Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Sowing Happiness
"Just like that, they picked Xi Yao from the Bai Family Stage, and that Master Bai is a human-faced beast-hearted man. For a thousand taels of silver, he really dared to let go of his own daughter."
Kuang Hongyi laughed, insinuating with his words, "What can you do if you can’t bear it? After all, the Feng Family has a large estate, and not just anyone dares to call themselves the Southern Overlord."
Steward Liu became somewhat anxious, "You can’t talk nonsense about this matter, you must get the direct blood relative of the girl’s approval, or else it won’t work. I can guarantee with my life that the Feng Family absolutely did not force Master Bai; out of a sense of compensation, Master Feng even gave an extra 200 taels of patterned silver as a thank you, which Master Bai received in full, all this can be found in the accounts."
"In the Feng Family’s accounting office, there are still the written pledges signed by Master Bai, and receipts for a total of 1200 taels of patterned silver in two installments. Master Bai also emphasized that he did not want silver notes, only cash. The senior accountant at the mansion can also testify to this."
After saying all this in one breath, Steward Liu seemed to deflate, shaking his head and his voice also lowering, "However, no matter what, this matter is indeed our Feng Family’s fault to begin with. I have seen the girl Xi Yao, she was pretty and her skills faultless, such a pity for a good girl."
Yang Xiao sneered in his heart, previously Steward Liu wasn’t speaking this way, referring to Xi Yao as neither a malignant spirit nor a fierce ghost, his face full of resentment as if he wished to grind her bones to dust. Now that Young Master has died, realizing the might of the other party, he knows to call her a good girl.
As they spoke, they had already arrived outside Master Feng’s room. Before they got close, they heard a series of coughing and a man’s low sobbing.
Pushing open the door, they saw Master Feng slumped in the Taishi chair, his expression one of pained numbness, his eyes red and swollen, and his gaze lifeless, clearly overcome by grief.
"Master!" Steward Liu quickly approached, crying out with a sob, "Master, you must not have anything happen to you!"
This cry seemed to bring Master Feng back to his senses. As he saw Yang Xiao and the others, tears immediately welled up, and in the next moment, something that caught everyone by surprise happened: Master Feng struggled to his feet, and then with a thud, knelt on the ground.
"I beg you all, Blessing Guests, to save the Feng Family. I know my father has committed heavy sins, but... but the descendants of the Feng Family are innocent!" Master Feng wailed, "I’ve already lost three sons; now there’s only one single seedling left in the Feng Family. If anything happens to Zhi Tong’s unborn child, the Feng Family’s line will be cut off. How will I be able to face the ancestors of the Feng Family after I die!"
The scene left Su Tingting dumbfounded. Master Feng was full of emotion, his attitude of acknowledging his fault sincere, his action of kneeling decisive, and the timing and atmosphere were just perfect. She had thought her own acting was quite good before, but compared to Master Feng, it was nothing.
But in the next second, someone acted. Yang Xiao quickly stepped forward to the weeping Master Feng and knelt with a thud, vigorously supporting Master Feng, "Master Feng, please stand up. You’ll be the death of us young folk!"
"Although Old Master Feng was initially at fault, after all, that was the Old Master, and what does that have to do with you?"
"Steward Liu had already told us the real situation when we arrived. You were strongly against it at the beginning, but the Old Master was stubborn. This is not your fault; please do not blame yourself anymore."
"What needs to be done now is to expedite the peaceful passing of Xi Yao’s spirit, to let her rest as soon as possible, and to return peace to the Feng Family."
At this moment, Yang Xiao deeply empathized with the Feng Family, his nuanced emotions flawless. He cooperated with Steward Liu to help Master Feng back into the Taishi chair, "Master Feng, now please tell us about what happened at that time in as much detail as possible, so that we can provide an accurate solution."
"Alright, I’ll tell you everything I know," Master Feng wiped away his tears; in that moment, he looked more than a decade older.
"When my father was deathly ill, he somehow acquired an ancient scroll that detailed an evil ritual. It claimed that if one followed the instructions within, it could ensure the revival of our Feng family after 10 years, with endless prosperity for our descendants."
"To put it simply, it required finding an unmarried girl whose birth details were secretly compatible with my father’s, and to marry her to him on the seventh day after his death."
"You’re probably aware of the process. They built a large ship, decorated it all in red, and hung a big red lantern with the character for ’happiness’ on it. My father’s body was placed inside the ship’s cabin."
"Master Bai lured Xi Yao into our estate under the pretense of performing a play, had her dressed up, and made her sing on the ship. Worried something might go wrong, he tied Xi Yao to the ship with ropes."
"When the ship set sail, they drilled a hole in the bottom. When it reached the center of the lake, the ship gradually began to sink, and when the red lantern hanging from the mast had vanished as well, the first step of the ritual was deemed complete."
Upon hearing this, Shi Guanming expressed his shock, "This... this is just the first step?"
"Yes, according to that scroll, the ritual is divided into four steps. The first step is called... um... what was it?" Master Feng furrowed his brow.
"Planting joy," Yang Xiao suddenly said.
Master Feng’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Yang Xiao with newfound formality, "Right, right, it’s called ’planting joy.’ It seems that this Blessing Guest is well-informed and has heard of this sorcery."
Yang Xiao was silent for a moment before explaining to the others, "This evil ritual is divided into four steps: ’Planting joy’, followed by ’Binding joy’, ’Receiving joy’, and finally, the most important step, ’Sending joy.’"
"Exactly, ’planting joy’ can be seen as us planting my father and the lady Xi Yao in the lake. ’Binding joy’ requires our Feng family to worship by the lake every year for 10 years, with grand rituals on the day of ’planting joy’ every year, as well as hanging red lanterns in our estate."
"’Receiving joy’ refers to this year, 10 years later according to the scroll, which is supposed to be the year our Feng family receives joy. Everything was expected to go smoothly, with our household and business thriving, but... but who would have thought..." Master Feng choked up here, unable to go on.
Indeed, this year has been calamitous for the Feng family. Not only have they been plagued by misfortune, but deaths have also followed one after another. Now with the third young master also dead, the Feng family had only a sickly Master Feng left, and a pregnant Young Lady, with all others gone.
"And what about ’sending joy’?" Su Tingting asked, curious.
Master Feng took a deep breath, "The requirements for ’sending joy’ are more complex. The Feng family needs to produce an heir within this year, and it must be a boy who can carry on the family business. As long as this boy is born safely and survives, it signifies the end of the curse."
At this point, a renewed light stirred in Master Feng’s somber eyes. He leaned forward, gripping the wooden armrest tightly, and pleaded with excitement, "Therefore, I beg you all, you must help my Feng family overcome this calamity. Provided that... that Zhi Tong is kept safe and she gives birth smoothly, then our Feng family will have weathered this storm. I assure you that the rewards I promised will be given in full without fail."
