8
Burial with the Deceased
Bai Jingchu’s small face scrunched up into a frown as she prompted the two: “Second Uncle! Second Uncle knows medicine! Take medicine and it won’t hurt anymore!”
Mama Li immediately clapped her hands: “How could I have forgotten the second branch! Ah, thank goodness you reminded me, young miss. Xuecha, go to the second branch and ask Second Master to come over. If they ask, just tell the truth! When the old master returns to the estate, we’ll have another witness—they won’t be able to deny it.”
Xuecha, flustered and anxious, immediately turned to fetch him.
Supported by Mama Li, Bai Jingchu lay back down on the bed. Seeing the old woman’s anxious expression, she felt a pang of guilt.
Bai Chenshi’s indulgence had made Bai Jingshu increasingly reckless. If she didn’t stir up trouble today and expose Bai Jingshu’s malicious deeds, the girl would never restrain herself.
On the surface, the second branch and the main branch were harmonious, but behind the scenes, they were constantly competing—comparing medical skills, children, and prospects, engaging in both overt and covert struggles.
The second branch would be all too eager to publicize any immoral deeds committed by the main branch.
To stay, she would have to rely on the second branch.
Soon, Second Uncle Bai Xiuye and his wife, Bai Lianshi, arrived at Xinyi Courtyard in a clamor. Far from sleepy, their eyes sparkled with excitement.
As soon as Bai Lianshi entered the courtyard, she burst out angrily:
“How could anyone treat a person so despicably? Sending a pure, innocent girl to a man’s bed to be defiled, and then tormenting her with such vile tricks upon her return. Even a dog, raised for over a decade, would evoke some affection!”
Bai Xiuye entered the room carrying his medicine chest. He examined Bai Jingchu using the four diagnostic methods—observation, listening, questioning, and palpation—and also inspected the half-bucket of water.
Bai Jingchu only complained of an itchy throat and stomach pain, writhing on the bed.
Bai Xiuye’s face darkened: “Utterly outrageous! How could Jingshu resort to such despicable methods? Medicine is not meant to harm people!”
He picked up his brush, wrote a prescription, and ordered someone to brew it immediately.
Bai Lianshi was instantly fired up: “Although this is the main branch’s family affair and we shouldn’t interfere, Bai Jingshu using medicine to harm others violates our ancestral teachings. We cannot ignore this. Don’t worry, niece, I’ll stand up for you tomorrow!”
Satisfied, they left.
Outside the window, a dark figure, like a soaring swan, leaped silently a few times and left Xinyi Courtyard, heading straight for the Qinggui Marquis Estate.
Qinggui Marquis Estate.
Chi Yanqing idly teased the parrot on its perch.
The parrot, listless and struggling to keep its eyes open, occasionally shot him an impatient glare.
The black-clad subordinate stood before Chi Yanqing, recounting everything he had seen and heard at the Bai residence.
Chi Yanqing’s eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly. He extended two fingers, roughly two inches in length, and gestured toward the parrot.
“Chujiu, did she really say that?”
His subordinate, Chujiu, cast a pitying glance at his master: “Yes.”
Now you’re not just a lecher, a pervert, and a tyrant—you’re also short and stumpy.
Only two inches.
An idiot probably wouldn’t lie, right?
No wonder the young master, at his age, still refused to marry—it must be to keep the family shame hidden.
Chi Yanqing raised an eyebrow: “What did the Bai family say?”
“They said they need to consider it carefully.”
Chi Yanqing snorted disdainfully: “Hmph, like a dogskin plaster that won’t come off.”
Chujiu agreed: “If what that maid named Shuisu said is true, it shows that this Miss Jingshu is indeed despicable and narrow-minded—hardly worthy of you, young master.”
Chi Yanqing turned around, narrowing his eyes slightly. “In your opinion, what do you think of the Bai family’s second young lady?”
Chujiu replied expressionlessly, “Just a madwoman—what is there to say? It’s only a pity that you, Master, have been wronged.”
Being forced to perform the marital rites with a fool—truly, filial piety can be a crushing burden.
At this thought, a trace of sympathy flickered in Chujiu’s eyes.
Chi Yanqing’s gaze shifted subtly. “Do you think she’s truly mad?”
“How many women who served under Eunuch Li have not gone mad?”
“Yet she is the only one who managed to escape from Eunuch Li’s side unscathed.”
Chujiu fell silent for a moment. “I heard it was all thanks to her maid’s loyalty in protecting her mistress, sacrificing herself bravely. Otherwise, she would have been dead long ago.”
“How so?”
“Over half a year ago, the second young lady of the Bai family began to lose her mind, half-mad and half-foolish. Li Fugui, Eunuch Li’s adopted son, sent a message to the Bai family, asking if they would take their second young lady back to the capital. But the Bai family refused.”
“Refused?”
“Yes. The Bai family said that a married daughter is like spilled water—she no longer bears the Bai surname, and her life or death has nothing to do with them. So Li Fugui grew bold and unrestrained. Over the past half year, he tormented the second young lady relentlessly. After Eunuch Li’s death, he even intended for her to be buried alive with him.”
Chi Yanqing’s originally calm eyes suddenly radiated a chilling intensity. “That petty scoundrel actually had the audacity to treat human life so carelessly!”
“After Eunuch Li returned to his hometown, all matters were handled by this Li Fugui. He held absolute power within the vast estate. The second young lady had a maid named Xuejian, who managed to escape the Li residence in the chaos. Somehow, she persuaded the Bai family to send a carriage to fetch her. By then, the burial pit had already been dug, and the second young lady had been tied up and thrown into a coffin, ready to be sealed. At the critical moment, Xuejian arrived with the coachman. Li Fugui, for reasons unknown, stubbornly refused to relent. Right before the second young lady’s eyes, Xuejian dashed her head against Eunuch Li’s tombstone, dying a heroic death on the spot, her blood splattering everywhere. Only then was the second young lady untied and allowed to board the carriage back to the Bai family.”
Chi Yanqing couldn’t help but recall Bai Jingchu’s terrified eyes, brimming with tears, red with grievance, like those of a bewildered and startled deer.
His heart involuntarily clenched.
A young girl, bound and stuffed into a coffin, facing death, forced to watch her devoted maid sacrifice herself right before her eyes, powerless to do anything. After enduring such immense suffering and narrowly escaping death, she returned home only to be sent to a stranger’s bed by her own family.
And yet, she could still feign madness and foolishness, calmly maneuvering around him!
The hardships she had endured over these three years must have been even more brutal than this, forging her will into something as unyielding as iron.
The killing intent in his eyes intensified, and his voice turned cold, like shattering jade and ice. “Now that the imperial court has abolished the old practice of live burial, how dare a mere old eunuch still enforce it? This is sheer lawlessness. These people are steeped in evil and cannot be allowed to remain.”
“Young Master, are you planning to intervene? The implications might run deep.”
“If I can’t act openly, then I’ll resort to underhanded means. They are nothing but worthless lives of a few petty scoundrels.”
Chu Jiu’s expression was somewhat peculiar. “All the people who used to serve closely by Eunuch Li’s side have vanished without a trace.”
Chi Yanqing’s face tightened. “All of them?”
“Yes. A conservative estimate would be at least twenty people.”
“So many, and you couldn’t trace any of them?”
Chu Jiu shook his head, his expression serious. “There’s only one possibility.”
Chi Yanqing drew a sharp breath. “Are you saying they’ve all been killed?”
Chu Jiu nodded gravely.
Chi Yanqing’s brows furrowed deeply. After a moment of contemplation, he said meaningfully, “No wonder she went mad. So that’s why.”
His subordinate was puzzled. “Why?”
Chi Yanqing spoke slowly, word by word, “Because she knew all along that only by pretending to be insane could she possibly survive.”
“I don’t understand.”
Chi Yanqing offered no further explanation and said calmly, “We don’t need to interfere with Eunuch Li’s affairs for now. Let the matter rest.”
Chu Jiu didn’t press further. “What about the Bai residence?”
“Before the Bai family calls off the engagement, keep a close watch on their movements. Then, have Chu Er and Chu San investigate what exactly happened to Bai Jingchu over the past three years.”
“But what if the Bai family refuses to break off the engagement?”
Chi Yanqing gave a cold, gentle smile. “That depends on whether Bai Jingshu has the fate to marry into our family.”
Chu Jiu felt a chill run down his spine and said no more.