tailleur

Chapitre 26

It seems I'll be spending every night in darkness.

"Then! Could you give me a few sets of clothes to change into?" I made another request.

Wang Ma glanced at me, seemingly smelling something on me, and said coldly, "I need to ask the master!" With that, she left, leaving behind the plate of cold pig feed.

I slumped helplessly onto the edge of the bed. How long would I have to endure this prison-like existence? Were Wei Quan's two ex-wives also locked in the same room as me? I felt boundless panic and despair.

Night slowly fell, and I got up from the window, the only view I could see outside. In my days of freedom, I had never been so focused on the trees and plants of Black Town; now, I gazed at everything outside with an almost greedy intensity. I watched the scenery outside the window gradually fade into darkness until it disappeared from sight, before I stood up.

In the darkness, I climbed onto the rock-hard bed, hugged a thin quilt, stared wide-eyed at the dark, heavy beams, and let my mind wander until I finally closed my eyes in extreme exhaustion and drifted off to sleep.

Fang Jian was filled with all sorts of doubts and unease, but he was drawn in by the story of the woman on TV and couldn't help but listen on.

The crying grew fainter and clearer, and I felt increasingly terrified, but I still slowly walked into the courtyard. Suddenly, a strange, cold wind blew by, and my heart tightened. A chill ran from the back of my head to my spine. My steps became unsteady, and my right foot suddenly kicked a wooden plank on the ground. It was a discarded plaque, and by the moonlight, I could see three characters on it—'Listening to the Rain Pavilion'.

Suddenly, whether it was an illusion or a hallucination, a shadow flashed in my vision. When I hurriedly looked around again, there was nothing there, only one or two withered branches trembling in the cold wind.

The terrifying, mournful sound vanished abruptly, leaving behind a deathly silence that sent chills down my spine. I turned around, only to be met with an utterly horrifying scene.

A face, neither human nor inhuman, loomed directly in front of Ji Xue. To be precise, it was merely a face. The features were still there, but their positions seemed to have been shifted, hanging incompletely on this face that looked as if it had been boiled in water. The owner of this extremely eerie face stared intently at me, the uninvited guest, with his single eye, now perched precariously on the face. The scene was like a vengeful ghost, fried in oil in hell, suddenly emerging silently from the ground, spying on my every move.

I didn't even have the strength to scream. Everything went black, and my body slid limply down...

When I woke up, I found myself lying on that cold bed in my upstairs bedroom again. What was going on? It was already bright outside, and the sunlight streaming through the paper windows onto the floor of the room made me feel warm, as if what I had witnessed last night was just a nightmare.

I didn't know how to answer her. Who was she? Why did she call Wei Quan by his name?

"Hmph! I knew he would sneak a peek at you!" The woman's tone was very domineering. I was a little confused. Who was she to Wei Quan?

"Let me tell you! I am Wei Quan's legal wife!" The woman suddenly said something that shocked me. Didn't Wei Quan's legal wife die in the capital a few years ago? Who exactly is this woman in front of me?

I remained silent, which seemed to annoy her. She stared at me coldly in the darkness for a moment, then turned and left, but left the door open. Just as I was wondering what was going on, another person walked in.

This person was clearly not the woman who had just claimed to be Mrs. Wei Quan. Judging from his figure, he didn't look like a human being at all. His back was severely hunched, and his whole body was bent, as if he had been twisted.

He slowly walked towards my bedside, and I suddenly felt a huge panic. I tried to jump out of bed, but he held me down firmly. I smelled an unpleasant tobacco odor on him—he was a man!

I panicked and screamed. My gut told me what this man wanted to do to me! I struggled, but he was incredibly strong and quickly pinned me to the bed. Suddenly, I saw his face clearly!

I almost fainted. This person's face was the same terrifying face I had seen that night in that abandoned courtyard when I thought I was having a nightmare—a face that was as frightening as a ghost!

In a fit of extreme panic, I screamed at the top of my lungs, but it seemed to be no use. I was hurt! I was deeply hurt by that ghost-like man.

I lay on the floor, my body aching all over. My face was swollen and painful from his violent blows. But the greater pain was in my heart—I had been violated by a man who wasn't my husband! My clothes were torn to shreds, and the blood that flowed out soaked through my skirt.

That beastly man finally left, and I collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably. A strange fragrance wafted in again; the woman had returned.

I looked up in utter shock at the woman walking towards me. It was her! She was the one who ordered that beast to assault me! This woman with eagle-like eyes was the one who utterly destroyed me!

When the woman saw my appearance, she suddenly laughed, her voice filled with immense satisfaction: "Hahaha... I'll see how Wei Quan will protect you now!"

I felt a tremendous fear; this woman wasn't human, she was a monster! My intuition told me that she was still going to inflict even more harm on me!

The woman left, and I was on the verge of a breakdown. I didn't know what the point of living was anymore. So I searched the room for anything that could help me escape, but unfortunately, there was nothing in the room that could take me out of this terrifying place.

So, I thought of another way to get out of this mess as soon as possible: I started a hunger strike! From the day I was raped, I stopped eating a single grain of rice, wanting to die as soon as possible.

However, this plan was ruined by Wang Ma. After I had not eaten for two consecutive days, she and the male servant forced me to drink thick rice porridge, which actually kept me alive.

I tried biting my tongue, but the intense pain upon touching the tip made me give up. Then I thought of hanging myself from the rafters with a bedsheet. But after finally managing to hang the sheet, I suddenly thought of my father and mother, and tears streamed down my face, my heart filled with longing for them.

No! I told myself, I can't leave this world so easily. I have to live, for my parents, I must live, I have to fight that woman to the very end!

And so, after regaining my will to live, I began living like a prisoner again.

I don't know how many days have passed; I only remember that my hair and nails have grown very, very long. My hair could drag on the ground, and my nails had become crooked and wavy. The weather outside had turned into deep winter, and the dense forest had turned a withered yellow. I still sit blankly by the window every day. I haven't dared to look in the mirror for a long time; I know I would be terrified by the woman I see in it.

One morning, Wang Ma unlocked the iron lock and entered my room. After staring at me with a surprised look for a moment, she ran out in a panic. I was extremely puzzled as to why she was so nervous when she saw me, and why there was even a sense of fear in her eyes.

I chuckled a few times and took out the dusty box from under the table. I was a little hesitant, but I still turned on the mirror.

I couldn't contain my emotions and screamed loudly. A monster appeared in the mirror!

The monster had a face full of deep wrinkles, its sallow complexion devoid of any color, and its eyes sunken into their sockets, making it look like an ancient monster that was hundreds of years old! But what was most terrifying was that the monster's eyebrows and hair had all turned white!

Looking at the monster reflected in the mirror, I recalled Wang Ma's actions earlier and suddenly thought of a way to escape this hell! Pretend to be crazy!

Yes! I can pretend to be crazy to lower Wang Ma's guard!

So I started screaming loudly, knowing that my screams would surely be heard by the people living in the next yard.

Then, I deliberately took out the clothes I wore when I got married, sat in front of the mirror, and used the various decorations my mother had prepared for me to properly decorate my full head of white hair. Then, I started singing in the room!

It seemed that Wang Ma had brought someone with her, and they were watching me from behind the window. I started singing our family's unique local opera with a big smile on my face. The fluctuating volume of my voice and my actions must have surprised the person outside the window.

Sure enough, I overheard Wang Ma and that person talking in hushed tones.

"She's really resilient! She only went crazy today!" I recognized the voice; it was that woman!

"Your Highness! What do we do now?" came the voice of Wang Ma.

I was taken aback. What did Wang Ma call her? Your Highness?

"Observe her for a few days and see if she really has gone mad!" The woman said before leaving.

I was somewhat pleased that they were at least starting to believe I was acting strangely, so I worked even harder every day to make weird noises in the room so they would believe me.

Wei Quan also came to see me once. When he saw me, he couldn't help but burst into tears, but he was immediately pulled away by the male servant with a nervous expression. It seemed that they were quite wary of that woman.

Several more days passed, and Wang Ma still seemed very worried about me, not letting her guard down at all. I had no choice but to continue pretending to be crazy.

That night, I slept soundly. Because I had performed so energetically during the day, I fell asleep quickly as soon as it got dark. I don't know how long I slept, but I was suddenly awakened by a crying sound. I opened my eyes abruptly—there was someone in the room!

The person was standing by the window, motionless, but emitting mournful sobs. It was a woman! Judging from her voice, she wasn't any of the women I'd seen here before. Who was she?

I was so startled that I sat up abruptly in bed. The woman was still standing quietly by the window. The light from outside shone through the window, casting her silhouette, like a character in a shadow play.

She was still sobbing intermittently, and I stammered, "Who...who are you?"

She didn't answer me.

I jumped out of bed and slowly made my way along the wall towards the door. She remained motionless, still standing there sobbing softly.

I think if she came in through the door, then the door must be unlocked at that moment, because I didn't hear any other person making any noise outside the door.

Suppressing my immense fear, I slowly approached the door. Suddenly, I lunged at the door and yanked it open. But the door was held shut by a force from the outside, and the sound of an iron lock clicking echoed clearly in the still of the night.

I was so scared I almost fainted. How did that woman by the window get in? If she didn't come in through the door, was she a human or a ghost?

My whole body went limp, and I felt like I couldn't move anymore. I collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

Suddenly, the woman by the window moved slightly, then slowly moved towards where I had fallen. Her movements were very strange; unlike ordinary people who walk step by step, I couldn't quite put my finger on it, only that she seemed to move horizontally. A word suddenly came to mind to describe her movement—'floating'. She seemed to be floating towards me.

I was stunned. Last night's scene was orchestrated by this woman to test me! I panicked, wondering how this woman was going to deal with me.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I suddenly rushed towards her, and the anger that had been suppressed in my heart for days finally exploded. I frantically tore at the extremely abnormal woman in front of me.

She was terrified and cried out. Two tall male servants rushed in and forcefully pulled me away from her. She retreated in fear.

"I'm going to kill you!" I shouted at the door. My expression made Wang Ma hesitate and run out.

"Ah! Ah!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. There was no one outside the door. My scream turned into sobs. I released all the horrors I had suffered during this time.

Suddenly, there was a 'click' sound on the table by the window. I looked up with tears streaming down my face and saw the box my father had given me on the table.

I tremblingly touched the mottled copper spots on the mirror surface, gazing at the white-haired, ghost-like face reflected in the mirror, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in my heart.

On his last night, my father said something to me that I couldn't understand: "Xiaoxue! You must remember! If anything unforeseen happens to you, be sure to open this mirror. This mirror will bring you relief!"

I didn't understand what my father meant by those words, but this was the moment I needed to escape; I couldn't stay in this hellish room any longer. I started looking for any possible switch on the bronze mirror. But it seemed no different from an ordinary mirror. After fiddling with it for most of the night, I was about to give up.

Outside the window, all was quiet, without a sound. Only a sliver of soft moonlight shone through the window I had torn open, spilling onto the mirror and reflecting a ray of light onto the opposite wall.

A line of blood-red text suddenly appeared on the opposite wall. The text was crooked and looked very strange. Ordinary people could not understand it at all, but I could. It was the unique script of our family. Only our secret family could read this text. This text was a curse that our secret family had used for thousands of years to punish evil people!

I suddenly laughed, because there's a legend in my family that says anyone who does evil will be punished under a unique curse. This curse is hidden in a very secret place within the family, a place that has been sought for thousands of years, but no one except the family's heirs knows about it. Now I know, the curse is hidden in this ordinary mirror!

It took me a long time to decipher the meaning of that text. It read: "Let sinners fall into hell with blood!"

Fang Jian suddenly couldn't breathe. The line of text they had been studying was actually a spell!

The woman's voice was calm and slow, as if she were telling a story: "I don't know what to do. The phrase 'use blood to send sinners to hell' confuses me. Whose blood? The sinners' blood, or my own?"

Just as I was racking my brains trying to figure it out, the mirror on the table suddenly made a slight sound. When I looked, I saw that the mirror had somehow cracked!

What on earth happened? Why did the mirror suddenly crack? Before I could react, two more cracks appeared on the mirror. With a 'crack', a piece of the broken mirror fell onto the table, and the mirror immediately returned to its calm state, ceasing to crack.

Ji Xue, that sounds so familiar, but then I remembered—that was my name before I got married! Did I commit suicide? No, I'm floating perfectly fine! But then I suddenly realized I'm free now. I can fly anywhere. I don't care if I'm dead or not. I like being like this!

Sure enough, a glint of surprise flashed in the white-clad woman's hawk-like eyes. She quickly followed Wang Ma to the room where I had been imprisoned. I followed her, and I saw a pool of blood on the floor. A body lay motionless in the blood, its clothes stained crimson, and its white hair turned red—it was an indescribably eerie sight.

I heard the woman in white scream; she seemed somewhat annoyed: "How could she be dead? I'm not done yet!"

I stared silently at the body beneath my feet. That was me; in their eyes, I was already dead. But in reality, I had been transformed into this state by the mirror of our family, so I didn't believe that was truly me!

I looked at the mirror on the table, and it was completely intact, except that it was covered in my blood. Was the curse meant to turn me into this?

I heard Wang Ma ask tremblingly, "Your Highness! What should I do with her...?"

The woman said coldly, "Hmph! She got off easy! Go and fetch Wei Quan! I need to make him go find his fourth wife!"

I was shocked. What did this mean? I decided to use my invisible body to find out what had happened!

Wei Quan rushed back from outside, and I followed him into the woman's room.

"Ji Xue is dead?" Wei Quan asked in a mixture of shock and anger.

The woman glanced at him with her hawk-like eyes and replied coldly, "Yes! So what?"

"Why did you do this? Why did you torture them like that?" A glistening tear appeared in Wei Quan's eyes.

Them? Could there be others?

The woman glared at Wei Quan and said fiercely, "That's not enough! You still have to marry a fourth wife! I don't think your punishment is enough!"

"If you feel I've wronged you, then have the Emperor sentence me to death. Why be so cruel to those innocent girls?"

"Hahaha... These girls all died because of you. I'll make your conscience suffer. Who told you to marry that slut instead of me!"

"You're not allowed to talk about her like that! She's the woman I love most! She's my wife!" Wei Quan roared angrily.

"What? You dare call her your wife? And say she's the one you love most? You...you..." The woman clearly didn't believe what Wei Quan was saying, and was so angry that she couldn't speak for a moment.

"What about me? What about me? If it weren't for you, this arrogant, despicable woman, stirring up trouble in front of the late emperor, why would I have married you? You heartless woman!" Wei Quan was furious and started cursing.

"Hahaha! I, Wei Quan, no longer care about life and death. Do whatever you want with me!" Wei Quan closed his eyes.

The woman suddenly lowered her arm and sneered, "Fine! You don't care about your own life, but do you care about the lives of your hundreds of family members too? Have you forgotten how your old father knelt on the ground begging the Emperor?"