The Great Yong Dynasty, on the day of the Ghost Festival.
Inside the Minister of Revenue's manor, red silk hung high, and bright red lanterns were lit, as if there was a joyous wedding celebration.
The woman's piercing screams were out of place with the festive atmosphere inside and outside the manor.
"Let go of me! Let go of me—"
A woman in a bright red wedding dress was forced into a coffin, a wooden spike as thick as two fingers piercing her palm, nailing her tightly inside.
Her shrill cries made one's scalp tingle, and the woman's body convulsed.
"Wh-why..." The woman's eyes were bloodshot as she lay in the coffin, looking at the familiar yet utterly indifferent faces around her.
A woman in a water-red wedding dress walked to the side of the coffin and looked down at her.
Since ancient times, the main wife wears bright red for a wedding, while a concubine wears water-red.
Yun Yujiao looked down at the person in the coffin and sneered, "Why? Your mother was unfaithful. If it weren't for your sufficiently inauspicious Eight Characters and your usefulness to Father, do you think Father would have kept you, a bastard, until now and let you hold the position of the legitimate eldest daughter?"
"Heh, now that you're getting married, Father wants me to be your dowry!" Yun Yujiao's face was filled with malice. "Why should I sacrifice my reputation because of you, a bastard!"
Yun Qingwu struggled in pain, her face full of disbelief. "No! Father wouldn't do this to me... *sob sob*... I don't believe it, I don't believe it..."
Yun Yujiao looked at her tragically beautiful face and scoffed, gloating:
"Idiot, these coffin nails were specially refined by Father with a Daoist priest. Combined with your Eight Characters, nailing you will turn you into a Living Fiend, attracting countless wandering souls and wild ghosts. Then, you'll be sent to Prince Yan's Manor, hehehe..."
"Father wants to eliminate Prince Yan for the Crown Prince. Keeping you, a bastard, for over ten years is making the best use of you."
Yun Qingwu's face turned pale, and she screamed, "No! You can't do this to me! Even if I die, Yun Yujiao, you won't have a good end!"
"You don't need to worry about that, Elder Sister." Yun Yujiao's voice was as venomous as a snake's hiss. She raised the wooden spike in her hand and fiercely thrust it into Yun Qingwu's chest, her malice turning into triumph.
"His Highness the Crown Prince personally promised that as long as I help him eliminate this major threat, Prince Yan, he will grant me the position of Concubine."
"After you die, my mother will be officially recognized as the main wife, and I will be the legitimate daughter in name and in fact, hahahaha!"
Yun Yujiao pulled out the wooden spike, a few drops of blood splattering on her face. She watched the woman in the coffin convulse, a bloody hole in her chest gushing blood, soaking the coffin until the other person stopped trembling and her eyes lost their focus.
Yun Yujiao let out a sneer, wiped the blood droplets from her face, her eyes filled with excitement.
The female Daoist priest, disguised as a maidservant, spoke, "Second Miss, keep this wooden spike stained with her heart's blood. Once you enter the Prince's Manor, when the time comes, this Daoist will help you burn it, ensuring no one in Prince Yan's Manor survives!"
Yun Yujiao nodded repeatedly and signaled to those around her:
"Close the coffin!"
The coffin lid fell, and a large red "Double Happiness" character was pasted on it.
Outside, the matchmaker sang that the auspicious hour had arrived, the suona horns blared deafeningly, and a black ebony coffin was carried out amidst the sounds of joy.
Behind the coffin was a sedan chair. Yun Yujiao sat inside, her face full of pride.
Today was the Ghost Festival, and there were few pedestrians on the street. Seeing the wedding procession, everyone they passed deliberately avoided them, muttering "bad luck."
What kind of wedding involves carrying a coffin with a "Double Happiness" character on it? Mixing a happy occasion with a funeral, blurring the lines between joy and mourning, was simply taboo!
On the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell open, and the boundary between the living and the dead becomes even more blurred.
Inside the coffin, the woman died with her eyes wide open in anger. The winding blood soaked the coffin, and the resentment from her unjust death turned into bait, attracting unseen ghostly beings.
Unbeknownst to anyone, dozens of shadows followed behind the wedding procession.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew, and the sky darkened. Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Someone stammered:
"Why did it suddenly get so cold?"
As the words left their mouths, everyone looked at the wedding coffin, feeling an even greater chill creep up to the crown of their heads.
The steward leading the group quickly said, "Hurry! Let's go faster and get the bride delivered quickly!"
The members of the procession, disregarding the music, quickened their pace. Those carrying the coffin felt it getting heavier and heavier, sweat beading on their foreheads.
A drop of blood dripped from a gap in the coffin. Just as the blood was about to hit the ground.
Suddenly.
Everyone in the wedding procession froze as if immobilized. Someone had just lifted their foot.
A red shadow abruptly appeared in front of them.
She wore a red skirt, as if scorched by raging fire, and walked barefoot, carrying a lonely lamp. The wind behind her stirred up snowflakes.
In just a few steps, she appeared nearby. Yet, the people in the wedding procession seemed unable to see her.
"The Judge is here, wandering souls and wild ghosts, retreat."
The ghostly beings following the procession let out ghostly wails the moment they saw the woman, terrified and retreating.
The woman's ink-black eyes gazed at the coffin, as if she could see the pitiful woman inside, filled with resentment and dying unjustly.
"Extremely Yin body, unjust death, Living Fiend."
She tapped the coffin with her finger. "Unlucky person, are you calling me?"
A wisp of a soul floated out of the coffin, riddled with holes, its appearance terrifying. It was Yun Qingwu.
Blood flowed from her eyes, her hatred reaching its peak.
"I hate them so much..."
"I want them dead, I want them all dead—"
The woman in red looked at her with a half-smile. "Certainly, but what can you give me?"
Yun Qingwu roared tragically, "Even if my soul is scattered and my bones are destroyed, I will make them pay!"
The woman in red tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Let's forget about the bones being destroyed. I happen to need to go to the Human Realm to handle some matters. Your physical body will be mine, and I will settle your debts. What do you say?"
Yun Qingwu stared intently at the woman in red. "Truly?"
The lonely lamp in the woman in red's hand transformed into a vermilion brush, its tip a speck of crimson, as if dipped in human blood.
The moment the Judge's vermilion brush appeared, Yun Qingwu didn't know what it was, but she instinctively felt fear.
"With your resentment as ink, the Judge's brush speaks no lies. Yun Qingwu, this is my promise to you."
"I agree to the transaction! I agree!" Ghostly wails echoed as Yun Qingwu's soul body, along with her resentment, rushed into the brush.
With a stroke of the vermilion brush, the red-clothed woman's figure turned into mist and disappeared into the coffin.
Half an hour later, in front of Prince Yan's Manor.
A man sat in a fur-lined armchair, his dark royal robe unable to conceal the innate arrogance and nobility emanating from him. His deep eyes were like a painting of rich ink, unrivaled in beauty.
However, his complexion was too poor, and his frequent heavy coughs sounded like a broken bellows.
The steward from the Minister of Revenue's manor, under the watchful eyes of Prince Yan's personal guards, stepped forward with trembling legs, cupped his hands in a bow:
"Your Highness, I am here by order to deliver my Eldest Miss and Second Miss. Please, Your Highness, kick the sedan chair door."
Xiao Chenyan looked up, coughed before speaking.
The steward stole a glance and breathed a sigh of relief.
A month ago, when Prince Yan was recalled from the Northern Territory, he was reportedly severely wounded on the battlefield and had been in seclusion.
Three days ago, the Eastern Palace specially bestowed this marriage. The two young ladies from the Minister's family marrying Prince Yan simultaneously could be considered a great favor.
However, this favor was ostensibly for good luck, but with a coffin and a sedan chair today, it was clear to any discerning person whether it was for good luck, a death wish, or a legitimate way to plant a spy in Prince Yan's Manor.
After all, Xiao Chenyan, Prince Yan, still had the status of a former Crown Prince's orphan, the former Imperial Grandson. If he had been content to live quietly, it would have been fine, but he had made a name for himself on the battlefield and controlled the military power of the Northern Territory.
Xiao Chenyan's coughing fits were uncontrollable, and his personal guards looked worried. His attendant, Bai Sui, was furious.
"The Eastern Palace bestowed this marriage, and your Minister's Manor dares to bring a coffin! Are you intentionally trying to curse my Prince to death?"
The steward quickly explained:
"The Minister's Manor would never dare. Upon hearing of the bestowed marriage, my Eldest Miss was so overjoyed that she fainted and died."
"Our Minister values Your Highness greatly. Thinking that even though the two young ladies have not yet entered the manor, they are considered part of the Prince's Manor, and their life and death should be decided by Your Highness. That is why this wedding coffin was sent along."
"Preposterous!" Bai Sui exclaimed. "I've never heard of a family marrying off a dead person!"
Xiao Chenyan seemed to be provoked as well. He suddenly let out a heavy cough, spitting blood that even a handkerchief couldn't conceal, and it seemed to contain fragments of internal organs.
His face turned green, and his eyes squeezed shut. The guards beside him immediately stepped forward, exclaiming as they carried the man back into the manor.
Who cared about the Minister's Manor's wedding procession anymore.
In the ensuing chaos, a man in a green robe, who seemed to hold a significant position beside Xiao Chenyan, anxiously said, "Let's bring the bride in first. After all, it's a marriage bestowed by the Eastern Palace." With that, he also hurried into the manor.
The sedan chair and the wedding coffin were immediately carried into the Prince's Manor.
The man in green walked through the corridors and into the manor. Turning past a moon gate, he descended. The atmosphere inside the Prince's Manor was tense until he entered the study, where a wave of heat hit him.
In the heat of July, a brazier was burning in the study.
Yet, the man who had just been coughing blood and fainted was rinsing his mouth. The sickly appearance on his face was genuine, but his eyes were sharp and deep.
His bearing of dragon's grace and phoenix's beauty was undiminished.
"Your Highness's acting skills are so good that even the famous actors in the Capital City would call you their master." The man in green gave a thumbs-up.
Xiao Chenyan pressed his lips with a silk handkerchief and glanced at the other person. "Less nonsense."
Situ Jing, his advisor, doctor, and friend, smiled, but his eyes turned cold.
"The news is not false. Even without opening that coffin, I could feel its malevolent aura."
"Yun Houxing, that old dog, is willing to sacrifice his own daughter to curry favor with the Crown Prince. He's truly ruthless!"
"Two brides, one dead and one alive. I suspect the living one will make a move tonight. After all, for a Living Fiend, it requires a blood relative to strike the blow. After the victim dies with resentment, the resentment is ignited by the blood of the attacker, summoning a hundred ghosts."
Bai Sui entered with medicine and casually retorted:
"Doctor Situ, are you capable? Can you deal with those dirty things? Don't be like your medical skills, all talk and no substance!"
"Who are you looking down on!" Situ Jing slammed the table. "If it weren't for me, your mysterious doctor, how could your Prince have fought on the battlefield for so many years with a cold illness?"
Tap, tap, tap.
The man tapped his knuckles on the table, and the two, like fighting cocks, immediately fell silent.
Xiao Chenyan's eyes were deep. "Less noise, proceed with everything according to the plan."
"Yes."
Situ Jing smiled. "Yun Yujiao's location in Tingxue Courtyard has been surrounded, and the coffin is also being watched. When the time comes, we'll catch them red-handed!"
In the backyard of the Prince's Manor, the coffin stood alone.
Unbeknownst to anyone, inside the dark coffin, the wooden spikes that had nailed the woman's limbs to the coffin turned into black ash as if burned by fire, disappearing without a trace.
The bloody holes on the woman's body gradually healed. Her eyes suddenly opened, deep and eerily beautiful. Her red lips curved upwards, and she let out a joyful laugh.
"Human Realm, I've returned."
✦✦✦