Liu Ya asked in surprise, "Then can you really see Xing'er's... soul?" As she said this, she felt a chill in the room, and goosebumps prickled her skin.
"Don't overthink it. That's just Xiao Qiniang scaring herself. This is called psychology."
"Psychology?" What did that mean?
Li Man'er could only explain it to her simply.
"Xing'er died by her hand, and she feels guilty. She probably hasn't slept or eaten properly these past few days." The person looked like she had lost some weight.
Liu Ya pouted. She didn't think that woman named Xiao was the type to have a conscience.
Li Man'er pretended not to see it and continued, "If someone feels guilty and respects ghosts and gods, you just need to give her some psychological suggestion, and the rest will be up to her to play out." Li Man'er also did not expect Xiao Qiniang to be so cooperative, scaring herself sick.
Liu Ya understood. It had nothing to do with Xing'er; it was Xiao Qiniang's own guilt. After doing something wrong, she scared herself sick.
"Since it has nothing to do with Xing'er, why did you ask them to go to the temple to get an amulet for peace?" Isn't that a redundant action?
Li Man'er's expression was solemn. "We've been here for a few days, and the only person from the Xiao family we've seen is Xiao Qiniang. The Xiao family has so many people, where have they all gone?"
That's right. The Xiao family was a large one. Although a few had died due to the war, there were still several sons and grandsons. No matter how small the affairs of the yamen were, they were important matters. It was unreasonable for all of them to be handled by a young girl. Xiao Qiniang could be in charge of the Xiao family, but the problem was, where were her grandfather and uncles and elder brothers? They couldn't have all died, could they?
Thinking of this, Liu Ya quickly recited a few Buddhist chants. "Sin, sin, sin." No matter what, the Xiao family had protected the people of Mobei for so many years. She shouldn't have such thoughts.
"Everything here looks normal, yet it's also not normal. That's why I came up with this method to scare Xiao Qiniang. If she fell ill, someone from the Xiao family would have to come out to manage things. If no one from the Xiao family came out, then it would mean..."
Liu Ya shivered. "The Xiao family isn't here."
If the Xiao family wasn't at the yamen, then where were they?
After Xiao Qiniang fell ill, no one from the Xiao family came forward. All matters were temporarily put aside, waiting for Xiao Qiniang to wake up before being handled.
Since Zhu Yu had fetched an amulet for peace for Xiao Qiniang, Xiao Qiniang's high fever had indeed subsided. Although her body was still weak, she was much better.
While feeding her medicine, Zhu Yu whispered, "Your servant has already instructed them to light a long-burning lamp for Xing'er, and the Buddhist rites have been completed. Miss can rest assured."
"Well done," Xiao Qiniang said weakly as she drank her porridge. "You go out first. I want to sleep a little longer."
Zhu Yu did not suspect anything and quickly said, "Yes, your servant will be outside. If Miss needs anything, just call your servant."
Xiao Qiniang closed her eyes and did not speak.
A moment later, Zhu Yu pushed the door open and left. Xiao Qiniang was the only one left in the room.
"Li Man'er, you dared to scheme against me." After a long time, Xiao Qiniang's soft murmur echoed in the room. She was not stupid. The only reason she was tricked by Li Man'er was that she was momentarily scared and hadn't thought clearly, which led her to scare herself sick.
One should not entirely disbelieve in ghosts and gods, but one should not entirely believe in them either.
After she recovered from her illness, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that Li Man'er was behind this. She carefully recalled the events of that day and found that it was from Li Man'er's gaze that she had been led by the nose.
That Miss Li was far more intelligent than she had imagined. It made sense. Having lost her mother at a young age and living under her stepmother, if she weren't smart and resourceful, she would have been dealt with long ago, and there would be no chance for her to turn things around.
Such an intelligent person, expending effort to scare her, was it just to toy with her?
Xiao Qiniang narrowed her eyes and suddenly struggled to sit up. "No, Li Man'er must have some other plan."
Did she discover something?
Xiao Qiniang struggled to get out of bed, but because she was weak, she almost fell to the ground. Zhu Yu came in and steadied her. "Miss, is there anything you need? Do you want some water?"
Xiao Qiniang first shook her head, then nodded. "Have someone make some chicken soup and cook some noodles with it. I need to eat to regain my strength."
"Yes, yes, please lie down."
Zhu Yu quickly went to instruct the kitchen to make chicken soup noodles. Half an hour later, it was brought over.
After eating the noodles, Xiao Qiniang finally felt her strength return.
"What time is it now?"
"Replying to Miss, it is a quarter past You Shi."
The sky in Mobei darkened early. At a quarter past You Shi, it was already completely dark.
Xiao Qiniang said, "I'm going to sleep. You can go down."
Zhu Yu felt that her young lady was a bit abnormal, but she dared not disobey, fearing she would become the second Xing'er. She quickly bowed and retreated.
Xiao Qiniang closed her eyes to rest. Soon, she fell asleep.
After midnight, Xiao Qiniang, who was asleep, suddenly opened her eyes. She got up and sat down. First, she touched her forehead to confirm her body was fine. Then, she put on her clothes and walked to the table to pour herself a cup of water.
The water in the pot had long gone cold, but Xiao Qiniang didn't care at all. She drank the cup of water in one gulp, then put on a thick cloak and returned to bed. She lowered the thick bed curtains, fumbled along the wall, and pressed a switch.
With a series of clanging sounds, an iron chain as thick as an arm suddenly appeared above the bed curtains. Xiao Qiniang grabbed the iron ring above the chain and pulled hard. The bed board suddenly moved, revealing a large hole.
A cold wind blew through the hole, but Xiao Qiniang jumped into the hole without hesitation. The bed board quickly returned to its original position, and the room was quiet, not a sound to be heard.
The stone cave was not very large, all showing signs of artificial excavation. People probably never dreamed that there was such a stone cave beneath the boudoir of the seventh daughter of the Xiao family.
Xiao Qiniang took out a flint from the wall and lit the oil lamp on the stone wall.
She walked deeper into the stone cave with the flint. After a while, she saw a person.
This person was chained to the stone wall. His hands were bound by iron chains as thick as an adult's wrist, fixed to the stone wall. The person had disheveled hair and was in a mess. His clothes were so tattered that he looked like a beggar.
He lowered his head, not knowing if he was asleep or had fainted. His long hair hung down, covering his face.
Seeing that the person was still there, Xiao Qiniang breathed a sigh of relief. She had worried too much. Who could have known there was a secret room beneath her boudoir!
It was good that the person was here.
Xiao Qiniang turned to leave, but the chained person suddenly raised his head. "You must be Miss Xiao Qi, right? Why did you come without saying hello?"
The man was extremely thin, with hollow cheeks and a full beard, looking unkempt. His eyes were dull and listless, staring straight ahead without any brilliance. He was actually blind.