Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The Xu Zhen did not know how long she had been knocked unconscious. When she finally woke up, she realized that her superior clothing had been stripped away, and panic immediately set in.
This cunning woman had many tricks up her sleeve; first, she disguised herself as a servant to play pranks, then she used a disguise of her father-in-law to toy with others. It was possible that even the face resembling the Xu Zhen was just a facade. Now that she had obtained the official attire and token of the Xu Zhen, it was likely that she had already replaced the Xu Zhen and escaped from this brothel!
Thinking of this, the Xu Zhen did not have time to ponder the background of this person. She emerged from the woodshed, sneaked into the kitchen, grabbed a few rough garments worn by helpers, and hurried out of the back courtyard.
At this moment, everyone in the brothel was in a state of panic, running around without knowing what major incident had occurred. The Xu Zhen played along, pretending to be a helper in the brothel. She caught an older man and asked him about what happened, only to learn that an extremely important person had escaped from the brothel. When she pressed for more details, he refused to say anything further.
Once outside the back courtyard, the Xu Zhen discovered that Li Wushuang had already left. She thought that it must be that person who had taken her place and followed Li Wushuang to escape!
This person’s origins were unknown; being imprisoned in the brothel had caused a stir among everyone, indicating they were not someone ordinary. Xu Zhenxin feared for Li Wushuang's safety and disregarded the cold weather, running out barefoot to chase after her!
Meanwhile, Li Wushuang found things strange as well. Although the Xu Zhen was shameless, she had always behaved properly towards Li Wushuang. Today, however, she made an excuse about the cold weather and climbed into Li Wushuang's carriage!
Although Li Wushuang was generous by nature, she was still an unmarried young woman. Sharing a carriage with the Xu Zhen could tarnish her reputation!
Just as she was about to refuse, the Xu Zhen had already squeezed into the carriage. Li Wushuang’s keen sense of smell detected a faint fragrance on the Xu Zhen that resembled that of a young lady. She wondered if the Xu Zhen had taken advantage of an opportunity to misbehave in the brothel.
Upon realizing this, Li Wushuang's face turned red with embarrassment. Although she often scolded the Xu Zhen for being a wolf in sheep's clothing who would even target young girls like Li Mingda, deep down she believed that the Xu Zhen was not such a frivolous person.
However, today the Xu Zhen had indeed been in the brothel and still carried traces of makeup when trying to enter her carriage, leaving Li Wushuang feeling anxious.
As if trouble was indeed coming her way, while Li Wushuang was still worried, the Xu Zhen took advantage of the moment to touch her!
Li Wushuang had never been treated so lightly by a man before. In anger, she pushed the Xu Zhen out of the carriage and was about to chase after her when the Xu Zhen laughed mischievously and made a face at her while saying: “You ignorant woman! With such rough hands and feet, you deserve to remain unmarried for life!”
Women love beauty; who would want to be called ugly? Moreover, for someone as delicate as Li Wushuang, hearing such insults from the Xu Zhen made her furious. She drew her knife and prepared to pursue when she noticed that this Xu Zhen was completely different from the one before—this one wore rough clothing meant for helpers and didn’t even have shoes or socks on; she looked utterly disheveled!
"What on earth is going on!"
Li Wushuang stood frozen in place, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight, his heart racing with fear, until Xu Zhen shouted, "Where did that dummy go?!"
This question snapped Li Wushuang back to reality. He quickly pointed to a withered locust tree by the wall. Xu Zhen immediately understood, taking three steps at once and sprinting towards the tree. She leaped onto the branches, using them to propel herself over the ditch, climbing up the wall and dropping into the courtyard.
It was nearing evening, and the East and West Markets were bustling. The people had all gone to the West Market for leisure, leaving the crossroad nearly deserted, so no one witnessed Xu Zhen climbing over the wall.
Xu Zhen searched frantically like a furious leopard, enduring the cold in her feet as she looked for traces of the dummy. Just when she felt lost, she spotted several dirt-colored spots in the white snow. Picking one up and sniffing it, her heart surged with joy; it seemed that the dummy didn't understand how to operate her clothing mechanism and had triggered the spring, spilling out gunpowder!
With this clue in hand, Xu Zhen felt more at ease and followed the trail of gunpowder until she arrived at an old, dilapidated house that exuded an eerie atmosphere, as if ghosts could be seen even in daylight!
Li Wushuang was still fuming from having been touched inappropriately and turned towards the courtyard gate just as he saw Xu Zhen hesitating in front of the crumbling house. He hurried over.
"This is Chang'an City where every inch of land is precious; how can there be such an abandoned house?" Although Xu Zhen had been in Chang'an for three years, her patrols were mostly around the Eastern Market. While she sometimes assisted in the West Market, she was not very familiar with the layout of the western districts.
In response to Xu Zhen's question, Li Wushuang looked disdainful. Wealthy youths often lacked interests and enjoyed gossiping about fresh stories. This house was notorious among them as a Haunted House!
"This is the residence of Zhang Yungu's concubine. After an incident occurred, this concubine hanged herself out of loyalty to her master but has not departed since. Every night, ghostly cries can be faintly heard, causing nearby residents to live in fear. Fang Zheng even hired someone to exorcise it, but it had no effect. Later, Sage regretted killing Zhang Yungu and ordered that this house not be disturbed; thus it remains..."
As Li Wushuang spoke, he involuntarily shivered, feeling a chill from the surrounding winds that sent shivers down his spine. He glanced around nervously before quickly retreating back into the carriage.
Xu Zhen was not an atheist but neither was she superstitious; such things existed if one believed in them and did not if one did not. Now that she was urgently pursuing this matter, she disregarded any rumors and gritted her teeth as she pushed open the large door of the mansion.
Strangely enough, once Xu Zhen stepped inside, it seemed as if the sky darkened even further—likely due to the mansion blocking out light—but it still sent a chill down her spine.
The mansion was quite deep with multiple courtyards, filled with a sense of lingering sorrow. In a vague way, it truly seemed like a woman's voice was softly weeping!
Xu Zhen wore thin clothing and felt cold from the weather; combined with what seemed like a ghostly woman crying softly, her heart chilled and her steps faltered. However, since that dummy dared to enter here, how could she back down? She immediately followed the sound of crying into the inner courtyard.
Passing through the dilapidated courtyard, a peach tree had long since withered. Across from it, a dim and shadowy mourning hall stood, with tattered white mourning banners fluttering in the wind, faintly illuminated by what seemed like firelight, while the sounds of weeping grew increasingly clear.
Xu Zhen swallowed hard, forcing herself to remain calm as she silently approached the mourning hall. There, she saw a figure kneeling inside, burning paper and crying, dressed in the official robes that belonged to her.
The person heard Xu Zhen's movements but did not flee. Turning around, she revealed a beautiful face streaked with tears, pale to the point of being startling and pitiful enough to evoke deep sympathy.
Xu Zhen had likely guessed the woman's identity; she must be a descendant of Zhang Yungu's concubine. With Zhang Jiunian and Zhou Cang under her command, she couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship.
Before Xu Zhen could ask anything, the woman knelt before her and bowed deeply in apology, saying, "I hope you can forgive me, my benefactor. Offending you was truly unavoidable; I ask for your mercy!"
Xu Zhenxin felt her heart soften and gently asked, "Are you a descendant of the Zhang family? What is your name?"
The woman raised her head and replied, "I am indeed a remnant of the Zhang family, named Zhang Suling. My master was framed by Imperial Historian Yu Shiquan Wanjin; my mother committed suicide for her loyalty. The servants were dispersed, leaving me alone and destitute. I was taken to a brothel as a servant. Missing my family, I often escaped at night to cry here for their spirits, which has preserved this grand residence..."
Hearing this tragic tale made Xu Zhen feel sorrowful as well; she sighed lightly and squatted down beside her.
"That brothel is not an easy place; how could a young woman like you manage to escape? You must have relied on some disguise technique. But who taught you?"
Upon hearing Xu Zhen's question, Zhang Suling bit her lip but shook her head. "My benefactor asks too much; I dare not refuse to answer. However, my teacher is someone who has withdrawn from the world. After secretly teaching me the skills, they vanished from society and it is inappropriate for me to reveal their identity..."
At this point, Xu Zhen found it inappropriate to press further about her teacher but was puzzled by another matter: "How could you know that I would definitely come to the brothel? Those disguises must have been prepared in advance; when did you ever see my face?"
Since she had already revealed her true appearance, Zhang Suling did not hide anything from Xu Zhen and immediately recounted the whole story.
It turned out that on the day of their return to court, Xu Zhen had set off first with Fourteen Red Armor. Surrounded by many Imperial Guards escorting Li Mingda into the imperial city, the entertainers from the brothel were assigned to welcome the victorious soldiers. It was then that Zhang Suling recognized familiar faces like Zhang Jiunian and Zhou Cang.
She truly did not know that Xu Zhen would come to the brothel for business; she had merely privately made over a dozen disguises based on Zhang Jiunian and others' faces. As long as one of them entered the brothel, she would be able to find her relatives.
Though her feelings were sincere, Xu Zhenxin still harbored doubts. Since she had already recognized Zhang Jiunian and others, why go through such deception against Xu Zhen?
Zhang Suling felt a sense of guilt and apologized, saying, "Since I was young and without support, I have learned the skills of a Street Folk. If I were to approach you directly, you might find it hard to believe. Although it may seem disrespectful to provoke you, it is my intention to let you know that I do not wish to be a mere dependent or a useless beggar. I only hope that these minor skills of mine can be of use to you..."
Seeing Zhang Suling being so sincere, the Xu Zhen no longer felt any resentment. She thought that Zhang Suling was growing up, her body had matured, and having spent so long in the Brothel, it was likely she had suffered indignities, which was why she hurriedly sought refuge with the Xu Zhen.
Zhang Suling was tall and slender, almost on par with the Xu Zhen. If used wisely, she could be a valuable assistant. The Xu Zhen, wanting to recruit her, said, "Don't call me 'your benefactor.' I'm a few years older than you; if you don't mind, just call me brother. From now on, I won't let you suffer that loneliness anymore..."
"Brother...," Zhang Suling was moved by the Xu Zhen's words. She looked up with tears in her eyes and couldn't help but rush into the Xu Zhen's embrace.
The Xu Zhen felt pity in her heart, thinking about how Zhang Suling had grown up alone and must have endured countless hardships. Just as she was about to comfort her gently, a sharp pain struck her below!
Before she could regain her senses, she received a punch to the eye and saw Zhang Suling sneering slyly before losing consciousness: "You brainless big pervert! This time you won't escape my grasp! Hahaha!"
"So it was a scheme! Just how good is this girl's acting!" Xu Zhenxin felt a storm brewing in his mind. Not only did Zhang Suling put on an excellent performance, but her understanding of the Xu Zhen was enough to astonish Xu Zhenxin. At this moment, the Xu Zhen had already concluded that Zhang Suling was not who she seemed; she must have known about the Xu Zhen's visit to the Brothel and had made ample preparations!
If that were true, it could only mean that someone had leaked the Xu Zhen's whereabouts!
Before he could think it through, Zhang Suling struck again with a knife-hand strike, knocking the Xu Zhen to the ground!
Comment 0 Comment Count