run into us, it probably would have been eaten by wild animals that night."
Xia Chan looked at the beggar girl, her body trembling, unable to utter a word.
Seeing this, Shen Qinglu asked the woman on her behalf, "Did you inquire later about whose child was lost?"
The woman was initially startled when she saw Xia Chan, but when she saw Shen Qinglu, her eyes widened for a moment. "My goodness, she must be a fairy from heaven... My daughter is so lucky, she's a young lady from a wealthy family!"
"We need to find out clearly whether she is the person we are looking for."
“Yes, yes.” The woman slapped her thigh, looking heartbroken. “My husband has been asking around for days, but no one has come looking for the child. The child seems quite well-behaved, but he doesn’t know anything when asked. He’s clearly mentally challenged. We thought he might have been deliberately abandoned, so we decided to stop looking for him and raise him as our own.”
It sounds reasonable; the cicadas know about the village she's talking about and the forest she's passed through.
"Er Ya, look at me," Xia Chan said, her voice trembling. "I'm your older sister, do you remember me?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't remember."
His speech was fairly clear, and he didn't sound like someone with a mental disability.
“In the early years, when we raised this child, we were laughed at by so many people who said that we couldn’t have children of our own, so we picked up a fool to raise.” The woman said, tears streaming down her face. “Fortunately, God has blessed us, and the child is getting better year by year, but he doesn’t remember anything from before.”
Shen Qinglu herself is a living example of how a fool can turn into a good person.
This isn't a coincidence; it's a case of being resurrected from a dead body.
And what about this flower?
Is it that a fool has truly become good, or was he not a fool at all?
The woman's eyes darted around, and she pulled her daughter up, rolling up her sleeves to show them, "Look, isn't the scar on her arm the same as the one you're looking for?"
Shen Qinglu asked Xia Chan with her eyes, and Xia Chan nodded gently, her eyes filled with tears.
"It's truly a blessing from heaven. If our hometown hadn't suffered such a disaster, we wouldn't have come to the capital, and we wouldn't have known that someone was still looking for Hua'er." The woman placed Hua'er's hand in Xia Chan's hand, choking back tears. "We've raised her for many years, and we never asked for anything in return. As long as she finds her family and lives a good life, we... will be content."
The flowers cried too, looking at the cicada with teary eyes, "Sister."
Just as Xia Chan was about to respond, she suddenly remembered something and said, "Er Ya has a birthmark on her body. I want to take a look."
The woman was taken aback, clearly not expecting this turn of events.
When people are at a loss, they subconsciously look to the person who can make decisions for them. When her eyes seemed to look up unintentionally, Shen Qinglu also glanced at the guest rooms on the second floor out of the corner of her eye.
"...Your documents didn't mention birthmarks..."
"I didn't say, because I was afraid someone might impersonate her, so I kept a precaution." Shen Qinglu's tone was extremely calm as she said to the shopkeeper, "Could you find a place where my people can take her down to have a look?"
The innkeeper was very accommodating and led the person to an empty room.
Not long after, when Xia Chan and Na Hua'er came out, their excited expressions had calmed down considerably, and they shook their heads at Shen Qinglu.
Shen Qinglu said to the woman, "I'm sorry, your daughter is not the person we are looking for."
"How could it not be?" the woman said anxiously. "Look at the face and the scar on the arm, it all matches. Speaking of birthmarks, I vaguely remember that I had one at first, but it may have faded away over time, who knows?"
"Then tell me you remember where that birthmark is?"
The woman tried desperately to signal to her daughter with her eyes, but there was no response.
It wasn't that her daughter didn't want to respond, but Xia Chan was looking at her back, and how could the person being looked at know what was on her back?
The cicadas had calmed down considerably, and their gazes toward the flowers held a mixture of reluctance, regret, and sorrow.
"Sister," the flower tugged at her sleeve, "I don't remember anything, but I always feel like I should have a sister. Can you take me with you and treat me like your little sister..."
"I can't." She pulled the flower's hand away, then took out her purse and stuffed it into the other person's hand. "Take this money; consider it a token of our acquaintance."
Shen Qinglu did not stop her, but turned around and gave the shopkeeper ten taels of silver as a reward for providing the clue.
The shopkeeper did not refuse and immediately accepted the silver.
The woman pushed her husband, who tried to stop them, but Ma Er blocked him.
The young and strong horse-drawn carriage was quite intimidating to have.
"Brother, my daughter says no, so no, please don't bother me."
"Young man, please help us talk to your daughter. This meeting is fate. Even if my daughter isn't the one she's looking for, could she please take pity on us and give us a bite to eat?" the woman said, wiping away her tears, looking very pitiful.
Ma Er shook his head, "Once you've received the money, take it and leave. Otherwise, if you really cause trouble and anger my young lady, it will attract the attention of the authorities, and that won't be good."
The couple looked at each other, remaining silent for a moment.
Even after Shen Qinglu and Xia Chan left the inn, they could still hear the flower calling "sister".
The cicada looked reluctant and kept turning its head back.
After Ma Er came out, the two women got into the carriage. She then said to herself with self-reproach, "Miss, I know she is fake, an imposter, and may even be a fraud, but she looks a lot like Er Ya... If Er Ya were still alive, she might look a lot like her."
"It's alright. People are all human, and they love everything about you. Giving her money is just buying peace of mind."
"Fortunately, Miss had the foresight to tell me to keep the most important point a secret." Xia Chan wiped away her tears. "What a coincidence today... how could it be such a coincidence?"
Shen Qinglu's dark eyes were filled with coldness. "It all depends on human effort."
She lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked towards the second floor of the inn.
Several of the windows on the second floor were half-open.
Behind one of the windows stood two people. One looked like a foreign businessman, and the other was Feng Rong.
"Was this Miss Shen really a fool before?" The foreign businessman's voice carried a hint of mockery. "She always keeps something in reserve when she hires someone; she's really cunning."
"A clever woman is always more interesting than a fool." Feng Rong was as amiable as ever, but her gaze toward the Shen family's carriage was full of gloom.
*
The Shen family's carriage did not leave the horse market, but instead headed towards a secluded corner.
Perhaps because of the coffin shop, this area is particularly deserted, with few people coming and going, and the Xunzhen Pavilion is even more deserted.
Shen Qinglu got off the carriage and stood outside the Xunzhen Pavilion.
After what had just happened, she thought that posting a picture and offering a reward was probably unreliable for finding the person, and it was very likely that she would have to do it secretly.
A gust of wind swept through the alley, raising dust and bringing with it something that looked like scraps of paper that landed on her head.
Xia Chan let out a soft cry, took the thing off, threw it on the ground, and spat three times, "I don't care if you're a hanged ghost or a starving ghost, don't come looking for my girl."
Shen Qinglu looked down and saw that it was a piece of paper money. She thought to herself that this paper money was quite good at finding people, or rather, it had a good ability to recognize ghosts, knowing that she was neither human nor ghost.
Looking up again at the coffin shop's banner, white with black characters, including the character for "longevity," it felt both eerie and mysterious.
If we really consider that she is still alive, shouldn't she also be considered to have passed away peacefully?
In a desolate place, it is ironic that business is booming in the most unlucky spot.
She glanced around and saw that the people in the shop were actually acquaintances.
Xia Chan also saw the person and recognized him, whispering, "Miss, isn't that someone from Lord Mu's side?"
That person was Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen also saw them and looked slightly surprised.
With a slight thought, Shen Qinglu walked towards the coffin shop.
"Is your father here?" she asked Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen seemed somewhat hesitant as she looked into the shop.
Amidst a sea of stark white paper offerings, a man in snow-white robes blends seamlessly into the scene, seemingly an integral part of this eerie place, perfectly complementing the paper houses, paper beauties, and paper horses.
He sat on a low stool, his body bent but his posture elegant, folding paper ingots with complete focus, as if he were in his own world, oblivious to everything around him.
Suddenly someone handed him a piece of paper. He looked up at it and met a pair of dark, jade-like eyes. Shen Qinglu's gaze, however, was fixed on his hand.
Her ten fingers were long and slender, each one as smooth as jade, making her unforgettable.
“Many people want to kill me. They came to kill me, but in the end they lost their own lives. I know they are all pawns, and no one cares about their lives. I burn some paper money for them, hoping that in their next life they will not have to go against their true nature for money.”
"Are these paper moneys for those girls?"
Shen Qinglu was quite surprised.
She remembered that this person had said he didn't like killing, but she never expected him to have such a compassionate heart.
Human beings are complex; there is no limit to their complexity, only ever-increasing complexity, just like her.
Those slender fingers moved incessantly, and in no time they had folded another one, the shape of the paper ingot being extremely perfect.
"I never expected you to fold paper money so well."
"I know a lot of things."
Their eyes met; one appeared calm, but undercurrents were swirling beneath. The other seemed nonchalant, yet was deep in thought.
"Is Lord Mu also a skilled painter?"
Upon hearing Shen Qinglu's words, Mu Hanshi actually laughed.
In an instant, it bloomed like the magnificent red spider lilies of the underworld.
So she guessed right!
This place under the emperor's nose is truly a place where dragons and tigers hide, where great hermits live in seclusion, and where some are neither dragons nor tigers.
"You are very smart, and your family will be very proud of you."
"Thanks."
She hadn't expected that some people, after being exposed, wouldn't be angry or try to cover it up, but would actually praise her. It felt like a tiger praising its prey before eating it, as if it looked delicious.
Perhaps her "thank you" was somewhat insincere, or perhaps her attitude was too casual, but she vaguely sensed a change in the person in front of her.
When those suddenly deep eyes looked at someone, they had a wild, almost mad quality, yet were also incredibly captivating. "Have you ever felt pain and emptiness?"
She wasn't afraid at all and was still thinking seriously, "It seems like I've had that before."
The loss of her loved ones caused her immense pain. When she woke up, she was all alone, and for a fleeting moment, she felt a sense of emptiness. But it was only for a moment, because her will to live made her oblivious to these feelings.
She didn't see the hidden emotions and pain in Mu Hanshi's seemingly mad gaze.
Are you sad?
"Lord Mu should know my situation. I have no time to be sad. Preserving my life is the most important thing." She said with a self-deprecating smile, but what she was thinking was that although people's suffering may be similar, it is ultimately different from person to person.
Those paper figures and horses are more exquisite than those in other places, and they look much more realistic.
It's quite remarkable that they could still chat in such a gloomy environment; perhaps, fundamentally speaking, they really are the same kind of people.
"I'm so damn stupid."
"Why do you say that, Lord Mu?"
"All you need to know is that I deserve to die." Mu Hanshi lowered his eyelids, as if he were a god stripped of his divine status, exuding a damp and sinister aura, as if he were about to turn into water.
“I’m in so much pain and so empty. I haven’t dared to stop all these years. I’ve been learning everything and haven’t dared to stop for a moment. I know a lot of things and I’m very useful. You can come to me if you need anything in the future.”
"..."
Shen Qinglu admitted that he probably knew a lot.
But it's expensive!
Unless it's absolutely necessary, I really won't contact him.
Just as she was thinking about how to refuse, he suddenly moved closer.
Shen Qinglu was caught off guard and her heart skipped a beat.
Before she could react, her arm was grabbed.
The man slowly straightened up, but then bent down again, like a bent bamboo, enveloping her in the fragrance of bamboo.
Those frighteningly dark eyes gradually changed, dimming little by little, then filled with pity, until finally they were filled with pleading.
"OK?"
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