Chapter 43: The Remaining Ashes

After a burst of smoke, Wei Yanqing disappeared. Ming Huashang and others were outside the house, but they did not see him run out. They thought there must be a secret passage nearby, and Wei Yanqing took advantage of the chaos to escape.

Xie Jichuan led his men to pursue Wei Yanqing, while Ming Huazhang dealt with the aftermath in Wei's mansion. Wei Moyuan and Wei Zhuyan accompanied Wu Kong to the chamber to recuperate, but Wei Baixuan was left behind.

Seeing this, Ming Huashang deliberately slowed down her pace, but was still caught by Ming Huazhang. The upper half of his face was covered with a mask, and his expression could not be seen, but his starry eyes were fixed on Ming Huashang, leaving her no room for luck: "You three go search for evidence."

Ming Huashang sighed secretly. There were too many places to search in such a big house. Ming Huazhang was determined not to let her hear the rest of the story. Ming Huashang could only imitate others and bow: "Yes, sir."

Wei Baixuan also knew what was going on. After the extra people left and the door just closed, Wei Baixuan took the initiative to kneel down in front of Ming Huazhang and said, "Sir, you are here for the puppet, right?"

Ming Huazhang sat at the top, looking as upright as a jade statue. He asked without revealing his expression, "What puppet?"

Wei Baixuan gritted his teeth and confessed, "I deserve to die. Some time ago, I was blinded by fame and fortune and became a traitor. I became a puppet that violated the law. I regretted it after I did it. Later, even if you made another request, I kept dragging my feet and did not deliver the work."

Ming Huazhang raised his eyebrows, and his cold voice was indistinguishable from his emotions: "So, you still want to take credit?"

Wei Baixuan smiled bitterly, "How dare I? I was so overwhelmed at first, but I came to my senses later, but it was too late to back down. I knew that this time it would be difficult to end peacefully, so I was frightened and depressed. Later, I ran into my senior brothers and sisters singing puppet shows, and I had a quarrel with my master... Wei Yanqing, that evil scoundrel. That's when I broke down and thought of pretending to be a ghost to get revenge."

Wei Baixuan curled his lips in self-mockery: "Little did I know that I was so stupid that I actually thought that I could torture those people with my own death. Self-mutilation can only attract people who care about you, and it is useless for other purposes. Even if I die, Wei Yanqing will not feel the slightest bit of guilt. After this incident, I have figured it out. Fame and fortune are external things. I have been fighting for my whole life, and all I want is someone to love and value me. I thought I had nothing, but I didn't expect that my senior brothers, junior sisters... and my father, actually miss me."

She raised her head, her eyes gleaming with light. At this moment, her ordinary face was no less beautiful than those beautiful girls. "Sir, I only wish to stay with my family and start a new life for the rest of my life. I hope you can help me! As long as you can spare my father and me a way out, I am willing to hand over the puppet drawings and client information."

Ming Huazhang seemed unmoved: "I can get these things if I catch Wei Yanqing. Why should I agree to you?"

Wei Baixuan said, "Now that things have come to this, I will tell you the truth. The big patron first approached Wei Yanqing, but Wei Yanqing was busy with banquets and had neglected his puppet craftsmanship. All the puppets were made by me, and no one knows the details better than me. Wei Yanqing initially tempted me with the marriage with my senior brother, and I really wanted to show off my skills in front of that big shot, so I made a batch of puppets myself, but when I finished, looking at those lifelike, real-life things, I suddenly felt a tingling in my spine and realized that I might be in big trouble. But if I ruined the order, I would only offend that big shot, so I was brave enough to leave some tricks on the puppets."

Ming Huazhang's eyes were as cold as a pond, and his fingers slowly stroked the hilt of the knife: "What tricks?"

"It's a kind of powder on butterfly wings." Wei Baixuan said, "It's used by female butterflies to court mates. As long as there's even a grain of powder dropped somewhere they pass by, male butterflies can follow the smell to find it."

Wei Baixuan was abducted when she was young and became a slave in a rich family. Later, she was exiled to the South Market because she offended someone. She suffered too much and was forced to learn that people must leave some for themselves, otherwise, she would be sold out by those superiors until nothing was left.

The client was very pleased with the sample and soon asked her to make more similar puppets. Wei Baixuan was even more terrified because she knew that the client made it clear that he had no intention of keeping her alive.

So she was afraid to finish the second batch. On February 14, she had a big fight with Wei Yanqing. The marriage was just the trigger. The real reason was that her progress was too slow, which completely annoyed Wei Yanqing. Wei Yanqing locked her in the workshop and forced her not to come out until she finished the work.

Wei Baixuan sat in the cold and dark workshop, his precarious sanity finally breaking down.

If she didn't finish her work, she would die. Even if the big shot didn't stop talking, she would be oppressed by Wei Yanqing for the rest of her life. What was the difference between life and death? What had she done wrong? Why didn't the world treat her well?

Wei Baixuan was sober while doing the crazy thing. She stayed awake for a whole day and night, transforming the unfinished puppet into a woman's body, completely replicating her appearance.

After finishing, her eyes were full of bloodshot, but Wei Baixuan didn't feel tired at all. She put the puppet on the ground and smashed the surroundings to make it look like a murder scene, and then waited for people outside to find her.

She had learned the skill of making the puppet bleed a long time ago. Ironically, she learned this skill because of her senior brother.

Wei Baixuan's life was a dark silent drama, with Wei Moyuan being the only ray of sunshine that broke in. She would never forget the times when she was violated and insulted, but Wei Moyuan dressed her like he knew nothing, took her out, and gently and carefully washed her face.

Wei Baixuan couldn't help loving that warmth, but the sun only likes the sun. A new junior sister came to the Wei family, a woman who was completely opposite to her, and the senior brother's eyes quickly shifted away.

Wei Baixuan hated the woman who had taken away his senior brother. Even if she stumbled over to say hello, she would be pushed to the ground by Wei Baixuan maliciously.

As time went by, Wei Zhuyan didn't dare to approach Wei Baixuan. But Wei Baixuan couldn't stop his senior brother from liking his junior sister. His senior brother secretly sang a love story with Wei Zhuyan. Wei Baixuan watched the scene from afar. It was just a few steps away, but for her, it was an insurmountable gap.

Even she learned the silk-pulling opera.

She practiced hard for many years to achieve perfection, but in the end, it was just a one-man show.

Although her puppet show did not attract audiences, she did learn new puppet techniques, one of which was vomiting blood. When the puppeteer sang the lines about life and death, he would quietly pull the thin wire at the key point to pull out the interlayer and let the prepared blood flow out. However, this kind of puppet mechanism is too delicate and requires a lot from the puppeteer, so it is not common.

Wei Baixuan came up with the idea of ​​letting the puppet die for her. She did this to avenge the Wei family, and also to fake her own death, so that she could escape with her life.

What happened next went more smoothly than she had expected. The person who opened the door was none other than her senior brother. She hid in a secret place, and when he pushed the door open, she cut the thin thread, letting the blood flow out.

As expected, the senior brother found nothing. Everyone at the door dispersed. Wei Baixuan took the opportunity to run out and went to look for Hua Nu as he had planned.

She knew that Hua Nu had evil intentions towards her, and she was walking into a tiger's mouth by delivering herself to him now, but she had no choice. She was crazy and wanted to take revenge on everything, and when she went to find Hua Nu, whom she despised the most, she was ready to sacrifice herself.

Surprisingly, Hua Nu did not take the opportunity to make further requests, he just looked at her silently. Under Hua Nu's cover, Wei Baixuan began to play tricks in the mansion. She brought a puppet that looked exactly like herself to perform operas in the middle of the night, and she did not restrain herself even if she was seen by passers-by.

She was like a madman, making a lot of noise in Wei's house. She didn't know whether she wanted to be discovered or not.

When she placed the fake corpse, she had thought maliciously and humbly, would her senior brother be sad to see her dead? However, her senior brother was not sad about her death, but the younger sister was depressed for many days.

How ridiculous things are in this world.

If it weren't for the group of men in black who fell from the sky, Wei Baixuan might never know the truth in her life. Wei Baixuan has been chasing Wei Moyuan for many years, and at this moment, she suddenly felt relieved.

It is not wrong to love someone, and it is not wrong not to love someone. In fact, everyone is right, the elder brother and the younger sister are the most suitable people.

She was too tired. If possible, she wanted to go to a place where there was no master or senior brothers and start over.

Ming Huazhang did not express his opinion, even though he was very tempted by Wei Baixuan's conditions. Xuan Xiaowei received a secret report that someone might take action against the crown prince's canonization ceremony, and Ming Huazhang followed the intelligence to find the Wei family.

It is easy to guess who is behind this. There are only a few people who want to deal with the prince. But what is really important now is not revenge, but to ensure the smooth holding of the enthronement ceremony.

The Queen's mind changes every day, and no one dares to guarantee whether the Queen will pass the throne to Prince Luling after the failure of this ceremony. It concerns the future fate of the Tang Dynasty and the forbearance of the Li Tang royal family for more than ten years. The Prince's Book of Classics in three days must not be a surprise.

Ming Huazhang still looked indifferent and uninterested. He said, "Hand over the butterfly wing powder and the male butterfly. Don't try to play tricks. You have offended people, and there are many who want your life. Only if you tell the truth can you save your family."

Wei Baixuan's eyes lit up and he said quickly, "Thank you, sir! I always carry the butterfly wing powder with me, and it's all here. The male butterflies are kept in the garden, please follow me, sir."

Wei Baixuan handed over a narrow-mouthed porcelain bottle. Ming Huazhang turned it carefully, and after confirming that it was non-toxic, he opened it and scanned it, then said coldly, "Lead the way."

Ming Huashang, Jiang Ling, and Ren Yao were standing in Wei Yanqing's room, groping for clues in the dark. Jiang Ling had a question mark in his head, and when he found an opportunity, he asked: "Ming Huashang, how do you know what kind of person the murderer is?"

明華裳只是在命案現場轉了轉，就準确說出兇手的性別、年齡、性格，實在太不可思議了。明華裳道：“其實也沒那麽玄，要不是前期鋪墊了那麽多線索，我也畫不出來。”

“那也很厲害了。”江陵道，“你剛說完，隗家的仆人就聽出來是隗白宣，太神了。我還以為你和明華章一唱一和，故意演戲呢。”

“是啊。”任遙難得贊同了江陵一次，問，“華裳，你到底是怎麽做到的？”

明華裳拗不過，說道：“萬物運轉都自有規律，兇手殺人也是如此。一個人經歷了什麽事情，他會怎麽想、怎麽做，其實都有跡可循。而且經歷相似的人，想法往往是類似的，所以，只要辨認出他們留下的痕跡，歸類整理，就能猜出他大概是什麽性格，過往經歷了什麽。我只是做歸納而已，功勞是大家的。”

任遙其實依然不能想象這是什麽感覺，但大概理解了明華裳的意思。

明華裳通情達理，很能理解別人，擅長體察情緒。她共情能力這麽強，能在命案現場捕捉到兇手殘留下來的心理痕跡，反過來推測出兇手是什麽樣的人。

任遙稱奇，認真說：“你是我見過最獨特的小娘子，韓将軍沒有看錯人，我相信假以時日，你一定能在玄枭衛闖出一片天。”

“別。”明華裳受用不起，“我只想安安穩穩生活，功業還是交給其他人建立吧。”

江陵咂了一會，終于回過味來：“不對啊，早說你能刻畫出兇手，那你應當第一個來呀！我們查了好幾天，結果方向錯了，甚至連男女都沒找對，這不是耽誤事嗎？”

明華章剛走到門口，便聽到這句話。他頓了頓，面不改色地擡手敲門，提醒裏面的人他來了：“找到證據了嗎？”

明華裳回頭，看到是明華章後高興道：“二兄，你來了！我們找到一些書信和賬本，但不确定算不算證據。”

“算。”明華章簡明扼要，道，“将所有可能有價值的東西都帶走，回去慢慢看。”

江陵表示明白，越發放開手腳翻箱倒櫃，架勢堪比搶劫。明華裳捕捉到些許不對勁，問：“兄長，你要對這裏做什麽？”

明華章心裏輕嘆，她果真太敏感了，這就聽出來了。既然如此，明華章也不隐瞞，說：“這裏會發生一場失火，将整座隗府燒毀。”

手筆這麽大，任遙和江陵都忍不住驚訝。明華章走後，江陵忍不住道：“為了查幾個木偶，就要将別人的家宅燒掉，玄枭衛也太霸道了。”

“不。”明華裳沒有轉身，她看着夜色中漸漸行遠的挺拔身影，說，“恰恰相反，他是為了保下那幾人的命。”

隗墨緣、隗朱硯已經收到命運對他們的裁決了，他們有兩種選擇，要麽守着隗家的財産，日後生死自負；要麽一把火将隗府燒掉，他們會失去一切財物，但可以換一個身份，去神都之外生活。

隗墨緣和隗朱硯自然毫不猶豫選擇第二種。吳箜脖子上還殘留着掐痕，但能勉強說話了：“大郎，隗家這些年掙了不少錢，這些家業本該是你的，你就這樣扔掉，不後悔嗎？”

“沒什麽可後悔的。”隗墨緣看着這座黑黝黝的宅子，說，“這是師父的家業，不是我的。男子漢大丈夫，應當靠自己的手掙錢，哪能成天盼着接手別人的家産？”

隗墨緣看向隗朱硯，隗朱硯默默牽住隗墨緣的手，兩人千言萬語，盡在不言中。

隗墨緣想得很清楚，隗家現在惹上了麻煩，就算給他也守不住，不如和心愛之人浪跡天涯。

隗嚴清有任何事都不避着他，隗墨緣自然知道那筆不尋常的訂單。一開始隗墨緣就覺得不安，修陵墓的工匠都會被當權者滅口，二師妹做好了木偶後，還能活着嗎？他屢次勸師父放手，可是師父被名利迷了眼睛，怎麽都不肯見好就收。

所以他發現隗白宣假死時，沒有拆穿，而是幫她撒謊。一方面是因為愧疚，他明知二師妹的處境，卻始終不敢站出來阻止，這是他欠二師妹的；另一方面，也是為了保命。

他知道二師妹對他的心意，但憐惜和愧疚終究不是愛。隗墨緣握緊了隗朱硯，說：“何況，這座宅子藏着太多罪惡，這些年我住在這裏，并沒有多開心。我更懷念曾經和師父四海為家的日子，師父想必是不懷念了，但我可以帶着朱硯，從頭打造屬于我們兩人的家。”

吳箜看到那兩人情深意重，不由擔憂地看向隗白宣。沒料到隗白宣卻很平靜，她依然無法真心實意地為師兄感到高興，但她由衷說道：“祝你們幸福。”

隗白宣和隗朱硯對上視線，兩人淺淡一笑，各自移開。

這些年，家産鬥争、感情糾葛都是真的，某些時刻她們确實厭惡着對方，但她們仍然是師姐妹。在對方遭遇不公、侵犯，甚至遇到生命危險時，她們也會毫不猶豫，盡自己所能保護對方。

這個世界充斥着利益和罪惡，一點都不美好。但它也不完全是醜陋的、僞善的，在你不知道的地方，有人默默愛你。

四處都倒了桐油，一個火星落下，火光沖天而起。吳箜看着熊熊燃燒的隗家大宅，忽然想起多年前，他和師弟練戲的畫面。

那時，他們練的正時日後隗嚴清的成品作——往生。

一曲往生，曲終已是往生。

吳箜父女和隗墨緣夫妻沒有交流日後要去哪裏，或許，此生永不相見，才是最好的結局吧。

·

隗嚴清扔出煙霧球，趁着那些人看不清的時候，他飛快打開屋中密道，逃命一般跑了出去。

密道出口在一口枯井裏，隗嚴清爬出來，連滾帶爬跑到菩提寺。

寺廟是醫館、學堂也是客棧，只要出一筆香油錢，就能在寺中租一個小院或客房。菩提寺也是如此，西寺寄居着不少文人墨客、外來商賈。隗嚴清翻過寺牆，他慌到極致，根本顧不得這樣會引起別人注意，砰砰砰敲門。

沒一會，門打開了，裏面是一個消瘦病弱的男子，看起來是個不得志的書生。他看見隗嚴清，表情更難看了：“怎麽是你？東西呢？”

“大事不好了！”隗嚴清慌張道，“一夥黑衣人找上隗家，他們要殺了我！你說過的，只要我做完了魏王要的東西，就會保我平安富貴！”

書生臉色更陰沉，他不動聲色掃過後方，四周草木深深，唯有夜風襲過。書生讓開門：“先進來說。”

隗嚴清驚魂未定地進門。書生仔細掃過後方，确定無人跟随後才關實了門。他沒有請隗嚴清到屋裏坐，問：“你是怎麽過來的？”

隗嚴清道：“密道。”

書生心下稍安，又問：“木偶做完了嗎？”

隗嚴清面露愧色，搖頭。

書生并不意外，但依然難掩失望。他問：“木偶都是你親手做的？”

隗嚴清心尖跳了跳，但多年侵占徒弟的作品早已消磨掉他為數不多的廉恥心，他眼睛都不眨道：“當然，一切都是我親力親為，沒讓任何人經手。”

隗嚴清以為将自己的才能誇大，魏王就會愛才，為此越發用心保下他的性命。書生确實欽佩地點點頭，說：“這些日子實在辛苦隗掌櫃了。那夥黑衣人長什麽模樣，身上有什麽标志，他們和你說了什麽？”

書生提問，隗嚴清這才意識到他對那夥神秘人一無所知。他努力回想，但印象中只有一片黑。

今日，他本來在隗白宣的房間裏翻找圖紙。隗白宣這個賤人死了都給他添麻煩，隗嚴清知道隗墨緣對他有隐瞞，但當務之急是做完魏王殿下要求的木偶，其餘事都可以往後放。

隗嚴清沒工夫查隗白宣的死，而是一心做木偶。木偶手藝是他教給隗白宣的，他堅信只要找到圖紙，他也可以做成。

他找了好幾天，好不容易摸到了密格，還沒來得及看一眼就被人打暈。他被一陣斷斷續續的說話聲吵醒，他認出來那是隗白宣的聲音，如遭雷擊。

但他手腳都被捆着，嘴也被堵住，他只能用瞪眼來表達自己的憤怒。

至于綁他的黑衣人……他好像從頭到尾就沒有看到對方，更別說記住對方的特征。

隗嚴清皺眉道：“我沒看清綁我的人，但隔着屏風看到一個黑衣人，他個子很高，臉上帶着半截面具，看下巴臉型不錯，聲音聽起來很年輕。”

符合這些特征的人神都不知有多少。書生有些失望，但他本來也沒指望隗嚴清什麽。

隗嚴清還在皺着眉回想，他為什麽有一種難以言喻的熟悉感？那道聲音，他似乎聽過。

崔郎君！

隗嚴清想起這個姓氏的剎那，腹部也感覺到一股劇痛。隗嚴清看着面前的男子，難以置信。

The scholar drew back his dagger and threw him to the ground in disgust: "A low-class actor actually wants to curry favor with the prince. Ha, how ridiculous."

At this point, the scholar frowned, and suddenly his pupils contracted: "No, you were knocked unconscious. Why did you wake up in a room with a secret passage?"

But it was too late. A streak of snow flashed across the dark night, and before the scholar could escape, he was already restrained by the man in black. Xie Jichuan stepped forward and removed the scholar's jaw with his own hands.

Xie Jichuan took out a handkerchief, wiped his hands slowly, lowered his eyes and smiled gently at Wei Yanqing: "Jingzhan is right. Once a person loses his balance, he is not far from death. You are too panicked. You should have noticed that we were the ones who brought you to the room with the secret passage."

"But it doesn't matter." Xie Jichuan let go, and the handkerchief fluttered down. He showed his first sincere smile in days, "It's worth it to use your worthless life to catch a confidant of the King of Wei. I hope that in the underworld, you can live the rich life you always dreamed of."

Wei Yanqing stared at the night sky with eyes wide open, as if he had seen something extremely shocking. Xie Jichuan turned around and saw a blazing fire in the direction of the Wei family mansion.

"It's all burnt." Xie Jichuan shook his head, his expression gentle, but there was no warmth in his eyes. "It's great, it's all clean."