Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 3 Soul Flute

Sigongfang was mostly the residence of aristocrats, including the residences of prominent families such as the Wang family of Taiyuan and the Cui family of Boling, as well as many court officials.

There are also many guesthouses, most of which are wine shops and music halls.

At this time, the Wang family mansion was hung with white silk, and the place was filled with gloom. The third wife, Liu, was crying heart-wrenchingly.

"Ah Lang, if you hadn't been so determined to marry Ah Ying to that unlearned Jiu Lang from the Zhou family, how could Ah Ying have committed suicide and done such a foolish thing!"

"But what can I do? This marriage is not what I want. Ever since Emperor Gaozong issued the decree banning marriage, none of us, the Five Surnames, Seven Families, and Ten Families, dare to openly intermarry and hold weddings. The current Sage hates us, the noble families, even more. And after she and Emperor Gaozong issued the decree to change the 'Clan Records' into the 'Surname Records', regardless of ancestry, only official rank is considered. Anyone with an official rank of fifth rank or above, even if their ancestors were once minor officials, can be included in the surname record. Conversely, no matter how noble your surname was, as long as you don't hold an official position in the court, you will be excluded."

"Although our Wang family still has officials serving in the court, since the Sage ascended the throne, he has favored treacherous villains like Suo Yuanli, Qiu Shenji, and Zhou Xing. Even Prime Minister Pei was killed by the Sage, and Minister Wei, who was on good terms with Prime Minister Pei, was framed by Zhou Xing and sentenced to death at home."

"If we don't agree to the Zhou family's proposal, our Wang family will most likely end up like the next Pei family or the Wei family, or even the Li family."

Liu's face turned pale instantly. Before the saint ascended the throne, many members of the Li Tang royal family had rebelled under the banner of "killing the evil queen and returning the Li Tang country to its former glory". Among them, Li Jingye's rebellion implicated many people, and even Prime Minister Pei was killed on the charge of "conspiring with Li Jingye to rebel". Later, due to a rebellion by the King of Yue and the King of Langya, Zhou Xing accused hundreds of members of the Li Tang royal family and their followers of plotting rebellion, and thousands of innocent people were implicated and unjustly killed.

This was the woman's path to becoming a king, a path paved with blood, even the blood of her closest relatives.

Thinking of this, Liu felt resentful in her heart: "But did my daughter die in vain? Did she die in vain so silently? I can't accept this, I can't accept this!"

At this time, the sound of clappers was heard. Liu seemed to have heard something and ran all the way to the mourning hall crying. She frantically asked someone to open the coffin that was about to be nailed shut.

"Madam, please accept my condolences!" A maid came forward to persuade her.

"Go away, go away! My daughter is not dead yet. She won't die. She won't die. I heard her calling me just now!"

The maids were so frightened that they all hung their heads and trembled: Is this Third Madam crazy?

At this time, Madam Wang walked into the mourning hall with a cane. Seeing the chaos in the mourning hall, she shouted:
"Third daughter-in-law, what are you doing? Ah Ying has already gone, so don't bother her anymore!"

After saying this, he ordered a group of maids to come forward:
"Someone, hurry up and help the Third Madam back to her room to rest!"

At this moment, Liu suddenly turned around and looked at Old Lady Wang with hatred. "Ajia, you're happy now that my Aying is gone, right? You've always been dissatisfied with me for not being able to give Sanlang a child, so you've had everyone in this mansion torture my Aying in every way, wishing she'd die sooner. Then why did Zhou Jiulang know that my Aying was beautiful and well-educated, and why did he suddenly propose to marry her? That dandy already has many wives and concubines, and he's even beaten many maids to death in his mansion. If Aying were to marry him, maybe she'd survive?"

Old Madam Wang was so angry that her eyes, which had been closed originally, suddenly widened.

"Liu, what are you talking about? Are you saying that I was the cause of Aying's early death?"

Liu suddenly fell on the coffin and started crying.

Wang Sanlang rushed over immediately after hearing the noise and saw his wife crying and his mother angry.

"Mother, what's going on?"

"What's going on? Your good wife is almost going to complain to the authorities and accuse me of killing her daughter!"

"What did you say, mother?"

"I'd like to ask her what she thinks. Ah Ying is also my granddaughter. Don't I also hope for her well?"

Wang Sanlang understood what was going on and quickly took Liu into his arms, comforting her: "Don't make a fuss. Come back to the house with me."

"No, I'm not going back. I want to stay here with my Ah Ying. She's too cold here alone. It's all my fault. If I find out that she has any regrets, I will definitely stop her from committing suicide."

"It was my negligence. It was my fault as a mother. I was careless!"

"Mei Niang, stop making trouble. Aying is gone. You have to face this fact and stop making trouble. We will have children in the future. We will have more..."

Liu pushed him away and looked at him in disbelief.

"Even if we have another child, it won't be Aying anymore!"

"If even we, her parents, say she's gone, doesn't exist, then she truly is gone. Since she came into this world, why did she leave so quietly? And why can't she be remembered forever?"

As Liu finished speaking, everyone in the mourning hall froze in silence. Night had already fallen, and a sudden draft blew through the hall, sending shivers down the servants' backs. The atmosphere suddenly grew strange. Within this silence and strangeness, a melodious flute note suddenly reached them. It was a plaintive sound, like the gurgling of flowing water, soothing the heart. Hundreds of birds crisscrossed the forest, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to the listener.

After hearing the sound of the flute, Liu stopped making a fuss, but felt an infinite attachment in her heart. She came to her daughter's coffin again, and looked at her daughter's face, which was as white as the moon and as beautiful as a lotus, and recalled her memories.

"Who is playing the flute outside? It can make Liu stop going crazy!" Old Lady Wang muttered to herself and immediately ordered, "Come here, invite the flute player in!"

"Yes! Old lady!"

The maidservant followed the sound of the flute and came to the outside of the Wang family mansion. She saw a girl in a white robe and veil standing in the moonlight and playing the flute. The moonlight enveloped her body, making her figure look like a dream.

What a great immortal!
Just as the maid was marveling at the beauty of the scene, a young girl suddenly cried out, "Ah! Someone's finally here! Ah Huan, you're so amazing!"

The maid saw a girl with a bun and a green cloth skirt running out from behind the girl in white robe. She ran up to her happily and asked, "Auntie, are you inviting us to your house?"

"How do you know?" the maid asked in surprise.

"My girl said so! She said there's a sick person in your family who needs treatment as soon as possible, otherwise after tonight, the soul will leave the body and there's no way to save him!"

"Because of this, my daughter rushed here without even having time to go home. We haven't even had dinner yet!"

"I'm so hungry!"

The maidservant was so frightened by the word "I'm so hungry" that she screamed and ran into the Wang family's house as fast as her legs seemed to have wheels.

Ah Shu was a little confused and looked back at Murong Huan: "Girl, what's going on? Why did she run away?"

"What else could it be? You think we're ghosts!"

"what?"

"In the middle of the night, two people suddenly came to visit. One of them said he knew there was a sick person in their family, and they were in the process of holding a funeral. Not only that, but you also bared your teeth at the servant and said you were very hungry. Do you think we look like ghost messengers coming to collect souls?"

"How could I be grinning? Ah Huan, are you making fun of me?" Ah Shu said jokingly, then felt a little disappointed. "Oh, it's all my fault. I didn't explain myself clearly just now and scared the maid away. Otherwise, now that we've entered this Wang family mansion, we'll definitely be able to eat delicious food, right?"

"This place looks very rich. Ah Huan, aren't you hungry? But I'm really hungry!"

Murong Huan pondered for a moment.

"I'm hungry, but you'll be able to eat something delicious soon!"

"is it?"

Ah Shu looked at the brightly lit Wang family mansion with great longing.

Meanwhile, in the Wang family mansion, a servant was running breathlessly. Only after being questioned by Old Lady Wang did she reply, "It was a female fairy... oh no, it was two starving ghosts who came to our house to beg for food. Old Lady, you scared me to death!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? One moment you're talking about immortals, the next moment you're talking about starving ghosts. What on earth are you talking about?"

The maid's legs were still trembling. At this moment, a steward came running over and reported to Old Lady Wang, "Madam, there are two people outside our house. They look very young and a maid. The young lady was the one who played the flute just now. She also said that Lady Aying is not dead yet and her illness can be cured!"

"Sick?" Old Lady Wang suddenly felt something was strange. It was she who ordered people to fish out Aying's body from the pond. The body was already floating on the surface. The doctors who were called in to check on her said that she had no breath. How could she not be dead?
"Could it be that he is pretending to be a doctor and coming to my house to get free food and drinks?"

Old Lady Wang was about to order the maid to drive the two people outside the door away, but Liu came running over like a madman with disheveled hair and stopped the maid.

"Ajia, since this person knows that there is a patient in our family, he must be no ordinary person. Whether he can really treat a disease or is just a scam, I don't care. I only care about Aying. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will try it!"

The body has already been buried in the coffin, why should we continue to treat it?

The eldest lady beside her showed a hint of sarcasm at the corner of her mouth.

The old lady also frowned unhappily: "Then please invite her in!"

(End of this chapter)