Chapter 98 Haunted Bitter Bamboo Grove
“You should breathe slowly before you give me the details.” Ning Yuan frowned, stared at Feng Yan and asked in a deep voice, “What’s the matter? Do you mean the girl of Luo’s Family who saved someone in the street just now? What does she pick the flowers for?”
After getting the order, Feng Yan nodded and took more than 20 deep breaths.
Seeing Childe Ning’s impatient face, Feng Yan stopped, and said slowly, “Here is the thing. Feng Yu and I searched the street carefully and found a bunch of fragrant small white flowers, which were more fragrant than Chinese roses, begonias, osmanthus, chrysanthemum and plum blossoms. When we got closer, we saw a girl who was about 12 years old squatting there and picking flowers into her sachet one by one pleasantly. I recognized her as the maid who jumped from the second gharry of Luo’s Family. Then we persuaded her to give up the flowers because Childe Ning had planned to pick them up. However, out of surprise, she said that her lady had ordered her a while ago to pick the flowers. Also, given the order of arrival, since her lady ordered first and she got there earlier than us, these small white flowers belonged to her lady. Then she laughed it was shameful for us to grab flowers from girls.”
After listening to Feng Yan’s words, Ning Yuan’s eyebrows still frowned. After a moment’s meditation, Ning Yuan asked again, “Did you ask her what to do with those flowers? How did her lady order her?”
“No, you didn’t let us to do so.” Feng Yan said, “The reason why girls collect flowers is that they want to make sachets and sweet dumplings. By the way, why do you ask us to collect those small white flowers, Childe? Anyway, we haven’t passed by that street before. How did you know that there are small white flowers?” Feng Yan peeped at Ning Yuan who changed another face. In fact, he knew that Childe Ning was Zhu Quan, the 17th Prince. 3 years ago, Zhu Quan had a good relationship with his childe, Chang Nuo. Then they gradually became as good as sticking together and did everything together except going to the toilet.
Until more than a year ago, Chang Nuo finally stopped following the 17th Prince closely, but left home in the name of study tours. He only took Feng Yan and Chang Yu, and then went straight to Yangzhou City. After a few days of investigation through various methods, Chang Nuo disguised as Feng Yang, the Young Lord of Feng’s Family who had been studying kung fu in Wudang Mountain for 10 years and had returned after finishing school. Then he lived in Feng’s Family with a swagger. Also, he changed their names, “Chang Yan Chang Yu” into “Feng Yan Feng Yu” (which meant slanderous gossip in Chinese)—— Next time, if Chang Nuo could pretend to be a childe who was from Zi’s Family, then their names might become “Zi Yan Zi Yu” (which meant talking to oneself in Chinese)—— In this way, they had lived in Yangzhou City for more than a year. Feng Yan really missed the little chick named Huang Huang at home and didn’t know whether it lived well now. For more than a year, the 17th Prince frequently met with Chang Nuo at night. Then they often dispersed all people and closed the door without turning off the lights all night.
Half a year ago, the 17th Prince was granted as Lord Ning by the Emperor. His fiefdom was Daning, an important military town in the northwest. Lord Ning went to the fiefdom to take office in name. Actually, he spent most of the time in the capital and Yangzhou City. It was said that the seigniors were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without the Emperor’s will. So, Lord Ning was probably afraid of being found. Every time he came to meet with Chang Nuo privately, he would change a new face. Therefore, Feng Yu and Feng Yan were used to recognize Lord Ning through his clothes instead of his face… In a word, Feng Yan thought Lord Ning was really a very unfathomable and unpredictable person. With such a temper, how did Lord Ning develop his relationship with Chang Nuo as two who could close the door all night without turning off the lights?
At this time, the coachman of Luo’s Mansion, Ren Dongteng, drove the gharry into the side door, then he noticed that the sick guest in the gharry had not entered the door. So, he hurriedly called the doorkeeper Ma Douling, telling him to lead the guest to the outer hall of Ting Zhu Yard first, and then ask Madam Luo how to arrange the guest.
Ning Yuan looked up at the sun at noon, then stopped worrying about Huolie Flowers which were picked by others, and ordered Feng Yan, “When you go back, tell Feng Yu to pick up ‘your childe’ from Tai Bai Restaurant. Then you go back to the headquarter of Caobang Organization and tell Lord Feng that your Young Lord is picked up by Madam Luo of Luo’s Mansion. Also, Madam Luo and his aunt will keep him in Luo’s Mansion for a few days.” Then Ning Yuan turned and entered Luo’s Mansion from the side door.
“Oh.” Feng Yan said. Watching Ning Yuan leaving, he suddenly thought of the matter on the street corner and shouted again, “By the way, Childe Ning. A tall maid went there later with a bag of salt in her hands. She sprinkled the salt on all the stems and leaves of the flowers there, just as you ordered before!” The figure in the dark red cloak stopped abruptly, but he did not turn around to ask more. Instead, he continued to follow manservant of Luo’s Mansion. Feng Yan touched his nose with an uninteresting look, then left and thought Ning Yuan was really a weird man whom he never got his mind.
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In the side room of the back hall of Ting Zhu Yard, Mommy Tang helped Madam Luo to sit on the soft couch and asked anxiously, “How do you feel, Madam? Is your head still dizzy?”
Madam Luo waved her hands and turned to ask He Danggui, “Yi, I don’t know if the Immortal’s prescription works. Does Zhu come back from the nether world like you…? Do we have to live in Ting Zhu Yard these 2 days and can’t meet with our families?”
“Don’t worry, Grandma.” He Danggui took off the veil on her face and said softly, “Whether those methods can successfully rescue Nephew Zhu or not, it is bound to come out before sunset today. If Nephew Zhu is really lucky to reborn, there will be a grand celebration in the mansion. It is necessary to play gongs and firecrackers. Although this remote yard separates us from them with several heavy waters and several rockeries, we can definitely hear the sound if someone sets off firecrackers.”
Mammy Tang also exhorted, “Since the Immortal predicted the death of Zhu and the difficulties on our way back precisely, it’s possible that there is some magic power that can save him. Worrying doesn’t help. So, we might as well rest in private for 2 days in accordance with the instructions of the Immortal. What’s your feeling now, Madam Luo? What would you like for lunch? I’ll let the kitchenette of Ting Zhu Yard prepare for you.”
“Well, it’s already noon. And I’m really hungry.” Madam Luo squinted to think for a moment and said, “I still want to eat the spicy orecchiette snack I saw on the road. I haven’t smelt it for many years. Let the kitchenette make it spicy. What would you like to eat, Yi? Didn’t you say you were hungry in the street just now?”
He Danggui waved her hands and said, “Suddenly I don’t feel hungry. I’m sleepy now, so I want to go to the East Flower Hall to find a room to sleep. Well, I’ll go first. Please enjoy it slowly and eat more, Grandma.” Before Madam Luo answered, He Danggui stood up and ran through the wing-room to the corridor. Then she turned a corner and disappeared.
Madam Luo strangely looked at Mammy Tang. So, Mammy Tang analyzed after thinking, “Third Miss went down to the mountain early in the morning to wait for us. Maybe she’s too sleepy to open her eyes now.” And then she continued to care about Madam Luo’s diet, “Although the orecchiette snack is delicious, it’s just pasta. How can you eat such a spicy thing with an empty stomach? I think I should still order some serious dishes from the card for you...”
“Madam Luo, I have sent you all the things you need in the following 2 days!” A 13 or 14-year-old maid with drooping hair ran in and said with a smile, “Just now, Uncle Gui (Gui Banjiao) told us that you would stay in Ting Zhu Yard for 2 days. So, we’ve been busy arranging two and a half carts of food since then. Now Sister Gan Cao and Deng Cao are unloading outside. Oh, by the way, when I passed the outer hall, I saw Ma Douling leading a young childe who was in blue. He let me ask you how to arrange that young childe, Madam.”
“Ah, I forgot him,” Madam Luo clapped her legs and said, “Shi Liu, you should first lead him to the West Flower hall. He should be arranged to rest in the side room with a gracious and generous reception. Later, you can lead Dr. Ma and Dr. Wu to see him for treatment.”
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When He Danggui ran out of the corridor, she only felt the flow of Qi and blood was not smooth at all. It was clear that there might be another spit of blood at any time. Then she rushed to the East Flower Hall, hid in a side room and wanted to meditate there. When she tried to bolt the door, she found that there was no bolt at all behind the door. Feeling strange about that, she went out and checked another 2 or 3 rooms. As a result, neither the double-entrance main room with wing-room nor the pantry room in the corner was equipped with a latch.
Senior Lord Luo carefully treated everything in his Ting Zhu Yard. It was hard to imagine that the craftsmen who built the house didn’t bolt the door. It seemed that it was the personal characteristics of Senior Lord Luo’s residence, just like Senior Lord Luo did not like to use bed curtains and mosquito nets.
He Danggui felt immediately distressed because her cultivation methods had not been used for a long time. And she could not be sure whether it was useful or not. Moreover, there was a certain danger in concentrating one’s energy and regulating respiration. If she was disturbed in a critical moment, it would be worse than being stepped on a horse’s hoof. Her prone lying, lateral lying and handstand postures were strange in the eyes of the outsiders. What if someone saw her from the window? Madam Luo was having lunch now. It was hard to say if Madam Luo would walk around after she was full. What if Madam Luo walked into this room?
When listening carefully, He Danggui vaguely heard the shouting sound from the outer hall— “Gan Cao, Madam Luo uses small dishes for meals. Put the medium-sized ones back first, and then clean them up later in the afternoon!” “First, send this batch of clothes to be washed to the East Flower Hall, and then put the accessories in that box at last. Be careful not to knock anything down!” “Aunt Li, sent the closestool from the side door, the side door! I said the side door! That’s the main gate!” He Danggui stroked her forehead with annoyance. She thought the yard was the best place to rest since nobody had lived in Senior Lord Luo’s yard throughout the year, but she didn’t expect that Madam Luo brought the boisterous scene wherever she went. If she had foreseen this, she should have said the Immortal wanted her to stay here alone for several days.
A secluded place. A secluded place. She urgently needed a secluded place... Bitter Bamboo Grove?
Yes, when she lived in the East Yard of Luo’s Mansion in the previous life, she heard that there were often some haunts in Bitter Bamboo Grove behind Ting Zhu Yard. So, no one would go there.
He Danggui immediately decided to go to Bitter Bamboo Grove to find a secluded corner and have a rest till night. After dark, she would sneak into Senior Lord Luo’s room to find out if there were needles for acupuncture. If not, she would have to go to find 2 thinnest embroidery needles in thread winnowing basket of the mammies. She believed that with the help of her magic Yunqi Acupuncture, the terrible situation of Zhenqi could gradually be eased.
So, she made the pillow into a human shape, and carefully covered it. Then she closed the door tightly and ran straight to the back porch of Ting Zhu Yard.
When she came to the Bitter Bamboo Grove that she had never been to before, she smiled with satisfaction. The darkness and mist in the grove indicated “living people forbidden”. What an ideal and holy place for breathing and resting. Such a ghostly place. Not only were humans unwilling to approach, but crows among all the birds were the only species willing to come…
The sound of crows was everywhere in the bamboo grove.
A huge crow went straight from the inside of the bamboo grove to the sky and landed on a stationary dark red figure at the entrance of Bitter Bamboo Grove. After lowering its head and pecking lightly, it was raised by the figure’s arm and issued a scream. Then it flapped a huge pair of black feather wings and flew into a wild grove in the east.
In the Bitter Bamboo Grove… Were there humans? He Danggui’s complexion changed. She frowned at the young man who was wearing a dark red gold embroidered cloak and a blue gown that had just touched the ground. Wasn’t he the patient on Feng Yang’s gharry? What was he doing here?
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