“Pa!”
A sharp sound suddenly rang out from the direction behind the grapevine trellis. Tang Li snapped back to her senses and turned to look.
It came from the west wing of the front courtyard where Wen Shuyu lived.
The door was tightly shut, and the paper-paneled window seemed to have just been closed, the lower edge of the paper still fluttering faintly in the wind.
He saw it.
Tang Li withdrew her gaze and, forcing herself, turned away, refusing to look in that direction again, refusing to look at that person.
Wasn’t this what she wanted?
When danger arose, she should retreat. A hedgehog, when afraid, should curl its spines inward.
Yesterday, the man’s sudden words had left her not knowing how to face Wen Shuyu.
She had not responded to his final sentence, and instead, subconsciously made an excuse and fled in haste.
Wen Shuyu seemed to understand her hesitation and did not stop her.
Before leaving, Tang Li had turned back to glance at him lying on the bed.
His eyes were lowered, silent as well.
Since that day, the atmosphere between her and Wen Shuyu had become somewhat strange.
Divine Doctor Chai was not blind either. He quickly sensed something was off between them.
As a physician, he knew he should not interfere, but he could not suppress the softening of his heart.
He sighed and gently advised, “Miss Tang Li, why must you do this?”
Tang Li shook her head this time and, unlike before, said nothing.
She knew this was for the best.
Only by forcing herself to stay calm could she return to the right track. She only wanted to complete the system mission, live this life properly, and avoid all unnecessary turbulence.
After escaping the dream nightmare, the system’s floating interface showed the hidden mission progress had reached 60%.
So the priority now was to turn that 60% into 100% and complete the task.
“Oh right.”
Tang Li suddenly remembered something.
“Madam He Zheng and He Zhong are still alive in the dream nightmare. I once saw them…”
“Bang!”
The county magistrate slammed the gavel hard.
He stared at the middle-aged man kneeling in the hall.
“He Zhong! Do you plead guilty!”
The man jolted in fright but still stiffened his neck in defense.
“Even if you are the magistrate, you cannot just frame me! On what grounds am I guilty? I refuse to accept this!”
“The witnesses are here, how dare you argue!”
The magistrate waved his hand, signaling someone to bring a person forward.
He Zhong turned his head and saw a woman step onto the stone steps.
It was Madam He Zheng.
The once-mad, disheveled woman now stood with astonishing clarity in her eyes, her gaze steady and lucid despite her worn clothes.
She knelt, her voice firm and resonant.
“I, Madam He Zheng, wife of He An, hereby accuse He Zhong of poisoning my nephew, abusing his sister-in-law, and seizing my brother-in-law’s inheritance.”
He Zhong’s expression instantly changed, panic flashing across his face.
“Your Honor! This woman cannot be trusted!”
He pointed at her urgently.
“All the neighbors within ten miles know that ever since my brother’s nephew died, this woman went mad! She beats and scolds the adopted He Sheng at will, she is a madwoman, her words cannot be believed!”
The magistrate hesitated, glancing subtly toward the screen behind him.
A man sat there, leisurely sipping tea.
Even in plain cloth, his noble and refined aura could not be concealed.
The magistrate cleared his throat.
“Do you have any proof that your words are not madness?”
“I have never been mad,” Madam He Zheng replied calmly. “There is no need to prove what is not false.”
“But I know every crime He Zhong has committed.”
“He is addicted to gambling, heavily indebted in the capital’s gambling dens. He accepted money from the Zhao family and sold my surviving Kang’er to a Zhao family corpse bride marriage.”
“First, he tricked my child into drinking a so-called divine medicine, turning him into a monstrous being. Then he used the excuse of sealing the coffin for resurrection, and buried my Kang’er alive.”
“After my son’s death, he seized all He family property and imprisoned me in a dark cellar under the pretext that I had gone mad.”
She bowed deeply.
“Please, Your Honor, deliver justice for us.”
He Zhong’s face had already turned pale.
“Your Honor, you cannot believe her alone! Kang’er was my nephew too, he was sick since childhood, his death was natural! And about the ghost marriage, I only did it out of kindness!”
“I admit fault, but she is slandering me!”
He grew more agitated.
“All He family assets belong to my brother, the He family secret formulas are in my hands. What right does an outsider have to claim them?”
“Silence!”
The gavel struck again.
“Madam He Zheng, do you have evidence?”
He Zhong’s lips curled slightly in relief.
He was certain there would be none.
But at that moment—
“I do.”
A clear voice rang through the hall.
Tang Li stepped forward holding a small wooden box, followed by Wang Cuihua with a cold expression.
The magistrate frowned.
“How dare you barge into court without summons!”
“Magistrate Meng…”
A calm voice interrupted from behind the screen.
The tone carried faint warning.
The magistrate immediately stiffened and glanced again toward the man behind the screen.
Wen Shuyu had set down his teacup and was looking at the newcomer with interest.
The magistrate broke into a cold sweat.
“…What evidence do you have? Present it quickly.”
Tang Li slowly opened the wooden box.
Inside lay a white insect shell.
“The so-called divine medicine He Zhong used was actually the child gu of the Paper Gu Nightmare.”
“He fed it to Kang’er, causing his body to mutate. This is the mother gu I retrieved from his residence.”
“That’s impossible!” He Zhong scrambled forward in panic.
“I burned it last night! It cannot exist!”
Tang Li lightly lifted the tiny paper-folded worm.
Her lips curved slightly, her bright eyes carrying a trace of victorious mischief.
“So you admit you poisoned Kang’er?”
He Zhong froze.
Realization struck. He had been tricked.
“Take him away!” the magistrate shouted immediately.
“Guilty of murder, abuse of kin, and fraud! Sentenced to death by autumn execution!”
Outside the county yamen, Tang Li caught up with Madam He Zheng.
“Madam, please wait.”
Madam He Zheng immediately knelt again.
“Benefactor, thank you for clearing my name.”
Tang Li helped her up gently.
“It was only a coincidence. You don’t need to thank us.”
She then took out something from her sleeve and placed it in the woman’s hands.
Madam He Zheng opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a delicate pastry made of thin paper-like layers, pure white as snow, with edible floral patterns as thin as cicada wings.
“This is…”
“This is my Xuan Paper Cake,” Tang Li explained softly. “A recreation inspired by what I saw in the dream nightmare. I wanted to give it a name. How about calling it ‘Yian Cake’?”
“Yian… wishing for peace and safety…” Madam He Zheng’s voice trembled. “A good name… a good name…”
Tears fell down her deeply lined face.
She touched the sugar glaze and tasted it.
Sweetness spread slowly through bitterness.
“I was entrusted to return this.”
Tang Li’s voice softened.
“Kang’er once said, the medicine wasn’t bitter. He only wished for your health and happiness.”
In the dream nightmare, Kang’er had quietly placed it by his mother’s window before his death, but it was never discovered.
Perhaps he already knew there were words he would never get to say again.
Madam He Zheng collapsed, crying uncontrollably.
“My Kang’er… he knew everything…”
【Congratulations, host. Hidden plot completion reached 100%. Reward: 100 taels.】
As the system notification echoed, Tang Li looked toward He Sheng supporting his unconscious grandmother.
“Miss Tang Li, thank you for giving my grandmother closure.”
He Sheng’s voice was low and gentle.
“My grandmother picked me up from a snow pile when I was abandoned. I have always considered her my real family.”
“She raised me, supported my studies. The day I passed the scholar examination, she cried while holding my hand, warning me not to be consumed by desire like her son.”
He wiped away her tears.
“Now I am grown. It is time to take her home.”
Yian, Yian.
The sound of longing, year after year, wishing for peace and safety.