Chapter 0——④Ghost Dong Fox
After more than half a year like this, Qian Bi and Murong Yan were inseparable, and their relationship progressed smoothly, but they never crossed the threshold of etiquette. Gan Bi was worried about his wife and did not know what the other party was thinking. He always thought that Murong Yan just had nowhere to go and was living here temporarily. She was so attentive out of gratitude to him. Murong Yan, on the other hand, thought that Qian Bi was hindered by her low body skills, so she was reluctant to take the step to marry her. Mrs. Qian was naturally disgusted with this "yellow-haired girl" who came from nowhere, and she tried every means to make things difficult for her all day long. Fortunately, the favoritism of her brothers prevented her from acting recklessly.
One day at noon, Qian Ying was chatting and laughing with her brother when Murong Yan walked in in front of the door holding light tea. Qian Ying knew the current situation and was ready to step down so that the two of them could enjoy drinking and chatting, but Murong Yan refused.
"Master Qian, this servant just came in with tea. Leave now so as not to disturb the two of you." After saying this, Murong Yan made a gesture to leave.
Gan Ying hurriedly stopped her and said, "Why are you still a maid? Miss Murong, come here!"
Murong Yan nodded and walked away, performing the Wanfu ceremony.
"Ahem!" Qian Ying pretended to be serious and said, "Miss Murong, are you willing to marry Qian Lingsheng?"
"I..." Murong Yan blushed with embarrassment and could not utter another word.
Gan Bi stood up, hurriedly stopped his brother, and said, "Ling Chong, what are you doing?"
"Then what are you hesitating about, brother?" Qian Ying seemed to be tired of this ambiguous relationship and complained: "Time flies by so fast! Can't I bear the heart to let Miss Murong waste all her years?"
"Ling Chong, you simply don't understand how much responsibility you have as the head of the family and the eldest son!"
"Of course I understand! The eldest brother is afraid of his sister-in-law and those old rules." Qian Ying waved her folding fan, pointed at the two people, and said: "In my opinion, the eldest brother sent Mrs. Fu back to Fu with a divorce letter. Family, let’s break up with them from now on, why should we cause ourselves more troubles?”
"You're talking nonsense!" Qian Bi was furious and said, "We are family friends with the Fu family, and it was our father who forged a friendship. It would be unfilial to sever the relationship from now on. But by sending my wife back, I broke my promise. It's because of disloyalty. Do you want people outside to think that the Gan family is full of disloyal and unfilial people?"
Murong Yan, who was caught in the middle, tried to stop the argument, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Qian appeared from the door. When Mrs. Qian saw the "yellow-haired girl" standing next to her husband, she felt jealous. She walked over and tugged her ears and said, "This little goblin is slacking off again! Go to the library quickly and remove the dust from the corners. All swept away!”
Murong Yan was dragged for a few steps by her ears, her brows knitted together in grievance. When the two young masters saw this, they hurriedly stopped him. In order to avoid suspicion, Gan Bi had to scold his wife to stop. Qian Ying didn't have so many scruples and went straight forward to separate Madam Fu from Murong Yan.
"Oh, Uncle Qian, why are you so partial to her? Could it be that your soul has been taken away too?" Mrs. Qian said with ill intentions.
"Sister-in-law, it would be disrespectful to make things difficult for a little girl like this!" Qian Ying retorted.
"Hmph! Uncle's library hasn't been taken care of for a long time. If the books inside become moldy one day, don't blame me!"
Qian Ying did not answer, and Murong Yan then bowed to the two young masters and Mrs. Qian one by one, and then left to do her work.
In the middle of the night, Gan Bi was suffering from insomnia and was about to go to the library to read books with an oil lamp in hand. A few feet away from the pavilion door, I saw that the lights were still bright inside, and I thought that my brother was staying up all night again, writing carefully. When he walked in, he saw that the blond girl was packing up the scattered tomes.
"Yan'er. Why haven't you finished taking care of her yet?" Gan Bi asked with concern.
Murong Yan was holding a few stacks of books, her hair was soaked with sweat, her face was covered with dust, and she looked very embarrassed. She nodded, not daring to let Qian Bi see her embarrassment, and said, "Madam... she took out all the books and asked me to sort them out again..."
Gan Bi couldn't bear it and helped Murong Yan up, intending to let her rest for a while. However, the woman quickly declined the kindness and continued to play with the books and said: "Madam is right, I can't live and eat in vain. It would be great to at least be able to help a little!”
Ganbi felt in his heart that he had wronged the other party, and thought of an excuse, gently caressing Murong Yan's shoulder, and said: "I can't sleep at night today, can you please ask Yan'er to play a pipa for me to relieve the boredom in my heart?"
Murong Yan at least did not refuse and went back to her room to get her pipa. Listening to the sound of the copper bell on the girl's feet gradually disappearing, Qian Bi began to sort out the scattered classics. If Qian Ying saw the books she collected being treated like this, she would probably be even more resentful towards Mrs. Fu.
In order to maintain the daily chores at home and do a good job in government affairs at work, I have done my best. He is only a few years older than his brothers, but his beard and hair are already showing signs of whiteness. How can he have time to care about his children's personal affairs? Ganbi thought so in his heart. After a while, Murong Yan returned to the library holding the pipa.
Seeing that the chaos in the pavilion had been sorted out, Murong Yan realized that she had fallen into Gan Bi's "strategy" and smiled shyly: "Mr. Qian, you usually work like this, so leave these things to the servants." Come and do it..."
Ganbi sat at a small round table holding a book and silently invited the other party to the other side. The surrounding firelight had gone out, leaving only the oil lamp on the table and the white moonlight shining in through the ventilation window above the table.
"Sir, what music are you playing?"
"Um...how about the song you played the night we met?"
Murong Yan nodded lightly and started playing. Desert songs echoed in the small bookstore accompanied by candlelight, followed by the moonlight and spread outside, swaying in the night sky.
Ganbi happened to be holding a book about the desert in his hand. After reading for a long time, he suddenly reached out and stopped playing, and asked curiously: "Yan'er, you said this desert is really as described in the book - 'yellow sand is everywhere, Is it a place of freedom and freedom?"
"Even so, there are dangers there, and it is not easy to survive in the desert..." Murong Yan seemed to remember her parents and hometown, and she felt sad unconsciously. The swaying candle flame reflected the tears in the woman's eyes, making them crystal clear and falling on her clothes like pearls.
"Yan'er, why are you crying?" Gan Bi lifted up his sleeves and tried to wipe away the tears on his face. When Murong Yan saw this, she consciously prayed. She put the lute aside, grabbed the other person's arm with both hands, moved his palm to her cheek, greedily feeling the warmth in the palm of the hand.
Qian Bi knew the other person's intentions at this time, and he followed Murong Yan without any formality or courtesy. After a moment, Murong Yan raised her eyes, tears glistening, and looked at the other party, saying: "Sir, let me stay with you for the rest of my life. No matter what you do, I am willing to do it."
"Why? You are already free, you don't have to succumb to this..." Ganbi asked with a confused look on his face.
Murong Yan smiled, pressed her face closer to the palm of the other person's hand, her eyebrows curved into a long crescent shape, and said: "If Yan'er said, 'This is what God asked me to do,' sir, you won't believe it, right?"
The two looked at each other for a moment, and after a while, the unique "squeaking" sound of an old wooden door sounded from the pavilion door, and it was opened from the outside. Mrs. Qian happened to witness the two people's tryst, and she was immediately filled with jealousy. She picked up a broom from the side and headed towards Murong Yan.
"I told you to seduce someone else's husband!" After saying that, Mrs. Qian hit him with a broom. Murong Yan was pulled behind Qianbi, so she dodged the blow. Unfortunately, this blow hit the pipa, causing two strings to break and the surface of the lute to be slightly shattered. Seeing this tragic situation, the blond girl stepped forward to protect Pipa.
Just when Mrs. Qian was about to strike the second blow, Qian Bi reached out to block her wrist, snatched the broom, moved aside, and said angrily: "Madam, if you have something to say, why should you hurt others!"
"Easy to talk about? What else is there to talk about? I'll leave this house tomorrow!" After saying that, Mrs. Qian walked away, leaving only a few tears of shame and anger.
The next day, Mrs. Qian packed her luggage, invited a dozen people to go with her, and headed west. Qianbi knew that this day would come sooner or later, but for the sake of morality in his heart, he kept delaying and delaying the arrival of 'this day'. Soon, because he offended his family friend's daughter, Ganbi was repeatedly blocked in his official career, and finally ended up being resigned. He had to stay at home and recuperate. The new governor is an out-and-out playboy who spends his whole day trying to curry favor with the wealthy gentry and amass money. There are even "laws" specially formulated for poor people. For example, those with patches on their clothes will be fined several dollars; those from outside the city who enter the inner city without permission will be fined several dollars and imprisoned for several days... And the outer city is full of poor people.
In this way, a strange phenomenon gradually formed in Jiangzhou. The inner city is extremely rich, luxurious, and extravagant, while the outer city is very different from the rest. It is even the same as the northwest that has suffered from years of war. This situation is very tragic in the eyes of Gan Bi who works hard to serve the people. As a result, Qianbi's "depression" and insomnia became more and more serious, and he would not be able to sleep normally without the company of Murong Yan's pipa every night. Less than a year later, the oil has been exhausted.
"Yan'er, if I were born in the desert, I would be able to stay away from these worldly affairs. At least, I could live the life I want with you happily, right?" This was the last thing Gan Bi said to Murong Yan while lying on the bed. After saying one sentence, he died.
Mrs. Qian, who is far away in the Fu family in the west, is still nominally Qianbi's wife. According to etiquette, she should return to Qian's family to put on mourning for Qianbi. Just half a month after Qian Ying sent someone to the Fu family with the news that her brother was seriously ill, Mrs. Qian hurried over. In order to wait for her arrival, Ganbi's body was left in front of the tomb for half a month before being buried.
On the day of the burial, everyone performed rituals and prepared to disperse. But Murong Yan was still kneeling there and refused to leave, saying she wanted to stay a little longer. Qian Ying knew that the two of them had a deep relationship, so she asked the gravedigger to bury them at midnight. Seeing how infatuated the "yellow-haired girl" was, Mrs. Qian hatched a plan in her heart.
In the middle of the night, the cemetery is surrounded by mountains and lakes, making it an excellent place to stay. Murong Yan had been eating and drinking there for half a month, and now she was really reluctant to leave.
The gravedigger urged him three or four times, but Murong Yan still refused. The man wearing a light blue linen scarf and blue linen clothes was really impatient. At this time, a woman with unusually noble clothes and elegant walking came to her. He thought he had bumped into a female ghost and was so frightened that he almost lost his wits. After taking a closer look, I realized it was Mrs. Qian.
"Madam, are you here tonight to see the master a few more times?"
Mrs. Qian signaled him to be silent, then she quietly approached Murong Yan with a handkerchief. Suddenly, he covered Murong Yan's mouth and nose with a handkerchief. Within a moment, Murong Yan fainted.
"You, bury her for me too."
The gravedigger was shocked: "This... this is murder! I can't do this!"
Mrs. Qian took a bag of money, threw it on the ground, and said, "This money is enough for you to go back to the countryside and live your whole life. You won't have to do such dirty things in the future, isn't that good?"
The gravedigger looked at the blond girl lying in front of him, swallowed, and accepted the money. Mrs. Qian hid aside and watched the gravedigger finish the work and left happily.
The next day, Qian Ying asked Qian's wife Murong Yan where she was. The latter said that after seeing her lover die, she no longer wanted to stay here and returned to her hometown. Qian Ying didn't ask any more questions, and the matter seemed to have been kept secret.
Unexpectedly, it was night, and Mrs. Qian woke up from her dream, covered in sweat, as if she had had a nightmare. She walked to the mirror and saw her dead husband's face! Then he screamed loudly, and when he looked back, he saw no one was there. When she slowly turned back to the mirror, she saw that face again, and she was so frightened that she smashed the mirror.
The noise woke up everyone in the house, and the servants came over with weapons in hand, asking if there was a burglar. The lady shook her head repeatedly and said it was "a ghost." Qian Ying arrived late and found out what had happened. Mrs. Tong Qian told Mrs. Qian not to worry about the folk tale that the soul may not ascend immediately after death, but may still wander around the world for several days.
The mirror is gone, but the "ghost face" is no longer visible. But the nightmares still came every night, and there were also some weird whispers, which kept Mrs. Qian from resting for several days and she didn't even dare to leave the door.
Gan Ying saw her sister-in-law being so strange and went to care about her several times, but every time she shook her head and whispered: "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..."
If a third person knew about that, Mrs. Qian and the Fu family would definitely be ruined. In order to prevent these things from happening, Mrs. Qian had to endure it all silently.
About half a month later, the maid who went to deliver food found Mrs. Qian's dead body hanging on the white silk silk. At that time, everyone said it was caused by ghosts and ghosts.
After that, even if the relationship between the couple is not good, they should be buried together. Adhering to this rule, Qian Ying sent someone to open her brother's grave. What she saw and heard shocked everyone present. A blond girl wearing a light green dress was resting in a wooden coffin. The rhythmic swelling and contraction of her back was proof that she was alive.
"Miss Murong?" Gan Ying said in shock: "Miss Murong! Why are you here!"
Murong Yan opened her eyes that were dazzled by the sun, subconsciously hid, and said: "Godfather? That's great, I'm saved..." After that, she fainted.
Qian Ying hurriedly carried Murong Yan back to Qian's mansion, and saw that she was all slovenly, but her skin was as fair as before, and her face was only a little thinner. She didn't seem to have suffered too much in the tomb.
After Murong Yan woke up, she told Qian Ying everything in detail.
"Somehow, the gravedigger wanted to drive me away, and then my eyes darkened, and I woke up in the tomb." Murong Yan said slowly with tears in her eyes: "I thought I was going to die there. , I never thought that it was Mr. Qian who saved Yan’er’s life.”
She shook the copper bell in her hand and told the other party her identity as a descendant of the "Witch Bloodline". The copper bell in his hand is an important magic weapon that allows his bloodline ability to be unleashed.
"I saw the soul of Mr. Qian, and he told me...it was Mrs. Qian who put me in the tomb." Murong Yan smiled and said: "Somehow, I don't hate Mrs. Qian at all. After all, this is how I can See you again Mr. Qian..."
Gan Ying felt astonished that something like this, which only existed in legends, actually happened to her elder brother: In order to keep Murong Yan alive, Gan Bi's soul searched for water and food for the latter, and it lasted for a month, until Mrs. Qian died and the tomb was opened.
Fu Yun, the head of the Fu family far to the west, was filled with grief and anger when he learned that Qian Jin died mysteriously. He vowed to report to the imperial court the culpability of the family for disregarding human life. Qian Ying, who had never been in officialdom, couldn't resist it, but the burden of being the head of the Qian family fell on his shoulders. Therefore, he didn't think about food or food for several days, and almost forgot that his child Qian Xi had been born. Murong Yan saw that the benefactor who had saved her twice was so embarrassed, so she took the initiative to ask Ying to resolve the conflict. The method is: one thing for another thing, one person for one person.
Qian Ying sent a letter of reconciliation to the Fu family, and the content was roughly as follows:
The younger generation, Qian Ying, now offers a Xianbei beauty to comfort her uncle’s pain of losing his daughter, and to remember her late husband’s friendship and to take responsibility for the Qian family’s crimes...
