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"Indeed! After Mr. Lu heard Moxuyou's words, he immediately requested a matchmaker to approach the parents of the Fisherman's Daughter to propose an annulment of the engagement. However, the fisherman's family had worked hard to secure the marriage with Mr. Lu's family and had already received the betrothal gifts, so they were adamantly opposed to the Lu Family's request for annulment. Furthermore, since Lu Jia was determined to marry that woman, Mr. Lu had no choice but to consult Moxuyou again.
After pondering for half a day, Moxuyou came up with an idea for Mr. Lu. He suggested that Mr. Lu should proceed with the wedding as planned, but ensure that it was grand and lively. After all the guests had left, he should lock the bride alone in the bridal chamber for three days. After those three days, if the Lu Family experienced peace and safety, then it would signify that everything was fine, and the couple could live together happily. However, if any misfortune occurred during those three days, the bride would need to be buried alive to avert disaster.
"What kind of nonsense method is this? Has the Lu Family even discussed this with the Fisherman's Daughter's parents?"
"There is no record of this in the County Chronicle, but I believe Mr. Lu would have done so since it was also a method to persuade the other party to withdraw from the engagement. However, judging by the final outcome, it is clear that the Fisherman's Daughter's parents did not believe such absurdity; or perhaps they did believe it but chose to marry their daughter off after comparing her with the betrothal gifts from the Lu Family—after all, there was still a fifty-fifty chance. But as for what truly happened, we can no longer know; all we have now are my own speculations. Before the Holy Empress, a woman's status was indeed low; many families treated their daughters as a means to acquire wealth, especially during times of war and famine when selling wives and daughters was common. But how many families have you heard of selling sons?"
"That may not be certain; if it were me, I would definitely sell my son and keep my daughter. A son is still a male; no matter how difficult life gets, he can endure it. Daughters are different; they are delicate and need careful nurturing."
"You are just saying that casually; when faced with reality, you might not be willing to do so. It's not that you wouldn't part with your son; it's just that according to your nature, you wouldn't want to part with either your daughter or your son. Moreover, that Young Master Yin does not seem like someone without ability; regardless of how tough his circumstances may be, he should not let you or your future children suffer. If anything happens, I am here; Brother Chang will not allow such things to happen to you or your children."
"We're not even married yet; thinking about these things now seems a bit premature." Xing Ruyi made a playful face: "There is indeed a ready-made son available; however, when that time comes, I estimate he will probably sell himself and return with all his buyer's wealth."
Chang Tai was taken aback and then laughed along. He had seen Yin Yuan before; he truly was an extraordinary child.
Xing Ruyi shrugged and stood up, strolling around the courtyard while admiring the scenery and asking, "So what happened next? How did the Lu Family fare? What about that Fisherman's Daughter?"
"Following Moxuyou's advice, Mr. Lu decided to proceed with his plan. On the day of the wedding reception, the Lu Family indeed hosted a grand banquet for their guests. It was truly a sight to behold—ten miles of red decorations and hundreds of miles of guests—bustling with excitement. By midnight, guests began to leave one after another. After sending in the bride into the Wedding Chamber, Mr. Lu instructed his steward to nail shut all doors and windows of the bridal chamber except for a small hole in the corner for daily meals.
On the first night, everything went smoothly; there was joy and harmony in the Lu Family. Only Lu Jia seemed somewhat reluctant. Having finally married his beloved without even getting a good look at her first, he found her locked away in a room. Thus, this young master spent an entire night outside the bridal chamber despite his servants' advice.
On the second night, nothing unusual happened in the bridal chamber again; however, Lu Jia fell ill. First came sores on his hands which soon spread all over his body. By the third day—the agreed time for the bride to leave her room—Lu Jia had become unrecognizable as either man or ghost. Mr. Lu became furious and ordered his servants to drag out the fisherman's daughter and bury her alive.
"Is that it? It sounds like although that fisherman's daughter had a tragic fate, there’s nothing particularly strange about this case."
"The strange part isn't here but what happened afterward," Chang Tai gestured for Xing Ruyi not to rush and continued: "Strangely enough, after being buried alive, Lu Jia's condition gradually improved. Six months later, Mr. Lu took charge and arranged for him to marry another wife."
On the occasion of their recent marriage, it was inevitable for Lu Jia to be completely immersed in it. Since the day of the wedding, he had spent three consecutive days with his bride, not stepping out of the room even once. Mr. Lu was initially overjoyed, thinking that his son had finally moved on from the Fisherman's Daughter and had found a suitable wife. However, by the third day, Mr. Lu began to feel uneasy. Half a year ago, when he married the Fisherman's Daughter, he had also kept her locked in a room for three nights.
Despite his unease, as a father and father-in-law, Mr. Lu felt it inappropriate to break in and disturb their intimacy. During those three days, he heard no noise from inside; every meal sent in was consumed entirely.
By the evening of the fourth day, the couple's door remained tightly shut. At this point, Mr. Lu could no longer sit still. He ordered a maid to urge them to come out, and the door opened in response. However, as soon as it did, everyone saw Lu Jia, already dressed and looking frantic, rush out of the room and run outside.
Mr. Lu and the surrounding servants were stunned. Once they regained their senses and went after him, they could only see Lu Jia sprinting towards the Zhuangzi where the Fisherman's Daughter lived. Naturally, since she was a fisherman's daughter, her home was close to the riverbank. As Lu Jia ran wildly and reached outside the Zhuangzi, he suddenly changed direction and headed straight for the river. Ignoring the shouts and attempts to stop him from those behind him, he jumped into the water with a splash.
Mr. Lu witnessed his son's death firsthand and collapsed onto the ground in despair. The steward managed to remain somewhat composed and quickly hired young men familiar with water to search for Lu Jia's body in the river. However, after several days of searching, they found nothing—Lu Jia had truly vanished without a trace.
The County Chronicle recorded a remark made by the steward at that time. When they were searching for Lu Jia's body in the river, they often saw the parents of the Fisherman's Daughter standing on the riverbank, watching them with an ambiguous smile and fixed gazes.
Half a month later, a corpse was discovered on a riverbank downstream. Due to prolonged exposure in the water, it was unrecognizable; however, because its clothing matched exactly what Lu Jia had worn when he jumped into the river, it was assumed to be Lu Jia's and hastily buried.
"What about Lu Jia's new wife? In such a significant incident, where was she? What did she do during those four days that Lu Jia spent in their new home? Why did he suddenly go mad and jump into the river? Did anyone from Yamen or the Lu Family ever question that new wife?"
"This is one of the strange aspects of this case. After Lu Jia jumped into the river, Mr. Lu did send someone back to inquire about his newly married daughter-in-law. However, she claimed that during those days she had done nothing with Lu Jia at all. He merely locked her in their room and drew her portrait. Whether due to Lu Jia's poor drawing skills or some other reason, none of the women depicted in his drawings resembled her at all. She thought her husband was simply engrossed in painting and didn’t want to disturb him or place blame on him; thus she quietly allowed him to draw without asking anything or saying anything.
On the fourth day, when she heard someone calling from outside, she finally called out for her husband for the first time. Little did she know that Lu Jia would rush out like a madman after dropping his paintbrush. After that incident, she knew nothing more about what happened. As for the woman in his drawings, Mr. Lu did not recognize her; he only felt that her attire resembled that of his daughter-in-law's but found her face very unfamiliar."
"Just now Brother Chang mentioned this is one strange aspect; what about the second?"
"Lu Jia was Mr. Lu's only son; losing an only child is something very difficult for Mr. Lu to accept. On the seventh day after Lu Jia’s burial—known as 'the day of returning souls'—Mr. Lu waited at his son's favorite spot but never encountered his son's spirit. The steward advised him that although Lu Jia had just been buried recently, he had been submerged in water for several days and might have returned earlier than expected. Upon hearing this, Mr. Lu became even more sorrowful and insisted on going to see his son's grave despite objections from the steward and servants.
Seeing that he could not be dissuaded, the steward instructed others to prepare lanterns and followed along behind him. As they passed through a grove near the grave site, they suddenly heard heavy footsteps echoing through the air—'thud thud thud.' After a while, everyone heard Lu Jia’s voice lamenting how tragically he died at someone else's hands and asking Mr. Lu to move aside their new bed when they returned home; then everything would become clear."
"Could it be that beneath that bed lies Lu Jia's corpse while what was found on the riverbank is not truly him?" Xing Ruyi suddenly recalled an old case she had read about where a suspect pretended to be a victim by rushing out of a room before jumping into a river under false pretenses but actually escaped through another route knowing how to swim.
Xing Ruyi originally just mentioned it casually, but Chang Tai nodded, "That's right! Mr. Lu felt it was a bit strange and was somewhat afraid, but after all, it's his own child. Even if he became a ghost, he wouldn't harm his own father. So, he didn't go to the graveyard and led everyone back home. When they moved the large bed in the new house, they found signs that the blue bricks underneath had been disturbed, and beneath the blue bricks was some fresh soil. After digging up the soil, everyone discovered a new Redwood cabinet, inside which a person was wrapped in a bedsheet, and that person was Lu Jia."
"So, the new Wife is the murderer?"
Chang Tai nodded.
"What was the motive for the murder? Could it be because Lu Jia was unwilling to share a bed with this new Wife and the portrait didn't resemble her?"
"Not at all. The new Wife was originally a hired killer. She was supposed to leave after killing Lu Jia. However, she became obsessed when she saw Mr. Lu lost in thought due to his Son's death. She conspired with her accomplice, who had impersonated Lu Jia that day, to secretly harm Mr. Lu and plot to take all of Lu Jia's wealth."
"And who hired her? It was the parents of the Fisherman's Daughter!" Xing Ruyi frowned. "Since they were willing to marry their daughter into the Lu Family, they must have known there was a chance their daughter would be buried alive by Lu Jia. Why would they suddenly seek revenge now?"
"The person who was buried alive was not the Fisherman's Daughter!"
"What?" Xing Ruyi looked at Chang Tai in surprise, completely not expecting such a twist in the story.
"The County Chronicle states that after their daughter died, the Fisherman's Daughter's parents secretly went to the burial site to retrieve their daughter's body for reburial. Although these parents were greedy, they still felt guilty about their own daughter. Fearing that their daughter's death was tragic and that her ghost might seek revenge, they wanted to give her a proper burial. Little did they know that when they dug up the grave, it wasn't their daughter buried there but rather a boy around fourteen or fifteen years old dressed in women's clothing!"
"I can't believe it!" Xing Ruyi exclaimed softly, unable to hold back. "No wonder this incident made it into the County Chronicle. This case is indeed bizarre and convoluted. But what about this boy? Could it be that he was swapped during the wedding procession? Just like the killer bride that Lu Jia married later on, were both plotting for wealth? In the end, things backfired; unexpectedly, the Groom didn't even enter the Wedding Chamber before being locked away. After finally waiting for the door to open, without saying a word, he was dragged out by servants of the Lu Family and buried alive? If this truth is as ridiculous as it sounds, then he could be called the unluckiest thief in history!"
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