My enemies became my companions

Chapter 328 Taihua Goddess
It’s a similar night, but some people are happy and some are sad.

At the poetry gathering at the Cui Mansion, whose surname had long been changed to Cui, which was also held on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, there was also no shortage of dignitaries in attendance. Although the Cui Mansion garden was not as luxurious and beautiful as the Jingwang Mansion, it also had the style of a middle-class family, with gentle and elegant pavilions and towers, cobblestone paths shaded by bamboo forests, and a hothouse specially for viewing flowers. Walking in this garden, when you come out, you will be smelling the fresh air of the south of the Yangtze River.

The poetry gathering on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month was held in an exceptionally grand manner by the Cui Mansion in order to demonstrate that the Mansion was still wealthy and prestigious after the downfall of the Lin Party. Invitations embroidered with gold thread were sent to every household, and there were quite a few attendees. Although the scene could not be compared with the poetry gathering at Prince Jing's Mansion, after all, the latter was a royal mansion with a much higher threshold, while the Cui Mansion seemed to accept everyone.

The poetry gathering was filled with noise, and even Lin Wanheng's silent courtyard had more noise than before. Xiuhe had made many preparations early this morning. Not only did she help with the poetry gathering, but she was also prepared to persuade the lady to attend the poetry gathering by any means necessary, especially the latter.

She had thought that this was an impossible task, and had made plans to drag the widowed lady to the poetry gathering no matter how hard it might take. However, she had never expected that the lady would wake up at the second cockcrow today. Under the dark sky, the lady, who had always been frugal, lit a candle.

Xiuhe saw Lin Wanheng, who looked much lighter, sitting in front of the dressing table, applying powder and rouge, which she had hardly used before. When she saw Xiuhe woke up, she asked her to come over to help her fix her hair and put on the makeup.

This scene was truly touching. The earrings, hairpins, bracelets, finger guards and other small items were all carefully taken care of. Xiuhe hadn't seen Madam look so energetic for a long time. Even though she still looked worried, the excitement in her eyes was real.

In addition to these, the lady, who had always been wearing plain mourning clothes, found a piece of clothing from the closet for the first time today. The color and style were extremely elegant, with light green mixed with bright goose yellow, and lotus flowers embroidered on the horse-faced skirt. Xiuhe couldn't stop crying when she saw it, because that was the dress the lady wore when she was a girl.

Madam is so interested in this poetry meeting, who will come?
As it concerns the lady's reputation, Xiuhe dared not to have any wild thoughts, but she vaguely felt that it was that person. Who else could it be except the captain?

Thinking of this, Xiuhe thought one step further and took the script of "The Peony Pavilion" with her.

The story of "The Peony Pavilion" is extremely simple. It is nothing more than that Du Liniang, a young girl just beginning to fall in love and staying alone in her boudoir, is traveling alone in her garden. She unexpectedly runs into a scholar, who falls in love with her at first sight. They then have sex, and the woman realizes it was all a dream after she wakes up.

Afterwards, the woman fell seriously ill due to love and died of depression.

Just three years later, the scholar passed the imperial examination and Du Liniang came back to life, resurrected from the dead, and became a beautiful couple with the scholar.

The story is simple, but for women from scholarly families, "The Peony Pavilion" is a rare vernacular book. This is because the language used in "The Peony Pavilion" is elegant and not vulgar, and it is more suitable for women who never leave the house than "The West Chamber" and other books.

The lady made a lot of preparations, and Xiuhe also made a lot of preparations, but he didn't come.

On the cobblestone path, Lin Wanlang, who was dressed beautifully, walked on the road with her eyes lowered. From her light steps, Xiuhe saw an unspeakable loss, which was so pitiful that Xiuhe couldn't help feeling heartbroken.

Arriving at a pavilion, the noisy venue had already faded into the distance. Lin Wanlang, already tired from walking, sat on a chair and gazed into the distance, looking just like Du Liniang who was waiting for her lover's arrival.

Xiuhe was concerned about her and asked softly, "Madam, why don't we write some poems too?"

Lin Wanheng smiled and shook his head.

Xiuhe knew that his wife could naturally write poetry. The poems she wrote before she got married were praised by her father for their tactful wording and elegant style, which made them unique. However, since she became a widow, Lin Wanhang had not touched a pen for a long time.

Lin Wanheng lowered her head and fumbled out a sachet from her bosom. It had a blue background with words embroidered on it but no flowers. It was for the man. She stroked it for a long time and finally said in a lost voice, "He didn't come."

To comfort her, Xiu He said hurriedly, "It's all that guy's fault. He is not trustworthy."

Hearing the maid's eagerness, Lin Wanheng shook his head and laughed, "But he doesn't have to come."

Xiuhe didn't know what to do for a moment. She had always considered Lin Wanheng, and this time was no exception. She didn't know the inside story. She only knew that Lin Wanheng seemed to have some relationship with the thousand households. And since Lin Wanheng wanted to see her so much and cared about her, Xiuhe felt that this was a bad person.

Lin Wanheng raised her eyes and looked around for a long time, with a look of loss that could not be concealed in her eyes. She suddenly said:

"If your tone had been better, would he have come?"

Before Xiuhe could speak, Lin Wanheng shook his head and muttered to himself.

"He no longer misses me..."

There is no way to take revenge. When Lin Wanheng, who was worn out by widowhood and unconscious, said this, she did not realize that there was unimaginable resentment in her voice.

Xiuhe could hear it and couldn't help but shed tears.

"Why are you crying? Don't cry, don't cry." Lin Wanheng came to his senses when he saw her crying and called out to her repeatedly.

After being together for so long, the young widow no longer regarded Xiuhe as a servant, but as a sister. The master and servant slept in the same bed and ate at the same table.

"I am crying for my wife. Such a wonderful poetry gathering, so many scholars, and such a beautiful garden."

Xiuhe shed tears and said:

"That person didn't come, and no one knows where he is. Xiuhe has already decided to recite The Peony Pavilion for you."

When Lin Wanheng heard this, her cheeks turned red. She couldn't help but think that even if it was for revenge, how could she really be an unfaithful person? She felt ashamed and her eyes were filled with endless resentment.

Then she laughed again. It was really funny that the man didn't come even though she was dressed so gorgeously.

She stroked the sachet and gazed into the distance in a trance. Her profile was extremely beautiful in the night.

When Xiuhe saw this, she cried even harder:
"Women dress up to please themselves, madam, who are you sad about now?"

...............................

Prince Jing's Mansion.

Chen Yi was not in a hurry to go to the back mountain, but first looked around Prince Jing's Mansion.

Whether it was the drunken literati, the servants counting their reward money, the curling smoke rising from the kitchen, or the beautiful scenery in the concubine's courtyard, Chen Yi took a look at them all.

As for what was discovered, apart from the fact that one of King Jing's concubines used the jade ruyi to relieve her loneliness, nothing great was discovered.

Everything is normal.

Too normal.

Such a normal situation cannot explain Yin Weiying's origin at all.

So this time, Chen Yi wanted to go to the back mountain, and go with Yin Weiying.

But before that, he sent Yin Tingxue back first. The little fox came to the poetry meeting today, and although it is not clear whether she had a good time or not, she came happily and left happily. The reason was? It was because the poem she wrote was appreciated.

There were three topics in the poetry meeting: one was to celebrate birthdays, the second was to reminisce about the past and sing about history, and the third was to write a five-character quatrain on the theme of Buddhist verses. Yin Tingxue wrote a Buddhist verse. The first part of this poem is not worth mentioning, but the second part is unique. It says:

When it blooms, people don't notice it; when it falls, there is no trace left.

This poem uses simple words, yet it secretly conforms to the wonderful principles of Zen Buddhism, so it won a prize at the poetry meeting. Actually, although it is a prize, it is not a big prize, and it is even more impossible to win the first prize. After all, this prize is a bit like a consolation prize for the top three. However, for the little fox, it is enough to make her happy for a while.

As for the thirty taels of silver as a reward, Chen Yi kept it for her temporarily.

When she learned about this, Yin Tingxue looked at him aggrievedly, but she didn't say anything in the end. She just kept looking back when she came home. Chen Yi ignored her.

Tossing the money bag, Chen Yi watched the silver flying up and down in the air. Actually, thirty taels of silver were nothing. His annual salary in Zhigesi was five hundred taels, not to mention his savings from when he was a captain of the Western Factory.

"By the way, shouldn't I give her some change?"

Chen Yi pondered in his heart.

Before, we were afraid that she would run away, and our family never shortchanged her for food, clothing and other expenses, so we never gave her a monthly allowance, and she never asked for it on her own initiative. Now that the little fox is so well-behaved and obedient, it would be a good thing to give her some money, even if she doesn't spend it.

Perhaps she would cover her mouth and laugh as she watched the monthly allowance accumulate into a small mountain.

Thoughts are thoughts, but there are important matters to deal with right now. Chen Yi took a deep breath and returned to Prince Jing's Mansion.

He soon arrived at Yin Weiying's courtyard.

"what happened?"

Yin Weiying pushed the door open and walked out. People who practice Taoism pay attention to absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, so she was meditating just now and did not change her clothes.

Chen Yi said, "I heard from your father that there seems to be something strange in the back mountain. If that's the case, I'll go with you and help my father-in-law solve some problems."

Yin Weiying looked at Chen Yi suspiciously, not knowing what he was planning, but he still took off the peach wood sword and followed Chen Yi.

When we arrived at the back mountain, we could see thick snow along the road. The heavy snow not long ago came and went quickly, and everything was covered in silver light.

Walking along the path, Chen Yi looked around. The shadows of the trees were dense, and this desolate and deserted place felt like a ghost town.

However, no matter the Taoists and monks who came before and after, or Yu Zhen Yuanjun, they could not find any strange phenomenon in the back mountain. Over the past ten years, Prince Jing's Mansion has lived in peace and prosperity.

"There's nothing here." Yin Weiying said softly, holding up the peach wood sword.

She couldn't understand why Chen Yi came here, and she actually didn't want to come here. If Chen Yi hadn't asked her to come, she wouldn't have come.

Because of fear, she was always unable to refuse this ignorant request.

“I hope there’s nothing.”

As Chen Yi spoke, he walked up, took out the Embroidered Spring Sword and tapped the ground lightly.

Slowly, the walkable path came to an end. To go deeper, one had to step over the treetops and crush the dead branches and leaves.

As the two went deeper, the mountain behind seemed to become more quiet and gloomy.

After an unknown amount of time, the tip of Chen Yi's knife stopped pointing at the ground.

The soil is somewhat loose.

Yin Weiying saw Chen Yi stopped. The environment was quiet and lonely. She couldn't help but get nervous and asked:
"What did you find?"

"There's something in here."

Chen Yi knocked down with the tip of the knife, and as his inner energy penetrated the soil, a faint echo surged up.

I don't know what is buried inside.

Drawing the sword from its sheath and raising it without any distractions, Chen Yi held his breath and concentrated his energy, then slashed down fiercely.

Under the fierce wind and rain, the soil flew everywhere and deep grooves appeared on the ground. Yin Weiying leaned over and saw a wooden coffin with a four-clawed golden python carved on it.

"How come here..."

Yin Weiying screamed in surprise. She had never thought that there would be such a coffin here.

It has excellent texture and is golden nanmu, which does not rot for a thousand years. Secretly, it should be buried in the imperial mausoleum or a huge tomb, but now it is buried under the surface soil.

Chen Yi stared at the coffin, kicked away the dirt, touched the red gold relic in his arms, and then put his hand on the lid of the coffin.

hum.

When the lid of the coffin was opened, a sharp and shrill cry was heard, and bursts of evil black air came out from inside, mixed with miserable and mournful screams.

However, under the Buddha's light of the red-gold relic, the surging black gas retreated inch by inch until it was completely eliminated. After the black gas passed, Chen Yi saw the corpse in the coffin.

Chen Yi dispelled the foul air that rushed towards him and was about to take a closer look at the corpse.

Yin Weiying, who saw the corpse first, was shocked and said:

"That's... my Taoist robe from Mount Taihua!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi looked carefully at the corpse in the coffin. It was a female corpse. Her face had shrunk so much that it was unrecognizable. The Taoist robe she was wearing was worn out and exactly the same as the one Yin Weiying was wearing.

And her figure... is also similar to Yin Weiying!

Chen Yi's eyes froze.

He turned around and glanced at Yin Weiying who was looking astonished beside him.

The female crown looked confused and said blankly:
"Why is there a Taihua Goddess from Mount Taihua buried here?"

Chen Yi was about to speak.

But when Chen Yi turned around, he saw the figure of Wang Changzi among the dark and strange shadows of the trees.

He stood under the tree.

The child who was less than ten years old,

There was a strange scarlet glow in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)