Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Oh no, what are we going to do?" Li Shi was frantic. If Aunt woke up and told Chen Biao, their whole plan would be for nothing.

Wang Ying shot a warning glance at the two children giggling nearby, then turned to soothe Li Shi. "Mom, go stay with Aunt. If she wakes up and asks, insist she must have seen wrong."

"Alright!" Li Shi quickly nodded in agreement.

"If she insists on checking again, you must stop her. Tell her the child didn’t die peacefully, that he vomited a lot of blood, and then mention your suspicion of poisoning."

"Sister-in-law, what about us?" Qing Yun asked, pulling her younger brother along, her face alight with excitement.

"You two, keep burning the joss paper and cry convincingly."

"Okay, got it!" The two children scurried back to the front of the funeral hall to continue burning joss paper. Just then, Chen Biao entered from outside. "I heard Third Aunt is back?"

Li Shi stammered, "Y-yes, she’s back. She was so overwhelmed seeing Qing Yan that she fainted from crying. We’ve settled her in the west wing to rest."

Chen Biao curled his lip and turned to leave. He felt no affection for his sister. A few years ago, when their eldest brother passed away and she returned, he had hoped to borrow money from her. Instead of lending him any, she had given him a thorough dressing-down. She thought marrying into a county family made her superior. With only two sons and no support from her in-laws, he wondered how she’d manage in the future!

No sooner had the elder left than the younger arrived.

Chen Qingfeng had been a frequent visitor these past few days, dropping by whenever he had free time during the day, making Chen Qingyan hesitant to even use the outhouse.

"Wang Ying, there you are. I’ve been looking for you for ages."

"Cousin, is there something you need?"

"You didn’t eat much at noon. I was out on an errand and picked up some pastries. Here, have some."

"Thank you, cousin, but I’m not hungry." The real reason he’d eaten so little at noon was that he had secretly brought food to the funeral hall to share with Chen Qingyan. His stomach was still quite full.

Thinking Wang Ying was just being shy, Chen Qingfeng insisted on pressing the pastries into his hands. "How could you not be hungry? Here, take them to tide you over."

Wang Ying’s lips twitched. When someone’s overly solicitous, they usually have an ulterior motive—what was this guy really up to?

Chen Qingfeng’s gaze lingered on Wang Ying, his eyes raking over the curves beneath his clothes. He swallowed hard, unnoticed.

"Now that Qing Yan is gone, what are your plans?"

"First, I’ll help Mother raise my younger siblings. I haven’t thought about anything else."

"You’re only eighteen, still in your prime. Surely you don’t plan to remain a widow for Qing Yan your whole life?"

"Perhaps not." Wang Ying had never considered marrying another man—after all, in his heart, he was straight.

Chen Qingfeng said meaningfully, "You’re too young to understand. When you’re older, you’ll regret it."

Wang Ying thought, *What does my regret have to do with you?*

"Your cousin cares for you. If you change your mind, come find me." With that, he left, striding away with what he imagined was a dashing exit.

Chen Qingyan, in the coffin, could no longer lie still. As soon as the other left, he immediately sat up. "How dare that scoundrel!"

"Get back down quickly. Don’t let anyone see you." Wang Ying hurriedly pushed him back into the coffin.

Chen Qingyan was so furious his nose was crooked. "Outrageous! Chen Qingfeng is malicious and addicted to gambling. Don’t you dare believe a word he says."

"I’m not stupid. Why would I listen to him?"

The more Chen Qingyan thought about it, the angrier he became. Here he was, not even cold in his grave, and Chen Qingfeng was already making moves on his husband. Truly worse than a beast!

"In the future, stay far away from him whenever you see him. He’s up to no good."

"Don’t worry. He only has seven fingers left. In a real fight, he might not be able to beat me."

"You..." Chen Qingyan was rendered speechless by Wang Ying’s peculiar logic. Fuming, he closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.

*

It was evening when Third Aunt finally woke up. Seeing Li Shi sitting beside her, embroidering, she bolted upright in bed.

"Third Sister, you’re awake."

"Sister-in-law, Yan’er isn’t dead. He’s not dead!"

"Third Sister, your grief is clouding your mind. Yan’er has already passed."

"But this afternoon, clearly..."

Li Shi set down her embroidery and sighed. "I’m afraid he didn’t die peacefully..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It’s a long story, and it goes back to Qing Yan’s marriage.

After he fell ill last year, his health declined day by day. After the New Year, he couldn’t even get out of bed. I was worried sick and, in my desperation, sought out a Taoist priest for help.

The priest said Yan’er lacked water in his five elements, but metal and fire were too strong, burning through his essence and blood. He needed to marry a woman or a *ge'er* with a water destiny to resolve it.

I had no choice, so I spent ten strings of cash to find a *ge'er* in the village for a *chongxi* marriage for Yan’er. The wedding was rushed, so we didn’t send word to you."

Chen Rong asked, "Is that the *ge'er* in mourning clothes at the funeral hall earlier?"

"Yes, his name is Wang Ying. He’s a good child. Strangely enough, after he entered the household, Qing Yan’s health really did improve day by day. Not long ago, he was even able to get out of bed."

"Then how could he suddenly..."

Li Shi took out her handkerchief, this time genuinely crying. "I suspect Qing Yan was murdered!"

Chen Rong was stunned. Who would harm someone who had just recovered from a serious illness? And moreover, in their own home? She thought it over and suddenly widened her eyes.

"N-no... Second Brother couldn’t possibly do such a thing."

"Since you’ve already guessed, you know there’s nothing he wouldn’t do! You might not know about his family’s situation. After your eldest brother passed away, they came every month to scrounge off us.

Not long ago, Qing Feng lost money gambling again. The gambling den detained him and demanded five hundred taels of silver for his release, or they would chop off his hands and feet.

He came to me for money. Where would I get that much silver? When I refused, he caused a scene at our home. My son-in-law tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen and tried to hit him. We had no choice but to report it to the authorities. The Chen Biao family has held a grudge against us ever since, saying they’d make us pay one day..."

"Impossible. No matter how foolish Second Brother is, he wouldn’t do something so heinous!" Chen Rong still couldn’t believe it. After all, she had been away from home for a long time, and her understanding of Second Brother was limited to before her marriage. Although Chen Biao was unpopular, he would never do such a thing.

Li Shi sobbed, "I know it’s hard to believe. This is just my suspicion. Without any evidence, what can we orphans and widows do? We still have to rely on him to get by in the future."

Chen Rong grasped Li Shi’s hand. The two women, sister-in-law and aunt, looked at each other in silence, tears streaming down their faces.

*

That evening, the two children didn’t need to keep vigil and went to their respective rooms to sleep. Only Wang Ying remained, sitting in front of the eternal flame with a book, flipping through it.

"Be careful. Don’t set my book on fire," Chen Qingyan said indifferently.

"Don’t worry. I’m not blind. I won’t hold it that close."

Chen Qingyan shifted inside his coffin. "I'm hungry."

"Didn't you just eat?"

"I'm still hungry. Get me some snacks."

Wang Ying put down his book. "It's the middle of the night. Where would I find snacks?"

"Didn't he send you a box? Are you reluctant to share them with me?"

"You dare eat what he sent? I dumped them in the slop bucket. If you want them, go fish them out yourself!"

Chen Qingyan's anger instantly cooled. "Good thing you dumped them. We definitely shouldn't eat anything he gives."

"You're insane." Wang Ying picked up his book and continued reading.

"Knock, knock, knock." Suddenly, someone was at the door.

"Who is it, coming so late?" Wang Ying got up and opened the door. It was Chen Qingfeng standing outside.

These past few days, Chen Biao's family had used the funeral as an excuse to move in, staying in the courtyard where they lived before the family split.

"Cousin, what brings you here?"

"Just came to see you."

"This... isn't really appropriate, is it..."

Chen Qingfeng brushed past him into the room, picked up a stick of incense, lit it, and placed it in the incense burner. He said casually, "Have you thought about what I said this afternoon?"

"Huh?" Wang Ying was completely baffled, unsure what he was supposed to have considered.

Chen Qingfeng suddenly grabbed his hand. "I don't mind that you're a widower. Stay with me from now on! I may not be able to give you status, but I can at least make sure you're well provided for. If you can have a son in the future, I'll have him registered under my wife's name. I definitely won't treat you or your child poorly."

Oh, what the hell...

Wang Ying was completely stunned.

Is he out of his mind? Did they chop off his fingers and his brain along with it? I haven't said anything, and he's already made up a whole story in his head!

"Wait a minute, I don't think I ever agreed to anything, did I?"

"I know you're shy and too embarrassed to say it, so I thought I'd take the initiative."

By now, Chen Qingyan inside the coffin was so furious he was about to explode. He couldn't help but cough. Coincidentally, a gust of wind blew in from outside, extinguishing the memorial lamp in the main hall. The room went completely dark.

"What was th-that sound?!" Chen Qingfeng trembled all over in fear.

Wang Ying dropped to his knees and pretended to cry. "Qing Yan, is that you? Have you returned..."

The sound of crying mixed with the wind, and faintly, there was the sound of a man coughing. Terrified, Chen Qingfeng's scalp went numb with goosebumps. He jumped up and ran outside, shouting as he went, "There's a ghost! There's a ghost!!!"

This scare thoroughly frightened Chen Qingfeng. From that day on, he never dared to pursue Wang Ying again.

*

Time flew by, and soon it was the seventh day—the day Chen Qingyan was supposed to be buried.

Early in the morning, Wang Ying quietly left the house and went to an eatery in town. Shortly after, an acquaintance came in from outside—it was Huang San, the local officer.

"I've taken care of that matter you asked about, sir. Your fourth uncle arrived at Changmen Town yesterday and should be home this afternoon."

"Much obliged, Third Master!" Wang Ying quickly produced a tael of silver from his pocket and handed it to him.

Huang San smiled as he accepted the money. "You're most generous, sir. If there's anything else you need help with, just let me know!"

"There is one more thing I'd like to ask for your help with, Third Master. The house has been in chaos these past few days, and we've been too busy to keep track of everything. As a result, we've had some thievery in the household—a servant named Tian Xiaoliu stole money from the house and ran off. Could you help find him?"

"You can count on me! I'll take care of it!" Huang San agreed readily. He loved working with someone like Master Wang, who spoke frankly and was generous.

After finishing his business, Wang Ying hurried home. Chen Qingyan's coffin had already been moved into the courtyard, with a funeral canopy set up over it. In another quarter of an hour, the coffin would be nailed shut.

Li Shi anxiously twisted her handkerchief. Seeing Wang Ying return, she rushed over. "What should we do now?"

Wang Ying whispered a few words in her ear, and Li Shi calmed down.

"The stage is set. Now we just wait for the show to begin!"

Author's note: