Chapter 7
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When they arrived, Jiang City welcomed them on both sides of the road; when they left, the streets were empty, with only the farewell of Yi Jiao Jiao and Tan Ci.
Jiao Jiao waited until her father’s figure had completely disappeared before pulling the curtain. Tan Ci gently held her hand, comforting her, “This year’s New Year’s Eve, Yan Er will also be half a year old. By then, we’ll return and accompany your father to watch the year pass.”
She felt grateful for his comfort and glanced at their sleeping daughter in her arms, still hesitant. “The journey will take over a month, and it will be cold in the twelfth month. Let’s wait and see then. After all, there’s always next year.”
He nodded and agreed. Jiao Jiao suddenly remembered something and looked up, “Didn’t cousin-in-law send a letter some time ago, saying something about an important matter in Ji County that requires you to go?”
Tan Ci thought for a moment before replying, “Yes, her letter was vague. She only mentioned that it was quite important and that I should go in person.”
Jiao Jiao pondered for a moment, then said, “Since we will be passing by Ji County on the way back, you can stop there and send someone to check. These days, Yan Er has been crying a lot, so I’ll take the children back home to wait for you.”
He smiled, gently wiping the sweat from the sleeping Jing Zhu’s forehead, then looked at his wife and solemnly said, “Alright.”
On the 13th of April, as evening clouds hinted at the rain, the caravan of Biling arrived in Jì County. Tan Ci opened the curtain of the carriage and saw his cousin Qin Chu waiting at the side of the road with a few maids.
Jiao Jiao’s voice was neither too high nor too low, and there was no trace of complaint as she said, “I won’t get off, the children are sleeping in my arms. Let’s just exchange a few words from the carriage, and we’ll leave right after.”
He replied and stepped down. Since their marriage, Qin Chu had never been particularly friendly towards Jiao Jiao.
The cousin was strong-willed, and Jiao Jiao was not like Yang Shi, who would lower herself in order to make Qin Chu feel comfortable due to her background.
One was like a sharp blade, the other like a block of ice. Over the years, their relationship had only been limited to a superficial nodding acquaintance.
Tan Ci got off the carriage, and Jiao Jiao lifted the curtain at the window. She looked at Qin Chu, who smiled politely, but today, Qin Chu greeted her first in an unexpected manner, “How are you, cousin-in-law?”
Jiao Jiao felt a flash of suspicion but only for a moment. She kept her voice low, careful not to disturb the children, and softly responded, “Chu Chu.”
After a few pleasantries, neither of them could see clearly, but the maid standing at the back of Qin Chu trembled for a brief moment at the sound of the conversation.
Qin Chu’s voice, which was usually cold, now seemed even more distant and rejecting as she said, “Since your two nephews are sound asleep, it would be a shame to disturb them. After such a long journey, it would be rude of me to keep you. I’ll take Jing Er and Yan Er back to Biling. Next time you come, I will certainly entertain you properly.”
Qin Chu snorted coldly, “Sister-in-law, you’re too polite. The sky is darkening, and I won’t keep you any longer,” she paused, then with a pointed smile, added, “The night roads are difficult to travel, so I’ll leave you to go on your way.”
Yi Jiao Jiao lowered her gaze and nodded. Under the stone-blue sky, the coming night pressed down heavily, making it difficult to breathe.
She exchanged one last glance with Tan Ci, smiled briefly, then slowly lowered the curtain, and the carriage continued to move farther away.
Qin Chu was certain that Yi Jiao Jiao would not turn back. Before Tan Ci could speak, she abruptly pulled the last maid towards her. The maid, too small in stature, stumbled as she was yanked.
Qin Chu’s tone was anxious as she directly asked the trembling maid, “Well? Did you hear clearly?”
The maid continued to shiver, and Tan Ci, who had been watching with confusion, started walking over, intending to stop Qin Chu.
However, he froze in place when he saw the maid’s face clearly—she was a woman in her twenties, but her eyes were horrifically gouged out, leaving only terrifying scars.
She was blind.
Even though she had lost her sight, her eyes still flowed with murky tears. She mumbled something incomprehensible, and when agitated, she flailed her arms around.
Qin Chu, forcing herself to approach, repeated, “Is it… is it her?! You’re saying it’s her?!”
The maid nodded vigorously, then suddenly squatted down in pain, clutching her head with both hands and crying out in a disturbing wail.
Qin Chu stared blankly for a moment before releasing her grip. It was as if she had lost her soul. She muttered to herself, “It’s really her… Cousin…”
She raised her eyes, and in the dimming night, her expression seemed almost mad. Tan Ci furrowed his brows deeply as Qin Chu stepped forward, grabbed the maid, and lifted her face to show Tan Ci. “Look carefully at this person! Do you recognize her?”
He stared at her, then slowly looked at the maid again, but still could not remember, “Who… is she?”
Qin Chu let out a harsh laugh, raising her voice, “She’s your wife Yang Shi’s personal maid, Yin Yue! Did you think that after Yang Shi died, this maid was quietly thrown away when no one was paying attention? Of course, you wouldn’t know that before Yang Shi passed away, Yin Yue had her eyes gouged out, was poisoned into muteness, and was thrown into the mountains!”
Tan Ci’s hands clenched tightly at his sides, but he was at a loss for words. Qin Chu didn’t give him the chance to speak. She pressed on, “Do you want to know who this person is? Who, after all, went to such lengths to eliminate Yang Shi’s trusted maid? Or rather, who killed your first wife?!”
Qin Chu’s laugh was cruel in the night, her eyes bloodshot, and the thrill of revealing the truth drove her mad.
“I knew it! Sudden death? It’s never that simple! A healthy, vibrant twenty-year-old, and suddenly Yang Shi died of an illness! After Yin Yue had her eyes gouged out, the mastermind came to see her take poison. Unfortunately, when Yin Yue struggled too much during the poisoning, it looked rather pitiful. Perhaps that person still had some remnants of conscience and spoke two words—she said, ‘Enough.’”
The past pain was torn open, blood pouring out, as Yin Yue cried, her form unrecognizable. Qin Chu’s voice still sounded like venomous worms drilling into the ears, making one’s head throb with excruciating pain.
“It’s fortunate that those two words caused Yin Yue to ingest half the poison, leaving her only half mute. Even more fortunate that those two words allowed Yin Yue to stand here today, to identify the true murderer who killed my cousin—”
A thunderclap suddenly erupted in the distance, and it seemed to strike the earth. Tan Ci stood frozen in place, hearing Qin Chu’s last, resounding words: “Yì Jiao Jiao—!”
It was as if he had been struck by lightning. His fingers moved slowly, instinctively shaking his head. “Impossible… You’re saying… Jiao Jiao… She wouldn’t do this…”
The rain came suddenly and fiercely. Street vendors hurriedly put on their hats to shield their faces, bending down to pack up their stalls, stepping into the puddles, and running off in haste, as though fleeing from an irremediable disaster.
Servants held umbrellas, and Qin Chu looked at him with cold mockery. “Cousin, Yang Shi’s death benefited someone. Who benefited from this? You just need to think and you’ll understand. Why deceive yourself? She was never a good match! What kind of righteous girl would do something so shameless?”
Tan Ci looked at Qin Chu and suddenly felt that everything seemed absurd. “But your cousin-in-law was good to you all these years…”
Qin Chu loudly interrupted him, gritting her teeth. “I only have one Sister-in-law, Yang Shi, and she was tragically murdered by that heartless woman! She doesn’t deserve it.”
Amidst the heavy rain, which blurred everything into a mist, the woman spoke one final time. “If you don’t believe it, find a master who’s skilled enough and ask him. In the Biling temple where your cousin-in-law’s tablet is enshrined, the beams have eight-pointed charms that suppress souls, right? Ha! Ordinary vengeful spirits only need four points to be suppressed, at most six. What kind of guilt-ridden, fearful person is Yi Jiao Jiao to need eight-pointed charms to keep your cousin-in-law’s spirit bound, never to reincarnate? Biling Mistress, Yi Jiao Jiao, the famous living Bodhisattva in the jianghu? She’s nothing but a vengeful ghost atoning for her sins! Hahahahaha…”
