In the room, rustling sounds arose. The maid keeping watch in the outer chamber groggily opened her eyes and saw the door open, a small figure stepping out.
"Young Master, what's wrong?" The maid fumbled for a flint to light a candle.
The figure stood motionless. As the maid approached with the lit candle, before she could speak, she saw a pair of pitch-black eyes.
She only saw Zhao Wenqi slightly open his mouth, exhaling a wisp of black mist. Her scream was cut short before it could escape.
With a thud, the maid collapsed to the floor, the extinguished candle rolling beside her.
Zhao Wenqi walked out of his room, heading toward Old Master and Old Lady Zhao's chamber. He pushed open the door with his small hands. The maid keeping watch outside lay stiffly on the bed, showing no reaction.
The inner door was pushed open. Old people sleep lightly, and Old Lady Zhao heard the sound, asking, "Who's there?"
Old Lady Zhao craned her neck, peering carefully at the approaching figure in the moonlight filtering through the window.
Such a small stature, who else could it be but her dear grandson?
"Qi'er, is that you, Qi'er?"
Receiving no reply, Old Lady Zhao recalled stories from her hometown about children who sleepwalk. They shouldn't be woken, or their souls might be lost.
She anxiously patted Old Master Zhao, who was snoring beside her. "Old man, wake up quick."
"Hm? What's happened?" Old Master Zhao grumbled, opening his eyes.
"Qi'er's sleepwalking. Hurry, light a candle, don't let the child bump into anything."
Old Master Zhao scrambled to light a candle, while Old Lady Zhao deftly got out of bed and rushed toward Zhao Wenqi.
As she touched Zhao Wenqi's hand, a bone-chilling cold suddenly crept up her arm from his small hand.
She heard the grandson she held chuckle.
It was an eerie laugh, unmistakably a woman's voice.
At that moment, the candle was lit, and Old Lady Zhao saw her grandson's face clearly.
The child's head was tilted upward at an exaggerated angle, his eyes pitch black, his mouth stretched into an exaggerated, eerie grin.
"Oh no, Qi'er's been possessed by a ghost."
Old Lady Zhao had heard that children with weak fates could be possessed, their eyes turning black. She recalled that whipping with willow branches could drive the spirit out.
Her mind raced, and she hurriedly said to the startled Old Master, "I'll watch the child. You go get help and find some willow branches."
"Alright." Old Master Zhao slipped on his shoes and ran toward the door, but with a bang, the open door slammed shut in front of him.
"Mother, you really dote on your grandson, don't you? When my child had a fever in the middle of the night, you slept soundly. Why is it different now?"
Hearing her young grandson's tender voice turn into a woman's, and that tone so eerily familiar, Old Lady Zhao's heart froze, her scalp prickling.
"Who... who are you?" Old Lady Zhao flung Zhao Wenqi's hand away, stumbling back several steps.
Lady Xiao Lin smiled, stepping closer. "It's only been a few days since I died, and Mother already doesn't recognize me?"
"Lin... Lady Lin?"
"Ha, I knew Mother would remember me, just as I, even in death, remember Mother and Father."
"Lady Lin, let's talk calmly," Old Lady Zhao said, glancing at Old Master Zhao by the door.
Old Master Zhao quietly picked up a vase by the door and approached Lady Xiao Lin.
"I always wanted to have a good talk with Father and Mother..." Lady Xiao Lin's words were cut off as Old Master Zhao smashed the vase hard against her head.
Yet Zhao Wenqi's body didn't budge, his neck twisting back at an exaggerated angle. "Father, you're truly heartless."
A wooden stool by the table suddenly flew up, smashing hard against Old Master Zhao's legs, once, twice, three times...
Amid Old Master Zhao's screams, his legs were shattered by the sturdy stool.
Old Lady Zhao abandoned any hope of luck. Looking at her wailing husband, she knelt and pleaded, "Lady Lin, we wronged you. For the sake of how good Ming'er was to you all these years, please spare us. Whatever you want, paper money, incense, just say it, I'll make it happen."
"Hahaha, he was good to me? If he was good to me, he wouldn't have killed me or conspired with you all to deceive me for so long."
The stool that had been smashing Old Master Zhao flew into Lady Xiao Lin's hands. Her hands, now too small, barely gripped the stool's leg. She carried it toward Old Lady Zhao, who was kneeling and begging.
"When you and your precious grandson laughed about my bad death, did you ever think you'd die by his hands today?"
With that, the stool smashed down toward Old Lady Zhao.
"Ah!" Old Lady Zhao tried to dodge, but her limbs felt glued to the floor, unable to move. She could only watch as the stool came down.
The stool struck her hands and legs, the pain so intense she couldn't even make a sound.
Lady Xiao Lin squatted before Old Lady Zhao, a childlike smile on her youthful face. Using Zhao Wenqi's voice, she said, "Grandma, you love me so much, you'll forgive me, right?"
Old Lady Zhao's eyes widened, watching the grandson she once adored stand up, walk out of their room, and even thoughtfully close the door behind him.
Zhao Wenqi's body, driven by resentment, drifted toward Zhao Ming's study.
That night, Zhao Ming and Su Yao were still sleeping together.
Su Yao had a dream. She dreamt of the time she came to the capital to seek refuge with her aunt and saw Lady Xiao Lin at the Zhao residence.
Her aunt told Lady Xiao Lin to let her stay in the household as a concubine for her cousin, and she was overjoyed.
Lady Xiao Lin's scornful gaze swept over her, as if looking at something filthy.
Not only did Lady Xiao Lin refuse, but she also drove her, her aunt, and her uncle out of the Zhao residence.
Her belongings were thrown to the ground, her personal clothes scattered everywhere, and passersby seemed to be laughing at her.
Watching her aunt curse outside the residence, Su Yao swore in her heart that she would not leave the capital like this. She would stay, no matter what.
Su Yao woke up. She turned to look at the man sleeping beside her. Now, not only had she stayed in the capital, but she had also taken everything Lady Xiao Lin had.
Her man was hers, and the position of the Zhao family's matriarch would soon be hers too.
Her son was ruined, but her own son, compared to him, would become her cousin's favorite child.
How wonderful.
In the next moment, a pair of icy small hands clamped around Su Yao’s neck.
The intense suffocation made Su Yao kick her legs while frantically clawing at the hands on her throat.
Zhao Ming was jolted awake, seeing his son strangling his cousin. He hurriedly reached out to stop him.
As his hand grasped the slender arm, a chilling sensation made him shudder.
Lady Xiao Lin didn’t strangle Su Yao to death but threw her to the floor just before she lost consciousness.
The candles in the room flared up, their light casting an eerie green glow.
Zhao Ming looked at his son, who moved stiffly as he stepped off the bed, and a chill ran through him. He realized something was terribly wrong. Having seen much in his life, he managed to stay calm and think clearly. “Who are you? Whatever you want, just say it.”
“Of course, I want you all dead.”
Lady Xiao Lin’s soft voice came from Zhao Wenqi’s mouth, and Zhao Ming’s expression turned to horror. “Xiaoqiao!”
Wasn’t she sealed in the coffin by Master Jingyun?
Master Jingyun had clearly said that once a soul was nailed down, it couldn’t escape, suffering daily as if burned by fire, and would dissipate entirely after a decade or so.
Had someone set her free?
No, he had kept guards at Lady Xiao Lin’s grave, and until tonight, no one had gone near it.
Then how had she gotten out?
Su Yao came to, hearing their exchange, and lunged at the small figure stepping off the bed. “What have you done to my son? He’s just a child! Let him go, take your grudge out on me.”
Lady Xiao Lin laughed, relishing the scene, watching this woman who, like a rat from the gutter, had stolen everything from her, now filled with fear and despair. How delightful.
“Don’t worry, how could I harm such a small child? Of course, I won’t hurt him.”
As she spoke, Lady Xiao Lin extended her hand, and a dagger flew into her grasp.
“There’s always been a question no one answered for me, and today, you can clear it up.” Lady Xiao Lin approached Su Yao, looking at the woman who, despite her panic, still retained her charm.
“You said I caused you to lose a child. When did I ever do such a thing?”
Su Yao’s eyes flickered, instinctively glancing at Zhao Ming, who sat frozen on the bed.
“I…”
Before she could come up with an excuse, the dagger in Lady Xiao Lin’s hand suddenly reversed, slashing deeply across her face.
The deep wound looked like a grinning mouth.
“Ah!” Seeing the gash on her son’s face, Su Yao screamed.
“I’ll give you one more chance. Answer properly: when did I ever cause you to lose your child?”
“No, you didn’t. I lied to Cousin. I deliberately miscarried the child to make him pity me,” Su Yao answered shrilly.
Zhao Ming, struggling ceaselessly, froze, staring in disbelief at the tear-streaked, terrified woman.
His resentment toward Lady Xiao Lin had begun with that lost boy, and now she was saying… she hadn’t caused it?
“How clever, using an unborn child to gain all this. No wonder your son is so lovable,” Lady Xiao Lin praised.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want to be sent back home.”
“You won’t go back home. Your dream will come true, and you’ll stay in the capital until you die.” Lady Xiao Lin comforted her softly, then stabbed the dagger into her abdomen, twisting it.
The wound wasn’t fatal, just painful enough for a pampered woman like her.
Lady Xiao Lin lost interest in Su Yao and turned to Zhao Ming, bound by her resentment.
“Husband, where did I wrong you that you had to take my life?”
Zhao Ming shook his head repeatedly. “Xiaoqiao, it was this vile woman who misled me. I was deceived.”
Lady Xiao Lin didn’t listen to his excuses, approaching the bed. “Not deceived. You were eager to make me disappear, even using our own son. Didn’t you tell me so yourself?”
“No, it’s not like that. I had my reasons. Let me explain.”
“Go ahead, I’m listening.” Lady Xiao Lin sat beside Zhao Ming, the dagger scraping his neck. “But if you lie, I’ll cut off a piece of your flesh, like this.”
She sliced off a piece of flesh from Zhao Ming’s neck with the dagger.
Zhao Ming endured the pain, sweat beading on his forehead. “I was forced. It was Xue Mingtang who wanted you dead.”
“Why?”
Zhao Ming swallowed hard, suddenly realizing the truth might not save him either.
But Lady Xiao Lin gave him no chance to backtrack, slicing off another piece of flesh.
Zhao Ming understood then: he wouldn’t survive the night.
“Xiaoqiao, for the sake of our years as husband and wife, I’ll tell you everything. Just give me a quick end.”
“Of course…”
“Because your brother was killed by Xue Mingtang. He wanted access to the forbidden vault, so he used me to meet your brother, then controlled him to open the vault, leading to the Lin family’s exile.”
“So it was to tie up loose ends.”
“Yes… but I was forced.”
Lady Xiao Lin touched Zhao Ming’s face. “Forced? You’re so clever. When you introduced my brother to Xue Mingtang, you must have foreseen this day. He must have promised you great rewards, promotions, wealth, and a chance to be rid of me.”
Though she had never fully seen through the man beside her, after nearly twenty years together, she knew him well.
“My lady, please.”
Lady Xiao Lin sighed. “Husband, do you know how much it hurt that day you nailed me in the coffin? I begged you countless times to spare me, but you didn’t. You forced me to become a vengeful ghost. Everything today is the retribution you brought upon yourself.”
Lady Xiao Lin set down the dagger, but her resentment turned into countless sharp blades, slicing across Zhao Ming’s body. She laughed uncontrollably amid his screams.
As the fifth watch approached, Lady Xiao Lin finally stopped. She lay on the bed, leaving Zhao Wenqi’s body. After she departed, the boy’s breathing was steady, still fast asleep.
She smiled at the child and drifted out the door.
A wisp of green smoke rose from beneath her, and before Lady Xiao Lin vanished from the Zhao residence, she gazed toward Zhao Wenyue’s courtyard.
Bound by the smoke, she returned to the place she had been before, where the fox still sat on the stool.
It held a piece of yellow paper inscribed with writing, gently waving it over three burning incense sticks.
Achan looked at Lady Xiao Lin, now fully a vengeful ghost, her voice calm and gentle. “Aunt, have you taken your revenge?”
“Aunt? You’re Achan… no, who are you?”
Achan replied, “The Achan you knew is dead. Before she died, she lent me her name and body.”
Lady Xiao Lin murmured, “I see.”
“Dawn is near, Aunt. It’s time to enter the underworld.”
“Wait.” Lady Xiao Lin suddenly called out to Achan.
Achan tilted her head, looking at her.
“Zhao Ming told me Xue Mingtang controlled my brother, used him to open the forbidden vault, and caused the Lin family’s downfall. Be careful in the future.”
“Noted. Safe journey, Aunt.” Achan lit the paper bearing Lady Xiao Lin’s birth details with the incense. The green smoke binding her soul formed a vortex, engulfing her resentment-filled spirit until it vanished completely.
The yellow paper burned to ash in Achan’s hand, the flames climbing her paw without causing pain.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the three incense sticks before her still burned, the yellow paper under the bowl now reduced to ash on the floor.
She stepped on the ashes, grinding them with her foot until nothing could be discerned.
The sky had already brightened.
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