Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
Two days later, Dong Family Fortress was adorned with lanterns and streamers, yet there was little joy on people’s faces. They prepared the mansion in a hurried manner, partly due to time constraints, but more so because of the nature of the wedding—in their eyes, all of this was merely to “dispel ill fortune.” Only five days separated the joyous event from a funeral, which was unacceptable by any standards.
The wedding day was precisely the fifth day after Dong Yezhen’s burial. During these five days, Siam Liang City had been shrouded in a heavy gloom. Misfortune, like a thick fog, enveloped everyone’s hearts. Even though red silks stretched across the mansion today, it couldn’t dispel the dark clouds brought by the continuous homicides of recent days. As the wedding preparations were rushed, the matchmakers and maids were servants who had worked for the Dong family for many years. They carried the sedan chair, transporting Dong Biling from the old Dong family residence to a new one in the west of the city. This residence had been prepared for Dong Liancheng earlier and, after redecoration, it was indeed a good place.
After Dong Biling and Dong Liancheng bid farewell to their parents, the matchmaker helped her into the sedan chair. The sedan chair, originally Dong Qishan’s mode of transport, had been refurbished and decorated in bright red, making it very festive. The exterior of the sedan chair resembled a small house, with a reception area in front and a large arhat bed in the back. Covered by a red veil and wearing a wedding gown, she sat properly on the arhat bed. Thirty-two people lifted her sedan chair, and to the resounding boom of firecrackers, it was slowly carried out of Dong Family Fortress. This was a display of luxury Di Jiang and her companions had never witnessed.
“There really is a sedan chair that needs thirty-two people to carry it!” Wen Yao exclaimed.
“Indeed, even the Empress probably never enjoyed such treatment,” Chang Sheng echoed.
Di Jiang and Zhong Xu exchanged glances, then continued to observe from the roadside without a word. Di Jiang looked calm, but Zhong Xu unconsciously tightened his grip on the sword at his waist. He had a premonition that this wedding would not go smoothly.
Sure enough, after the sedan chair had been carried less than three zhang (about 10 meters) away, a scream came from within the sedan.
“Ah—my stomach hurts so much! Stop! Stop—” Dong Biling sat in the sedan carried by thirty-two people. Due to the spacious interior of the sedan, by the time she endured the severe abdominal pain and painstakingly climbed down from the bed, her lower body was already stained with blood.
“Miss! What’s wrong with you!” Immediately after, exclamations of maids followed. The matchmaker, hearing this from outside the sedan, quickly ordered everyone to stop the sedan, then stepped up the platform and entered the sedan.
“Ah!” As soon as the matchmaker lifted the curtain, she saw the floor of the sedan covered in blood, which originated from beneath Dong Biling. At this moment, Dong Biling’s face was pale, and she continuously gasped, her body trembling like a leaf caught in the wind.
“Miss, what, what’s wrong with you?” The matchmaker quickly gathered around, but saw Dong Biling had already entered a daze. The matchmaker looked back at the two maids, who only shook their heads in panic, repeatedly saying, “We don’t know, Miss suddenly said her stomach hurt, and then a lot of blood flowed out!”
“Save me...” Just then, the hazy Dong Biling let out a moan, her drooping eyes suddenly wide open, as if enduring immense suffering. But no one near her had touched her, and no one knew what was wrong with her.
“Ah! Ah—” Dong Biling’s piercing screams rang out, drowning out the roar of the firecrackers. Dong Qishan stood beneath the main gate. Hearing that something was wrong, he immediately ordered the servants setting off firecrackers to stop. As the firecrackers were extinguished, Dong Biling’s screams grew even more desperate. The matchmakers, not knowing what to do, helped Dong Biling out of the sedan. As soon as the sedan curtain was lifted, Dong Biling’s hands suddenly gripped the maid supporting her with force. After a piercing scream of “Ah—”, a “cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck” sound came from beneath her.
It was an adult rooster, covered in feathers, with a valiant comb and a proud demeanor.
It shook its blood-stained wings, then flapped its way out from beneath Dong Biling’s skirt, revealing the bloody state beneath her to everyone’s eyes.
Seeing this, Dong Biling didn’t even have the strength to groan. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted. She looked as if she had just gone through childbirth.
And indeed, she had given birth—to a chicken.
Everyone was terrified, including the maids. Inside and outside the Dong mansion, there was a profound silence.
“Guards! Quickly carry Miss back and call a doctor to treat her properly!” Dong Qishan was the first to react. With a loud shout and a wave of his hand, the servants immediately carried Dong Biling’s sedan back into the mansion.
After Dong Biling returned to the mansion, the panic she brought did not diminish but instead escalated.
“Did you see it? She actually gave birth to a chicken!”
“I saw it too! It really was a chicken! And it crowed!”
“But how can a human give birth to a chicken’s child?”
“Third Miss Dong... she couldn’t have... with...” Matchmaker Zhang covered her mouth, repeatedly exclaiming in shock, “With a chicken...”
“Heavens, what kind of evil deeds have been done! Second Miss Dong just conceived with a ghost, and now, after only a few days, Third Miss has given birth to a chicken’s child! Has the Dong Family Fortress encountered some evil entity?”
“If you ask me, it must be Master Dong’s unborn children from before, returning for revenge!”
The common people spoke amongst themselves, their rumors spreading rapidly. In just a few moments, the news had caused an uproar throughout the city, known to all.
Soon, elders from some of the city’s old clans came to the mansion, demanding that Dong Qishan make an early decision to flay and dismember Dong Biling, who was ‘linked to a chicken,’ to cut off the source of the demonic mischief.
“That’s absolutely impossible!” Dong Qishan vehemently refused, pointing at the elders in the ancestral hall. “How much money do you take from me every year, and yet you still want my daughter’s life? I only have one daughter. Whoever dares to touch her, I’ll make them be buried with her!”
“But... this matter is no small thing. If Miss Biling has fallen under the spell of a sorcerer, it might be best to make a quick decision!”
The elders’ chatter irritated Dong Qishan greatly. This kind of situation had occurred once before a few days ago, but he had quickly decided to execute Dong Yezhen with little contemplation. The current scene was eerily similar, but one was an adopted daughter, and the other was his direct bloodline. Even if others presented a million reasons, he could not bring himself to kill his daughter.
At this moment, Dong Biling lay on her large bed. The doctors by her bedside all frowned, unable to diagnose her condition. After examining her, everyone realized that another unmarried young lady in the Dong family was pregnant. However, none of them dared to be the first to speak this aloud. Moreover, according to her pulse, although it indicated she had given birth, there were no postpartum pulse signs. She still had a pregnancy pulse, contrary to what everyone had witnessed—that she had given birth to a chicken.
Di Jiang stood calmly in the garden, a stark contrast to the servants of Dong Family Fortress who scurried around like headless chickens.
“What do you think?” Di Jiang asked blandly.
“Still the same thing. Human doings,” Zhong Xu leaned against the corridor pillar, expressionless, seemingly unconcerned. To him, if there were no ghosts, it was all uninteresting.
Di Jiang nodded, a faint smile on her face.
Just as Di Jiang and Zhong Xu, along with their two attendants, were leisurely sunbathing in the garden pavilion, a scream suddenly came from the front courtyard: “Ghost! The ghost is here!”
Everyone was startled, stopping their work and looking towards the front courtyard, guessing what had happened there again.
As the scream still echoed in their ears, a woman suddenly emerged from behind the spirit screen in the front courtyard, swaying gracefully. She was dressed in black, cold, proud, and stunningly beautiful. By her side followed a small girl in white, so petite her head didn’t even reach Yezhen’s armpit. Di Jiang looked closely and realized she was the same girl in white she had seen at the street corner the other day.
“Miss Yezhen! How can it be Miss Yezhen!”
“She’s a ghost!”
“I saw her disemboweled with my own eyes! She must have come back for revenge!”
The people in the courtyard were stunned. Several of them were so frightened they ran away, stumbling and falling. Others were also paralyzed with fear, wanting to run but lacking the strength to escape.
As noon approached, under the scorching sun, Dong Yezhen stood abruptly in the courtyard, holding the little girl’s hand.
Di Jiang folded her arms, casting a curious gaze at her. The other party did not shy away, returning a wide smile and saying, “We meet again.”
“Indeed,” Di Jiang nodded.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” Dong Yezhen asked faintly.
“Why should I be afraid?” Di Jiang retorted, “Miss Dong is beautiful; being able to see her more is one of life’s great pleasures.”
Dong Yezhen smiled faintly, then turned and continued walking towards the main hall. In the main hall, Dong Qishan and the elders, having heard the news, immediately came out. Upon seeing the living Dong Yezhen, their faces showed surprise and fear. But compared to the servants, they were much calmer.
“Are you human or ghost?” Dong Qishan was the first to speak, stepping forward to take charge.
Dong Yezhen’s face showed grievance. In a moment, tears streamed down her face. “Father, don’t you even recognize me? I’m Zhen’er!” The grievance and coquetry in Yezhen’s tone surprised both Di Jiang and Zhong Xu. They exchanged glances, then continued listening to their conversation.
“Are you really Yezhen? You didn’t die?” Dong Qishan asked in surprise.
“I was framed by a villain and was delirious for over half a month. Thanks to Yueying’s help, she pulled a trick at the last moment, allowing Yezhen to preserve her life and escape death.” Dong Yezhen said, looking gratefully at the girl beside her. The girl was expressionless but nodded, as if to say, “She’s telling the truth.”
“Father, you must uphold justice for me!” Dong Yezhen knelt with a thud before Dong Qishan. Behind him stood a panicked Dong Liancheng. His expression was the most complex of everyone present, but at this moment, no one noticed him.
Except for Di Jiang.
Dong Qishan exchanged glances with the various clan relatives, then continued, “What justice do you want your father to uphold for you?”
“It was Granny Sun who poisoned me, forcing me to do beastly things like eating raw flesh and blood. It was also she who put a chicken under Sister Biling’s skirt, causing everyone to think she gave birth to a chicken! Her intentions are malicious; she simply doesn’t deserve to be human!”
“What!” Everyone present gasped in astonishment.
“Quickly, bring Granny Sun here!” Dong Qishan commanded. Immediately, many people went to the back courtyard to find her, and soon she was dragged out of her room.
As soon as Granny Sun saw Yezhen, she recoiled repeatedly as if she had seen a ghost, saying, “Aren’t you dead!”
“Of course you wish I were dead, otherwise, your wicked deeds would be exposed!” Dong Yezhen angrily retorted, “Tell me! Why did you put a chicken under Sister Biling’s skirt, humiliating her in public?!”
“I didn’t put a chicken! I didn’t!” Granny Sun shook her head repeatedly. “It wasn’t me!”
“You’ve been exposed by me, so of course you won’t admit it! Just like when you tied up children and stuffed them into my mouth, you did the exact same thing!” Dong Yezhen glared at her. “Speak! What grudge do you have against my Dong family? Why did you harm me and Sister Biling?!”
“You... you knew?” Granny Sun trembled with fear, weeping. “I was coerced; I had no choice!”
“Taking a hundred liang of gold from Ma Wenshan, is that called being coerced?” Dong Yezhen sneered, “If I hadn’t arrived in time, Sister Biling would probably have been executed!”
“I... I...” Granny Sun opened her mouth several times but found herself unable to refute. Finally, she gritted her teeth and nodded, “I shouldn’t have harmed you... I’m sorry...”
Their conversation cleared up all previous doubts.
Granny Sun had accepted benefits from Ma Wenshan, causing Dong Yezhen to lose her sanity and eat human flesh. The chicken under Dong Biling’s body also seemed to have been placed there by her. However, Ma Wenshan had already died before Dong Biling’s wedding, so why would Granny Sun do this?
This answer would forever remain unknown.
Because Dong Qishan had heard what he wanted to hear. He didn’t need to investigate further; as long as he had Granny Sun as a scapegoat, Dong Biling’s predicament could be resolved.
No one cared where the blood under Dong Biling came from. They only knew that the culprits were Granny Sun and Ma Wenshan, and that was enough.
Google Sites
Report abuse