Chapter 19: Bodhisattva Barbarian (Part 7)
Jin Xiang Shi had originally worked in the Ministry of Rites, but due to his exceptional painting skills, he had been transferred to the Hanlin Painting Academy after the winter examination. He had spent the past two months in Wanning, creating maps, and had been claiming illness since returning a few days ago.
Suspecting the involvement of court officials, and with the motive still unclear, the Yin Ye Si hadn’t yet formally reported the winter examination case to the Emperor. Therefore, they could only question the Imperial College officials indirectly.
While Ni Su was recuperating, the Yin Ye Si had investigated the transcribers, but they hadn’t learned much at the Imperial College. Jin Xiang Shi, having received praise and a reward from the Emperor, had been feigning illness and hadn’t left his residence.
The Yin Ye Si had no reason to question him directly.
Ni Su had initially hoped to learn something through Lady Sun, but the incident at the Ru Qin Poetry Society made it clear that Lady Sun strongly disapproved of Ni Su’s profession and wouldn’t associate with her.
“Did the incense and candles I lit during the day really help? Are you in pain?” Ni Su whispered, hiding behind a bush in Jin Xiang Shi’s courtyard, tugging at Xu He Xue’s sleeve.
“No,” Xu He Xue shook his head, adjusting his sleeve.
“Can I hold your sleeve? You can’t see, so I need to guide you,” Ni Su asked softly.
They were trespassing, and it wasn’t wise to carry a lantern.
“Mmm,” Xu He Xue nodded, reaching out towards her voice and offering his sleeve.
He felt her grip on his sleeve and his eyelashes flickered.
“Let’s go this way.”
Ni Su observed the courtyard for a while, making sure no servants were near the lit study, then led Xu He Xue towards the window behind the study.
The window was slightly ajar. Ni Su peered inside.
In the brightly lit study, Jin Xiang Shi chewed on dried beef and took a swig of wine, his mind elsewhere. “Why didn’t you tell me you were unwell? Can’t our family afford a physician? Now that those women from the poetry society know you consulted a medicine woman, they’re complaining to me.”
“Is this something to be spoken of so lightly? I did consult physicians, but they couldn’t properly examine me. I took their prescriptions, but they didn’t work. I suffer from stomach cramps every day. Haven’t you noticed?” Lady Sun said angrily, sitting with her back to him, wiping her tears with a handkerchief. “If the pain hadn’t been unbearable that day, I wouldn’t have listened to Lady Cai and consulted that young woman.”
“Weren’t you afraid she might kill you? Don’t you know what medicine women are like? How many of them have proper skills? Many of them end up killing their patients. How many can truly heal?” Jin Xiang Shi said, taking another bite of dried beef without looking up. “If they succeed, it’s just blind luck.”
“But I am feeling better,” Lady Sun said, her face buried in her handkerchief.
“Now all those other ladies know you consulted a medicine woman. Do you think they won’t tell their husbands? Do you think those men will allow you to corrupt their wives?” Jin Xiang Shi snorted. “I told you to stay home and not join that poetry society. Now look what happened. You’ve embarrassed me. Those officials are probably gossiping about my poor management of my household.”
“I think you should stop attending the poetry society. It’s just inviting ridicule.”
“Why? Lady Cai still associates with that young woman openly. If she can attend, why can’t I?” Lady Sun retorted, her hair ornaments shaking.
“Lady Cai is different. Her father, before retiring, was a civil official, but he also served as a military supervisor in the north and picked up some of those soldiers’ rough habits. And she married into the Grand Commandant’s residence, another military family. Only her husband is a civil official. Isn’t her elder brother a military officer in the Palace Guard? Even the Chief Eunuch has to speak respectfully to him… Her family is rough and unrestrained. Do you want to be like them? Besides, after today’s incident, those ladies might not tolerate her presence in the poetry society any longer.”
Jin Xiang Shi, still basking in the Emperor’s recent praise, said smugly, “That’s settled then. Don’t go to the poetry society anymore. It’s just a gathering of young women. Minister Meng’s wife, Lady Jiang, and Minister Pei’s wife, Lady Zhao, rarely attend. What’s the point of you going? You won’t even get to know them.”
“Husband…” Lady Sun started to protest, but Jin Xiang Shi waved his hand impatiently. “Go now. I’ll be spending the night with Xing Er.”
Not only had he blocked her from socializing with other women, but he had also mentioned his concubine, Xing Er. Tears welled up in Lady Sun’s eyes, but she didn’t dare argue, leaving the room in a huff.
With Lady Sun gone, Jin Xiang Shi was alone in the study.
He sat at the table, his face clouded with worry. He stopped eating the beef but continued to drink.
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind chilled his back, almost making him drop his cup. The candles on the table flickered and died. The room was dimly lit by the moonlight. A smoky mist drifted from behind him. Jin Xiang Shi’s back stiffened, his face twitching. He slowly turned around and saw a translucent, white-clad figure in the swirling mist.
He gasped, falling from his chair, the wine cup shattering.
“Xu Zi Ling,” Ni Su whispered, peering through the window, “he’s on your right.”
Xu He Xue paused, then turned to his right.
“Jin Xiang Shi,” he said, his voice cold and ethereal, his face hidden beneath the veiled hat, his figure faint as mist in the moonlight.
“Who… who are you?” Jin Xiang Shi’s face twitched violently. The mist and wind swirled around him, stinging his eyes. He raised his sleeve to shield his face.
“Ni Qinglan,” the icy voice replied.
Jin Xiang Shi’s eyes widened, his face paling further.
“You know me,” Xu He Xue said, although he couldn’t see, he heard the sharp intake of breath.
“No, I don’t know. I don’t know anything…” Jin Xiang Shi, his knees weak, instinctively backed away.
But the more he retreated, the more certain Xu He Xue became of his suspicions.
“Master Jin,” Xu He Xue said, his lifeless eyes hidden beneath the veil, “I’m a wandering spirit. I can’t enter the underworld until I remember how I died.”
Jin Xiang Shi watched as the ghostly figure dissolved into mist, then reappeared a few steps away. He tried to scream, but the mist tightened around his neck like a silken scarf.
He clutched his throat in terror, hearing the cold, calm voice again. “What do you know, Master Jin? Tell me the truth.”
A faint, shimmering light emanated from the white figure.
Ni Su, watching from outside the window, knew Xu He Xue was using his powers. Concerned, and seeing Jin Xiang Shi trembling like a leaf, she called out, “Master Jin, tell him! Do you want to end up like us?”
The sudden female voice startled Jin Xiang Shi. He looked around frantically, but saw no one. The mist thickened, and his lips trembled. “Who… who are you?”
“I’m the female ghost who drowned in the dry well, Master Jin. Do you want to come play with me in the well?” Ni Su said, drawing out her words.
“Ah!” Jin Xiang Shi scrambled backwards, kowtowing frantically. “I didn’t harm you, Scholar Ni! I wasn’t the only one transcribing the papers!”
“Then why have you been feigning illness since returning from Wanning?” Xu He Xue asked.
“I… I did see Scholar Ni’s paper. The essay was so well-written, and the calligraphy was excellent, so I remembered it. After transcribing it, I handed it to someone else and didn’t think about it again. But later, a colleague who was supposed to submit all the anonymized papers had an upset stomach and asked me to submit them on his behalf…” Jin Xiang Shi, his face and back drenched in sweat, didn’t dare look up. “I have a good memory. On the way to submit the papers, I glanced through them and saw that essay again. But the handwriting… it wasn’t the one I had transcribed!”
Jin Xiang Shi had been suspicious but hadn’t said anything. After being transferred to the Hanlin Painting Academy, he had put the matter aside and gone to Wanning to create maps.
But upon returning, he had heard about the discovery of Ni Qinglan’s body in the mud Buddha statue and that the Yin Ye Si had visited the Imperial College. Fearing for his safety, he had requested leave from the Emperor, who was pleased with the maps he had created.
He had confined himself to his residence these past few days, afraid of being questioned by the Yin Ye Si and implicated in the case.
He had intended to take this secret to his grave.
Drip. Drip.
Jin Xiang Shi felt cold, wet drops falling on his head, trickling down his forehead and nose, until they landed on the ground. He saw that they were drops of blood.
The blood turned into shimmering dust, floating and dissipating before his eyes.
Jin Xiang Shi’s mind snapped, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
The moon was bright, the wind gentle, the alley quiet.
“Didn’t I tell you? Don’t use your powers. Just standing there is enough to scare him,” Ni Su said, slowly leading Xu He Xue by his sleeve.
Xu He Xue didn’t reply at first, simply following her. But then, remembering her imitation of a female ghost at the Jin residence, he said, “He’s probably more afraid of you.”
Ni Su felt slightly embarrassed. “You’re too polite. You’re not scary at all. I was just trying to get him to tell the truth quickly.”
He was the ghost, after all.
“Your brother’s examination paper was probably switched,” Xu He Xue said.
At the mention of her brother, Ni Su lowered her eyes and nodded slightly. “Mmm. But he might not tell the Yin Ye Si, even though he’s afraid of ghosts.”
“Didn’t you leave a note?” Xu He Xue asked, the cold moonlight illuminating his pale profile. “If Jin Xiang Shi is afraid of being haunted, he’ll confess to the Yin Ye Si.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Ni Su stumble and quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.
Ni Su bumped into his chest.
The scent of spring flowers mingled with the chill of snow.
Her warmth made Xu He Xue seem even colder, like a perpetual winter. He clearly rejected her warmth, the close proximity.
But Xu He Xue merely blinked, like a snowman, motionless. He didn’t dare release her hand, only lifting his chin, which her hair had brushed against, and calling her name. “Ni Su?”
“Mmm,” Ni Su replied, sweat beading on her temples. She shook her head. “I’m fine. I just bumped my injured leg when I climbed through the window.”
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