Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan

Chapitre 48

The old woman sighed: "How can you say it's a desolate place? There were quite a few people living in Sanshuipu eight or nine years ago, but they all moved away later."

Why did you move?

"Ten years ago, there was a plague here. After that, people gradually left."

Ning Jin frowned and pondered carefully, then looked at Wu Zichu with a puzzled expression: "Ten years ago? I haven't heard of any plague outbreak in Jiangnan. Zichu, do you remember?"

Wu Zichu shook his head.

"Alas... the officials burned people to death, but outsiders will never know."

"Burned to death?" Everyone was shocked at the same time.

"The dead, the sick but not yet dead, and even a lively little girl were all locked in a house halfway up the mountain, and then burned to the ground." The old woman's voice was hoarse, and the sound of the wind and rain outside the window sent chills down one's spine.

Mo Yan was timid by nature, and couldn't help but clutch Zhan Zhao's sleeve tightly, yet she still tilted her head and asked, "Why are even children being burned to death?"

"That's a long story."

"If you don't mind our presumption, why don't you tell us?" Wu Zichu asked on his behalf, knowing that Ning Jin must be very curious.

The old woman sighed deeply, her blind eyes staring blankly at the fire, as if recalling events from years past. After a long while, she slowly said, "Let's start with that little girl..."

"Her father was originally a fisherman from Sanshuipu. Her mother's belly was big when she was pregnant, and everyone said it was likely twins. She had a difficult childbirth, and the family was poor and couldn't afford a midwife from town. At that time, my old wife's eyesight was still good, so her father asked me to help her mother give birth. When I went in, I was shocked. Blood was everywhere, and her mother was screaming on the bed. The baby's head was only half out. I knew I couldn't handle it and was afraid someone would die, so I quickly asked her father to go and get a midwife. It was more than ten miles to get to town and back. By the time her father brought the midwife back, her mother was also on the verge of death."

"Her mother gave birth to the baby with her last breath, and then her body went cold. The children were indeed twins, but the boy only lived for half a day before dying without a sound, leaving only the girl. Everyone in the village said that this girl was a jinx, that she had killed her mother and then her brother. Her father didn't like her either, and he beat and scolded her all the time. I remember when the girl was only about five years old, her father kicked her so hard that her head hit the millstone," the old woman touched her temple, "right there, and she bled a lot, but her father didn't care. It was my wife who couldn't bear to see it and applied medicine for her."

"Then people started getting sick, one after another. Somehow, some people started blaming the girl, saying she was cursed to kill her family. Then they started harming the people in the shop. That day, a lot of officials suddenly came to the shop, took the sick people to the house halfway up the mountain, and carried in the people who had died. Finally, they locked the girl in too. And then they set it on fire, burning everyone to death."

Everyone was shocked. Bai Yingyu asked tremblingly, "Then doesn't her father care about her?"

“How could we not care? But it was the officials’ business, and we couldn’t stop them.” The old woman’s voice trembled slightly, as if the scene from that year was right before her eyes. “The little girl was desperately screaming, ‘Father, save me! Father, save me!…’ Her voice was hoarse from screaming. Although her father didn’t like her usually, he was still his own daughter. He grabbed a spear and rushed up the mountain, but the officials broke his leg and he rolled down the mountain.”

Zhan Zhao was furious at the existence of such an official. He then noticed that his shoulder was slightly damp. Turning around, he saw Mo Yan, heartbroken, burying her face in his shoulder and shedding large tears.

"What kind of government is this!" Ning Jin exclaimed angrily. Wu Zichu patted him on the shoulder and urged him to listen.

"Later, the government posted a notice saying that the girl was a jinx reincarnated, causing trouble for the world. She was the one who brought the plague to Sanshuipu. Burning her to death was an act of God's justice. Then they sealed off the three springs in Sanshuipu, saying that the girl had cursed the water and that it should not be drunk anymore." The old woman's voice lowered. "Although the disease was stopped, the people in the shop gradually left."

"What about her father? Did he leave too?" Mo Yan asked in a muffled voice.

"Her father had a broken leg, but he still insisted on going fishing. In the end, he only found the boat, but he was gone."

Chapter Thirty-Seven

After they finished speaking, everyone fell silent, only the sound of the wind and rain outside adding to the desolate atmosphere. Bai Yingyu, who had felt pitiful herself, now realized that the little girl was a hundred times more miserable than she was, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

"Who was the county magistrate back then?" Ning Jin asked through gritted teeth.

"He was a gentleman surnamed Bai, but I, this old woman, can't remember his real name."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yingyu's body suddenly trembled: "Is this part of Yangzhou?"

"yes."

Her face immediately turned extremely pale.

Zhan Zhao suddenly remembered that Bao Zheng had shown him some basic information about Bai Baozhen, and he vaguely remembered that Bai Baozhen had served as a county magistrate in Yangzhou for three years.

"Is the magistrate Bai Baozhen?" he asked.

"Bai Baozhen..." the old woman murmured several times, "Yes, yes, that's Bai Baozhen, Master Bai."

Instantly, several pairs of eyes fixed on Bai Yingyu, almost seeing right through her.

Wu Zichu shook his head and sighed, "What a coincidence!"

"No wonder I have a headache, it must be the work of a vengeful spirit." Mo Yan suddenly realized.

Zhan Zhao gently stopped her: "Don't talk nonsense."

Mo Yan shrank behind him, whispered in his ear, "I'm not talking nonsense. Think about it, so many people were burned alive, this place must be filled with resentment and haunted by wandering spirits..." At this moment, the room was unusually quiet. Apart from the occasional crackling sound from the brazier, you could only hear her speaking softly. No matter how low her voice was, it was clearly heard by everyone.

Bai Yingyu's face grew increasingly pale.

Just then, heavy footsteps sounded outside, followed by someone banging on the flimsy wooden door...

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

"They're here! They're here! It must be those wronged souls, what should we do?..." Mo Yan was so frightened that she grabbed Zhan Zhao's hand, buried her head deep, and closed her eyes tightly.

He could even feel the cold sweat on her hands.

She was genuinely scared!

"Don't be afraid, young lady, it's probably my old man who's back." The old woman got up shakily to open the door.

The door opened, and an old man in a raincoat, covered in raindrops, came in. He was stunned when he saw the room full of people. The old woman explained to him, and he finally understood.

Ning Jin looked at Mo Yan with a hint of disdain: "You have quite the nerve..." His words trailed off when he saw the pink light in her eyes soften slightly. He had never seen this girl like this before, and he was momentarily stunned, not knowing what to do.

Mo Yan naturally knew that Ning Jin was making fun of her, but with a splitting headache, she really had no mind to pay attention to him and just stared blankly at the fire.

Beside her, Zhan Zhao was also lost in thought, pondering the old woman's words: Leaving aside supernatural explanations, the plague ten years ago was most likely caused by those three springs, something Bai Baozhen clearly knew, otherwise he wouldn't have ordered them sealed off. It was just that the exact reason why the springs caused harm, leading to the tragic deaths of so many innocent people, remained a mystery after so many years.

After a while, not hearing Mo Yan speak, Zhan Zhao turned his head and saw that she was breathing lightly, and had unknowingly fallen into a deep sleep on his shoulder. The warm firelight reflected on her face, her brows were furrowed, and there were still tear tracks at the corners of her eyes, which made people feel sorry for her. They wanted to move her to the side, but they couldn't bear to.

Seeing that the thatched hut only had two rooms, Wu Zichu figured the old couple would be resting in the inner room, and that they would have to make do on the ground that night. Since Ning Jin was of noble status, he thought he should find some soft items for Ning Jin to use as a pillow. He carefully rummaged through his belongings and found one of his own lined robes, intending to place it under Ning Jin to keep him warm.