Chapter 251: Chapter 251: The Beginning of Mutual Bonds
Shen Qu was completely taken aback after hearing this. Rage simmered at his brows.
"Considering that you have served her, I have repeatedly tolerated you. Yet you insist on declining the toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Since you are so concerned about her, why not go down and keep her company?"
As he spoke, he seemed somewhat crazed: "Yes, she... always liked how you did her hair. Spending every day with you, closer than sisters. How could she manage without your attendance?"
How could he be at ease?
Upon hearing these words, Housekeeper Wu behind him showed a flicker of pity in his eyes.
He had long told Yicui that the Shen Family had changed drastically, yet she stubbornly clung to her foolish loyalty, acknowledging only Shen Hua, ready to clash with everyone else.
Look, this is the consequence.
And nobody was going to plead for her.
With a raise of his hand, the housekeeper ordered the servant: "Drag her out and deal with her."
Shen Qu was satisfied, and his following words carried a hint of dark softness: "Be gentle, don’t disturb Yangyang."
Having said that, he approached the bed step by step.
Gazing passionately at the girl, he murmured affectionately to himself: "Yangyang, you must understand my feelings."
The soul of Shen Hua was nauseated. She wrapped her arms around herself: "Even rats have their skins, yet a person lacks decency."
She cursed: "Pah! You lowlife!"
After sending out the message, the Magistrate Lu Yuandao quickly agreed to it. With both parties having settled the matter, Shen Hua was sent away.
During this period, the court had dispatched numerous Imperial Censors to carry out their supervisory duties. They had all arrived in due course.
These men from the Imperial Censorate were all tough cookies. Ghost marriages were indeed common among the people, but those from the Imperial Censorate found them utterly contemptible.
If this were reported in a memorial to the court, it could potentially hinder his career.
Lu Yuandao was a cautious man. He personally went to the Dong Family and invited the wizard who was held in high esteem for conducting the ritual.
His son had been a wrongdoer in life, but Lady Shen had an excellent birth chart.
The wizard calculated a propitious time and repeatedly emphasized that any mistake would sever his son’s path to reincarnation.
And it might even... affect his own career fortune and the fetus in his concubine’s womb.
Lu Yuandao dared not take any chances with this matter.
He indeed believed in the wizard, for ever since the wizard changed Dong Family’s fortunes, their porcelain business had expanded to Shengjing and flourished over the years.
Lu Yuandao dared not conduct the ghost marriage ceremony within Fengzhou City. He chose instead a desolate forest with excellent feng shui.
In the desolate forest, two bodies lay on straw mats on the ground, with Shen Hua on the right, her delicate makeup applied, dressed in a brilliant red wedding gown.
By their side were placed the two’s birth charts and names.
At this moment, a carriage slowly approached.
Imperial Censor Shu leaned weakly against the carriage, speaking warmly with Cui Yun, who sat opposite him, exuding the grace of a noble son.
"I owe you a lot for this time."
Cui Yun’s voice was cool yet melodious like jewels falling onto a plate: "Mr. Shu exaggerates."
"Fengzhou City is far from Shengjing. You could have sent your subordinates to handle official matters; why come yourself personally on such a long journey?"
Imperial Censor Shu shook his head.
"I won’t hide it from you, the waters of Fengzhou City are far too deep. If I don’t come to investigate myself, I won’t be at ease."
Aging and frail, he naturally couldn’t endure the hardships of travel. Therefore, he let his officials ride ahead to scout. He would be somewhat later, following by water.
But who could have known he would be seasick, spending days going between death and vomit. He had no choice but to switch to the land route.
After disembarking and leaving the dock, he happened upon Cui Yun returning to the Cui family’s old residence.
"Has my accompany delayed any of your matters?"
Matters at hand?
Cui Yun had clearly come for Imperial Censor Shu.
With Imperial Censor Shu, known for his integrity, leading the Imperial Censorate, Cui Yun needed to start with him to pave the way for the future.
"The Cui family’s old home is in Zhongzhou, and it happens to be on the way through Fengzhou City. It’s quite convenient."
"That’s good then. Oh, and take the road less traveled — let’s avoid the official road. Some officials love to put on airs and lay traps; they might have already set their spies and be ready to act crafty. We’ll take the mountainous path. It’s desolate and I’m not sure how passable it is."
The mountain road was rough.
As they reached a certain area, Ying Yi, with keen eyesight, saw from afar soldiers on patrol, swords at their waists.
He instantly sensed something was amiss and abruptly stopped the carriage.
Cui Yun lifted the carriage curtain.
"Go and investigate."
Ying Yi: "Yes."
A moment later, he returned.
"My lord, sir, there’s a wizard performing rituals in the wild forest up ahead."
As he said this, his complexion was quite unsightly. After all, back then Cui Yun had a bracelet with him; on his way back to Shengjing from the Daoist temple, he was ambushed, the bracelet was broken, and he was inexplicably poisoned by a venomous insect, nearly losing his life.
Cui Yun’s face darkened, as did Mr. Shu’s. Those who could deploy dozens of soldiers were undoubtedly officials without question.
Over here, talisman paper fluttered in the air, and the wizard sat cross-legged, lighting three sticks of incense.
But in the next instant, he was kicked away.
In no time at all, Ying Yi subdued over a dozen soldiers.
Lu Yuandao was furious: "How dare you!"
Imperial Censor Shu had come to investigate Lu Yuandao, and naturally, he recognized the man.
"I see it is you who dares!"
Lu Yuandao’s pupils constricted, and his legs went weak, trembling as he fell to the ground.
"How come you didn’t announce your arrival, my lord? So that I could have come to welcome you personally."
Imperial Censor Shu: "What kind of ritual is this you’re performing!"
"You’ve misunderstood, my lord, it’s merely a funeral custom of our family."
"Custom?"
Cui Yun stepped forward a few paces and looked at the eight characters on the ground: "A person named Lu Zhouchen, is he your son?"
"...Yes."
"How peculiar, this girl’s family name is Shen, given name Hua. How is she part of your Lu family?"
He spoke in a calm tone: "Such an arrangement looks to me more like a ghost marriage."
Ying Yi’s hand moved, and his sword pressed against the neck of one of the soldiers: "Speak!"
The soldier shivered, confessing everything inside and out.
Sure enough, Imperial Censor Shu was enraged.
"This is against human relations, causing one’s flesh to crawl with fear! Take him away! I will thoroughly investigate this matter!"
Cui Yun furrowed his brow.
He spoke indifferently.
"Everyone says men should be valued over women, but I truly find it hard to agree. By nature as human beings, men ought to carry themselves with great virtue, while girls are expected to be modest and compliant."
"You scoundrels resort to the utmost sordid deeds."
Cui Yun’s gaze was heavy, slowly shifting from the wizard who was tightly bound to the girl dressed in bridal clothes, her features rigid yet beautifully and enticingly soft.
The girl’s eyes were closed, but Cui Yun always felt that her pair of eyes must shine as bright as the Milky Way.
The man played with the beaded bracelet on his wrist, and for some reason, he felt irritable, failing to control his strength and snapping the string of the bracelet.
The beads scattered across the ground.
Ying Yi hurried to pick them up.
There was one, however, that fell onto the girl’s hands, laying overlapped on her lower abdomen, her skin so pale it was almost transparent.
The bead was as red as fire, accentuating the paleness of her delicate hands, making it even more striking to the eye.
It matched her very well.
Just as Ying Yi was about to pick it up, Cui Yun spoke out.
"Leave it."
Perhaps he had felt a rare bit of pity due to his hatred for witchcraft, or maybe it was just for Mr. Shu to see.
His lips moved slightly.
"Have her buried properly."
This was the greatest kindness Cui Yun could offer.
It also represented the last bit of decency Shen Hua received from the outside world after her death.
And it was the beginning of the ties that bound them together after the girl’s rebirth.