Her mother-in-law said there was a ghost in the house. It must be a guilty conscience.
But everything has its causes and conditions.
Wan Niang pressed her palms together and murmured: "If there really is a ghost, please spare my husband. He is innocent. Another day I will donate provisions and invite monks to perform the Yancou ritual. I beg you to be merciful and not take his life."
"Miss, what are you saying?"
Wan Niang opened her eyes, saw Bao Niang still eating, and asked her to bring the medicine for recuperation.
She endured the bitterness and drank it all.
Over this month, she had taken good care of herself, gaining some flesh, and her complexion had visibly improved.
It was just a few days before New Year's Eve. Wan Niang ordered the servants to harness the carriage; she was going to the temple to burn incense.
The Gu family was a major donor to the nearby Green Maple Temple. When the abbot heard that the young mistress of the family had come, he went out of his way to attend to her.
Wan Niang donated one hundred taels of silver first for oil money, then inquired about the Yancou ritual.
"Madam, do you wish to perform a ritual for your ancestors?"
Wan Niang thought for a moment, then added another hundred taels, saying: "To liberate the ancestors and all wandering souls."
The abbot asked: "Which ancestor shall we liberate?"
Wan Niang was stumped.
She didn't know the name of that former wife, and this matter couldn't be taken lightly. After thinking it over, she decided to go back and ask Gu Lang.
Madam Zhou had been watching her closely these days. The couple slept in separate rooms.
Gu Lanyin stayed in the study.
When Wan Niang arrived at the study, there was a large plate of flowers that had been delivered that morning.
Gu Lang wore a dark blue Daoist robe. He was thinner and taller than before. Holding scissors, he was arranging flowers. Seeing her, he gave a smile.
"I heard you went out early this morning. Why didn't you call me?"
"Mother-in-law said you need to recuperate, so I didn't want you to tire yourself," Wan Niang replied, then awkwardly added, "Actually, I went to pray for you. At Green Maple Temple, I donated two hundred taels."
Gu Lanyin looked up and said gently, "Not enough money? Let me donate another five hundred."
Wan Niang shook her head.
"Mother-in-law said there's a ghost in the house. That coffin has been behind the house all these days. At night, I think I hear a woman crying. I'm a little scared. Today the weather is fine, so I wanted to donate money to ask the monks to perform a liberation ritual."
"Wan Niang, there really is no ghost."
Gu Lanyin cut off the excess branches of the green plum, rearranged the flowers, and seeing that she hadn't finished, continued: "Who do you want to liberate? Let me guess... Is it that woman He?"
Wan Niang blushed: "How did you know?"
"I also know that if you liberate her, your mother-in-law won't be happy."
Wan Niang frowned and whispered, "We just won't tell her."
Gu Lanyin touched her head, half-laughing, half-crying: "She's a regular at Green Maple Temple. Even if you don't say, those old monks will blurt it out themselves."
"There are no ghosts in this house," Gu Lanyin reminded her again. "Rather than that, you should be wary of people."
People are far more terrifying than ghosts.
Wan Niang sat in his chair and sighed.
She aimlessly surveyed the wall of books in the study.
Since they had been sleeping apart these days, there were many things they couldn't say at night. Now that he seemed mostly recovered, she couldn't help asking:
"Gu Lang, when can we move that coffin from behind the house somewhere else..."
"We'll bury it another day."
Wan Niang sniffed the plum fragrance, moved back a little, and then got to the point:
"What terrible thing did your cousin do? She just ran away from the marriage, that's all. Why did you dig up her mother's grave?"
Only the clicking of scissors was heard in the study.
Gu Lang stood with his back to her. After a long while, he turned around.
His eyes were as calm as dead water.
"Do you also think I shouldn't have done that?"
Wan Niang stood up in surprise, as if seeing Gu Lanyin like this for the first time. His words shocked her so much she didn't know what to say.
The plum shadows were sparse, and the sunlight was like water.
The young man was elegant and gentle, a picture come to life.
He was walking slowly toward her.
Without a smile, he seemed utterly alien.
Wan Niang's eyes turned timid. She stood up and took another step back.
Summoning her courage, she reminded him in a low voice: "That's too immoral. It will harm your future official career."
"Is that so? But I don't like being an official."
His voice had already reached her.
He grabbed her chin, and she could no longer avert her gaze. She even had to stand on tiptoe to breathe easier.
His breath was right next to her.
Wan Niang looked at his lips, then into his eyes. Her heart pounded wildly, and her hands and feet seemed to have nowhere to go.
She stood there obediently.
But Gu Lang did not let her off.
He spoke in her ear, word by word:
"That dear cousin of yours deceived me."
"I've done so much for you. Could you bear to have someone else steal it? If I had married her, what would have become of you?"
"I only dug up her mother's grave. I didn't kill her."
The hand around her waist tightened, as if it would snap her spine.
Wan Niang was forced into his embrace, her eardrums throbbing.
Grasping his clothes, she looked up timidly, a little afraid.
Was it just digging up a grave?