Anti-Bone Scarlet Song

Chapitre 22

Chu Xia nodded, but then saw Zhu Que point at her with her slender finger and say, "Chu Xia, you just applied medicine to your cheek, so you can't be exposed to the wind." After saying that, she led a horse over and said to Qinglong, "Little Qinglong, ride a horse with your sister."

Before Qinglong could answer, the young master came out of the courtyard. He had changed back into his white robe, and his black hair was loosely tied up with a jade hairpin. He casually called out, "Chuxia, come here."

A guard drove up in a carriage. Chu Xia frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Young master, where is your Lightning?"

The young master narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly: "What?"

Chu Xia said somewhat awkwardly, "I want to ride a horse."

The young master didn't even glance at her again. Before turning to get into the carriage, he casually tossed out a sentence: "Get in."

Knowing the young master as she did, Chu Xia could tell from his tone that he was at least... displeased. Borrowing his beloved horse was out of the question; she'd better just accept her fate. Chu Xia sighed, glancing enviously at Qinglong. She saw the young man in a blue robe, sitting upright on his horse, his posture ramrod straight—truly embodying the phrase "a dashing figure in blue robes, wielding a sword."

Qinglong looked at her sympathetically and couldn't help but whisper, "If you feel stuffy in there, just call me and we can switch."

Chu Xia readily agreed, but then Bai Xue said with a half-smile, "Qinglong, are you out of your mind? Is it really that funny for two grown men to squeeze into a carriage?"

Qinglong looked back at Baixue with a "good man doesn't fight with a woman" look, and finally sullenly spurred his horse forward.

Chu Xia climbed into the carriage, looked him up and down, and saw that the young master was leaning against the wall reading a book, so she chose a corner to sit down. She knew that the young master didn't like being disturbed when he was reading, so she lifted a corner of the curtain and silently looked outside.

On a bright spring day, with willow catkins fluttering in the air, Chu Xia watched for a while before suddenly asking, "Young master, have you ever been to Jiangnan?"

The young master hummed in agreement.

"Isn't spring in Jiangnan the most beautiful?" Chu Xia asked wistfully. "Flowers bloom along the paths, one can slowly return home. It's a place where even letters home are written so beautifully."

The young master smiled slightly and said, "Next time, you will come with me to Jiangnan."

Chu Xia casually asked, "When is the next time?"

The young master put down the book in his hand, thought carefully, and said, "Then let's change our route and go to Jiangnan Prefecture."

Chu Xia stared blankly at him, a gust of willow catkins flew by, and she suddenly sneezed.

The young master looked at her slightly red nose, his smile softened, and he reached out his hand, saying, "Come here."

Chu Xia sat down beside him and heard the young master say with a faint smile, "I know what you're thinking."

"What?"

"What else could you be thinking about? It must be that precious indenture." The young master stroked her hair and sighed. "You'd rather go back to the manor immediately than delay any longer, right?"

Chu Xia smiled awkwardly. She sat with her knees drawn up on a white soft blanket. The carriage swayed back and forth, and the atmosphere inside made her feel inexplicably at ease, so she became drowsy.

The young master's voice was gentle as water. He stroked her shoulder and said softly, "Sleep."

She obediently closed her eyes.

The young master gently lifted her head, placing it comfortably on his lap. He ran one hand through her hair, stroking her shoulder, while his other hand remained holding the scroll. Suddenly, the curtain rustled, and a young face burst in, shouting, "Chu Xia—"

The young master gave Qinglong a light, almost imperceptible, glance, which startled Qinglong, who quickly lowered the curtain. Chuxia, hearing only a faint, indistinct sound, asked, somewhat confused, "Is it... Qinglong?"

"No, you should sleep," the young master said calmly, casually draping his cloak over her. "When you wake up, we'll probably be in Cangzhou."

As expected, she slept on and off throughout the journey, sometimes even reading a few pages of a book for the young master. Perhaps because she remembered the young master's promise, Chu Xia did it willingly this time, and she had gotten used to resting her head on the young master's lap... Although every time she fell asleep, she would unconsciously lean against the young master, fortunately the young master did not mind.

And so, in mid-April, the group returned to the Cangzhou Jun Mansion.

Cang Qianlang led a group of people from the manor to wait at the gate. Chu Xia followed the young master as he jumped down from the carriage. When she saw the vermilion gate again, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Upon seeing the young master, Cang Qianlang asked anxiously, "Young master, are you injured?"

The young master did not answer, but pointed at Chu Xia and said, "Go and fetch this girl's indenture and take it to the study."

Chu Xia was overjoyed. She followed the young master to the study, and soon after, as expected, Cang Qianlang sent someone to deliver the contract. She took it and looked at it several times. Wasn't it the one she had signed herself? She smiled and said, "Thank you, young master." Without hesitation, she lit it by candlelight.

At this moment, a huge weight was lifted from her heart, and Chu Xia was almost in tears when she suddenly heard the young master say softly, "Girl, I've returned your indenture. Where would you like to live now?"

Yes, Linjiang Pavilion is no longer a viable place to live. Wangyunzhai? Uh… was she truly afraid of the Lady's ghost? Or perhaps the once-burned painting academy? But as soon as she closed her eyes, she remembered that severed half-human figure… Chuxia pondered for a long time, and in the vast Shu Garden, there wasn't a single place that made her feel at ease. She even wondered… if leaving Linjiang Pavilion, would she be plagued by nightmares again?

The young master, perhaps noticing her predicament, magnanimously nodded and said, "Would you still like to stay at Linjiang Pavilion?"

Chu Xia nodded hurriedly, about to speak, when she suddenly heard someone outside say with dissatisfaction, "Young master, why are you trying to drive Chu Xia away?"

Upon hearing the voice, it was Qinglong. The young man entered from outside and, seeing Chuxia, said, "I've heard about you. Chuxia, so you're engaged?"

Chu Xia nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Qinglong scratched his head and sighed, "What a pity. Chuxia, if you're not engaged, why don't you marry me?"

The young master slightly raised his eyes, but heard Chu Xia let out an "uh" and remain silent for a long time.

"I was just joking with you!" The boy laughed heartily. Perhaps... in his heart, he didn't yet know what marriage was.

Chu Xia felt a slight embarrassment and said softly, "But I'm already engaged."

Sunlight streamed in through the window, and Qinglong smiled. "That's why I said it's a pity—but don't worry, which family did you promise yourself to? I'll go and find out for you."

At the mention of this, Chu Xia became somewhat distressed. She shook her head and said, "I only have the address, but I can't find the person."

Qinglong patted his chest and said, "Leave it to me."

The young master listened to the two talking with a smile when suddenly a guard at the door said, "Young master, the head steward has invited a doctor."

The young master casually waved his hand, signaling the two to leave. After about half a cup of tea's time, the Vermilion Bird Envoy entered.

Bai Xue entered, but instead of taking his pulse, she lazily sat down in the armchair and asked, "Young Master, did you hear what Qinglong was saying to that girl?"

The young master pursed his lips and said, "What?"

"It seems they're talking about finding a place." Bai Xue raised an eyebrow, a hint of jealousy in her beautiful eyes. "Are you just going to let them mess around like this?"

The young master couldn't help but laugh: "Since you know they're just fooling around, why are you still interfering with these two children?"

Bai Xue raised her eyebrows slightly, as if thinking about something, but then smiled sweetly and said, "Yes, why should I care? The person I'm looking for is Chu Xia's fiancé anyway. If I find him, I can at least get a bowl of wedding wine, and I won't have to pretend to be injured all the way here..."

The young master raised his eyes slightly, glanced at Bai Xue, and remained calm.

But outside, a man and a woman were still having a lively discussion.

"Green Willow Lane, Big Locust Tree?"

"Yes, have you ever heard of this place name in Cangzhou?"

"……No."

"I knew it would be hard to find..."

“Then let’s go find the big locust tree in Cangzhou Prefecture and compare them one by one…” Qinglong paused, then said, “Or we can ask the young master for help. If he orders Xuanwu to go find it, it will be done in no time!”

Chu Xia's voice was somewhat hesitant: "...Should we look for it ourselves first?"

The sound gradually faded away, but the young master raised his eyes with great interest and repeated softly, "Green Willow Lane, Big Locust Tree."

Three days later, Qinglong excitedly found Chuxia and said, "Chuxia, I've made progress!"

The spring sunshine was languid, and it was afternoon. Early Summer, who had been feeling rather sleepy, suddenly brightened up: "You found it?"

"Although I haven't found it yet, it's pretty close," Qinglong said proudly. "I asked around and found out that Green Willow Lane is located in Bamboo Grove Lane, south of Cangzhou City."

Chu Xia frowned and said, "Where did you get this information? Before I entered the Jun residence, I searched the entire city of Cangzhou."

“You can’t just search randomly and ask around,” Qinglong said. “I spent two whole days searching the streets and alleys of Cangzhou, specifically asking the peddlers and laborers who walked through the alleys. That’s when I learned that more than ten years ago, Green Willow Alley was full of willow trees, but they were mysteriously burned down by a fire. The neighbors in the vicinity all thought the name was unlucky, so they stopped mentioning it. Now it’s called Bamboo Grove Alley.”

Chu Xia stood up from the stone bench and said with great joy, "Then let's go now."

Just as Qinglong was about to agree, his gaze slipped to behind Chuxia, and he respectfully called out, "Young Master."

Young Master Ye An looked at the two with his hands behind his back, and asked with interest, "Where are you going?"

On this beautiful day, she wore a pale yellow high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her hair loosely tied up, truly a picture of exquisite beauty. She glanced at the young master, pursed her lips, and then awkwardly looked away.

“Let’s go find Chu Xia’s husband’s family,” Qinglong said immediately.

The young master, however, remained nonchalantly smiling: "Chu Xia is, after all, a maid from the Jun family. Don't mistake her for someone else."

Qinglong scratched his head and suddenly suggested, "Young Master, are you going or not?"

The young master seemed to think for a moment, then nodded and said, "Very well, the weather is so nice today, and we have nothing else to do anyway."

Only Chu Xia remained, standing at the back, her heart filled with distress... This was supposed to be her life's most important event, how could it have turned into a spring outing?

Bamboo Grove Alley wasn't hard to find. When the three of them arrived at the alley entrance, they saw a small alleyway with many people gathered around, discussing in twos and threes, as if something big had happened.

Qinglong then squeezed into the crowd to ask what had happened.

The young master stood at a distance with Chu Xia, his phoenix eyes slightly raised: "Nervous?"

Early summer shook her head.

"So excited?"

His tone was quite flat, but Chu Xia suddenly felt a little angry, so she nodded emphatically: "Mm!"

The young master saw her slightly pouting lips and couldn't help but smile. He was about to tease her a few more times when he saw Qinglong hurriedly return with a gloomy expression.

“Young Master…something is a bit strange.” He glanced at Chu Xia, then hesitated for a moment.

People walked by, and their whispers drifted into my ears.

"How pitiful, this is the third one..."

"Who can argue with that? Who on earth did this?"

"Seek revenge..."

"What's going on?" The young master looked at the Azure Dragon.

“This is the third young woman to die in this bamboo grove,” Qinglong said in a deep voice. “Her death… is exactly the same as that of Lady Wangyun.”

Chapter Twenty-Two (Part 1)

Two coroners carried a rattan stretcher out from the crowd. The crowd parted to reveal a white cloth covering the body, obscuring its shape, with only a pale foot slightly visible, leaning to one side.

Chu Xia's face turned pale, and she unconsciously hid behind the young master, as if the corpse would immediately jump out and bite her.

The young master turned to look at Chu Xia, a hint of warmth in his eyes: "It seems we can't go to the bamboo grove today. Let's come another day."

Chu Xia nodded silently, feeling her fingertips were icy cold... The tragic scene of Lady Wangyun was still vivid in her mind. She had always thought that after He Bucuo died, it would all be over—but Qinglong said that someone else had died like this!

A slight warmth spread through her knuckles, followed by a gentle force. The young master pulled her aside, avoiding a hurried pedestrian, and said, "Be careful walking."

Chu Xia let out an "oh," her fingertips curling up, seemingly without being there, yet hooking onto the young master's fingers.