The west courtyard of the Marquis's estate.
A woman in plain clothes walked in the courtyard, her hair loosely tied up with a wooden hairpin. A few strands of dark hair occasionally fell by her ears. A gentle breeze swept through, carrying hints of crabapple blossom fragrance that filled the small courtyard.
The woman frowned as she looked at the messy state of the courtyard. She casually picked up a broom covered in dust from the corner and began to sweep.
It seemed like the cleaning would never end. As soon as she cleared a clean patch, it was covered again by fallen leaves from above in just a moment.
“Hoo!” She panted, clearly unwell. After only the time it took to brew a cup of tea, she was already covered in sweat.
The woman looked around and saw a stone bench not far away. She took out an embroidered handkerchief, wiped it clean, and sat on the bench. From her懷中, she took out a bamboo slip and began to read it intently.
Warm sunlight bathed her. Her already slender body appeared even more transparent and boneless in the light.
“Tang...er...” Just as she was concentrating, footsteps sounded from behind her.
The woman gently turned her head to glance behind her and asked, “Who are you?”
The man was stunned. He extended his hands, which were covered in blemishes and wrinkles. As if suddenly remembering something, his dry lips twitched. The words he wanted to say were all stuck in his throat.
The woman put down the bamboo slip, stood up, and looked at the man opposite her. She sized him up and said, “Judging by your attire, Master, you must be one of the gardeners in this Marquis's estate?”
The man shook his head, his thin lips opening and closing repeatedly. However, due to his intense excitement, he couldn't utter a sound.
“It’s fortunate, I was just about to ask, Master, why is my garden so…”
“Tang'er, it… it’s me… I am… Zhao Min.” The man finally choked out the words he wanted to say.
Hearing the name, the woman’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How is that possible? Ah Min wasn’t like this at all, you…”
“Tang'er… really, it’s truly me… I am indeed your Ah Min.” As Zhao Min spoke, he shuffled forward, trying to approach the woman.
In her fear, the woman retreated step by step.
Seeing this, Zhao Min’s face showed a look of unprecedented sadness. He looked at the hairpin in her hair and said, “Have you forgotten? That hairpin… was a gift from me… I gave it to you. The flower petal is engraved with your character. Have you forgotten?”
The woman touched the hairpin in her hair, her eyes narrowing slowly, as if recalling something. She looked at the man and asked, “Ah Min, how did you become like this? And your voice…”
Hearing the woman call him by name, Zhao Min’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “Tang’er, you don’t know, do you? Ever since you died, I lost the will to live. After falling gravely ill, I intended to follow you, so I set fire to my home… I never imagined my parents would discover it so early and save me from the fire, turning me into this… neither human nor ghost.”
“I… died?” The woman was slightly startled by the man’s words. Then, she suddenly clutched her head. “I died? When did I die… I… how… I don’t remember… I…”
“Tang’er, don’t get agitated, don’t get agitated.” Zhao Min, seeing her distress, grew anxious. He took a few steps forward, wanting to comfort her, but then remembered his current appearance. He stopped in his tracks, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
“Don’t worry, those who harmed you, I’ve already killed them. Madam Nian fell to her death, Madam Tao died after eating peanut paste, and Madam Lei drowned in the well last night. Don’t be afraid, okay?”
“They are all dead?” The woman, upon hearing his words, slowly raised her head and asked in a lowered voice.
Zhao Min nodded vigorously, like a garlic pounder. “Yes, they are all dead. No one will harm you again, truly, no one will dare to harm you again.”
“So, these people were all killed by you…”
“Brother, don’t listen to her nonsense! She’s not Sister-in-law at all!” Just as the woman reached a crucial point in her sentence, a sharp voice interrupted.
The woman looked towards the source of the sound and saw Xu Qiu standing not far away, his eyes behind the mask furious.
Zhao Min was still lost in the fantasy that Chang Sun Tang was alive. He looked at Zhong Li, his gaze hazy and infatuated, and said, “No, she is. The clothes are the same, the hair ornaments are the same, even her temperament is very similar. That hairpin isn’t fake either. I personally carved it for Tang’er. She is my Tang’er.”
As Zhao Min spoke, he actually walked towards Zhong Li.
Xu Qiu knew that Zhao Min at this moment would listen to no one. His eyes darted, and he picked up a long stick from a servant following him and swung it towards the woman.
Realizing her cover was blown, the woman dodged Xu Qiu’s attack. She retaliated, slashing down towards the arm holding the stick.
As the stick rolled onto the ground, everyone saw the woman’s face clearly. It was Zhong Li.
“You…” Zhao Min halted, disbelief filling his eyes. “You… are not Tang’er?”
Zhong Li looked at Zhao Min and said, “She died long ago. You know that, don’t you?”
Hearing this, Zhao Min’s face turned from green to purple. His already extremely ugly face now resembled a monster crawling from the earth, terrifying and twisted.
“You impersonated her?” Zhao Min reprimanded.
“If I didn’t do this, would you admit that everything in the Anping Marquis’s estate was your doing?” Zhong Li sneered.
“Good, good, a Temple Judge of the Dali Temple. Since you want to impersonate Tang’er so badly, then go down and accompany her!” With that, Zhao Min picked up the fallen stick and lunged at Zhong Li.
“Brother, no!” Xu Qiu, who had been hit, quickly got back on his feet, trying to intervene.
But Zhao Min was in a frenzy and beyond control. Xu Qiu hugged the stick, trying to snatch it away. Unexpectedly, Zhao Min suddenly let go. Xu Qiu fell backward, and Zhao Min drew a sickle for cutting grass from behind him, circled the man on the ground, and charged at Zhong Li again.
“Don’t!” Xu Qiu flipped up again to stop him.
With a ‘plop,’ the tip of Zhao Min’s sickle inserted into Xu Qiu’s waist.
“Ah… Brother?” Zhao Min’s eyes widened as he looked at the blood trickling down the sickle blade.
Xu Qiu then collapsed onto the ground.
Zhao Min looked at Xu Qiu, whose eyes were closed, unsure if he was dead or alive. Then he looked at Zhong Li not far away. The scar tissue that had grown on his face from the burn seemed to twitch.
He glared with bloodshot eyes and roared, “I want you… I want you to pay with your life!”
With that, Zhao Min pulled out a handful of sand from somewhere and threw it towards her face.
Zhong Li, caught off guard, retreated repeatedly to dodge, but some of it still got into her eyes.
At the same time, Zhao Min’s sickle swung towards her.
“Bastard!” A voice cut in. Ah Wu rushed into the courtyard, picked up the stick from the ground, and smashed it towards Zhao Min’s head.
Zhao Min’s blade swung mid-air, faltered. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Seeing this, Ah Wu picked up the sickle from the ground, preparing to finish Zhao Min.
“Ah Wu, don’t hurt him.” Zhong Li forced her eyes open and spoke.
Ah Wu’s blade stopped in mid-air.
At the same time, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from outside the courtyard. By the time everyone reacted, Lu Wuxie had already entered the courtyard, leading Anping Marquis Chang Ji and Chang Yanzhi.
Chang Ji was a shrewd man. After a single glance at the scene in the courtyard, he had a general idea of what had happened. He said to the guards who followed him, “Guards, apprehend Steward Xu and Zhao Min!”
“Wait!” Zhong Li spoke up as his words fell.
“Temple Judge Zhong, what do you mean by this?” Chang Ji narrowed his eyes, looking at the woman opposite him in a warning manner.
Zhong Li said, “Marquis, I say again, the matters within the Marquis’s estate are no longer family affairs. The Dali Temple is now involved, and since these individuals have been apprehended, they should be handed over to the Dali Temple for interrogation.”