В эпоху династии Сун вдовам было легко выйти замуж

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Mei Ling parked the car and went through a door nearby. Scottie judged the distance between the two cars and deliberately chose a relatively far spot to park. Habitually, he first looked around; it was dark and somewhat shabby. Scottie frowned; clearly, this wasn't a high-end place.

Pushing open the door, he found himself in a dark corridor. Scotty moved quietly, carefully making his way to a large door at the other end of the corridor. Through the door, he could faintly hear voices and music coming from inside. The experienced Scotty didn't immediately push the door open; who would know what awaited him inside?

The door was pushed open a crack, and Mei Ling stood gracefully not far from the doorway. She spoke to the shop assistant about something, and soon the shop assistant handed her a bouquet of pink roses.

Through the crack in the door, Scotty watched Mei Ling's every move.

five

The real journey had just begun. Scotty finally understood why Mei Ling's odometer showed 94 kilometers. The car had already driven into the suburbs of San Francisco, and Mei Ling clearly had no intention of stopping immediately.

Fortunately, Mei Ling seemed to sense that Scotty's patience was wavering, and she finally stopped the car in front of a church. She walked through the church's high hall and out through a small side door; clearly, this wasn't her first time here.

Like all churches, this place is also the final resting place for many believers from this parish. Scotty stood in the shade of a tree near the entrance, watching Mei Ling's retreating figure from afar.

A somewhat old tombstone stood before Mei Ling. Sunlight, filtered through the tall leaves, fell on her, and Scottie could sense the sorrow on her gentle face, as if she were mourning something deep within her heart. Mei Ling stood there, her gaze fixed on the tombstone.

The wind rustled the leaves, a sound that reminded Scotty of the passage of time. In the quiet cemetery, the two stood there, a distance between them.

After an unknown amount of time, Mei Ling finally turned around and walked towards the gate where Scotty was. Scotty took a few steps back, hiding himself in the shadows of the trees and buildings. Watching Mei Ling's departing figure, Scotty quickly walked to the spot where Mei Ling had just stood.

The tombstone reads: "The Tomb of Calado Watt".

Scotty couldn't immediately figure out what kind of connection this person had with Mei Ling, so he took out a pen and paper and carefully wrote it down.

This seemed to be the place Mei Ling visited every day. Not too far away, Mei Ling's car stopped again. This time, the destination was the Honor Museum.

Mei Ling sat opposite an oil painting, just as she had done at the cemetery. She gazed at the portrait in silence, her deep eyes seeming to penetrate the painting, or perhaps she was reminiscing about something.

Scotty watched from afar, but he soon realized that Mei Ling truly seemed to be as Gavin had described—her eyes were vacant, and her soul seemed to have wandered off to somewhere else. "I called her, but she couldn't even hear me..." Gavin's words echoed in Scotty's ears again. Scotty decided to risk testing her.

He pretended to admire the painting on the wall and slowly walked towards Mei Ling. However, even when he was right behind her, Mei Ling seemed completely unaware and showed no reaction whatsoever. Standing behind Mei Ling, Scotty could now carefully appreciate the oil painting opposite him.

The woman in the painting is very young, about the same age as Mei Ling, and looks like a noblewoman from the last century. The dazzling ruby necklace on her chest shows unusual wealth and nobility.

Scotty's eyes were unfathomable, as always, indicating that he was deep in thought. Yes, he was trying to find some connection between Mei Ling and the noblewoman in the painting. Moreover, his gaze slowly paused, revealing something more complex and profound.

The noblewoman in the painting has the same tightly closed and slightly stiff lips as Mei Ling, the same indifferent beauty, and the same hairstyle. What surprised Scotty even more was that the noblewoman was holding pink roses, and even the way she was bandaged was exactly the same as the ones Mei Ling was holding.

Scotty suddenly felt dizzy. He touched his forehead, calmed his somewhat out-of-control emotions, and slowly walked to the entrance of the art museum.

The administrator's answer seemed to give Scotty a vague clue; the oil painting that Mei Ling had been gazing at for a long time was called "Portrait of Carado".

Clearly, this wasn't the end of Mei Ling's tour. After leaving the Hall of Fame, she continued driving forward. As the car sped along, Scottie felt somewhat tired. He frowned, his inquiring gaze lingering on Mei Ling's retreating figure.

Mei Ling parked the car in front of an old building. Scottie didn't follow immediately; he leaned back in his seat, his mind filled with a huge question. Mei Ling's beautiful figure appeared at the leftmost window on the second floor. She opened the window, took off her coat, and took a deep breath at the view outside. Her originally indifferent face was replaced by a warm and gentle expression.

(2)

Only after Mei Ling's figure disappeared from the window did Scotty enter the building. He pushed open the heavy door, and before him appeared a dark, steep staircase with an old-fashioned handrail winding upwards. The ceiling was low, the light was dim, and there was a musty smell. Especially the crystal chandelier in the center of the room, which was clearly from the last century. Scotty looked around as he walked up the stairs.

"What do you need?" A somewhat aged voice came from behind the counter in the corner of the room. She had probably been sitting behind the counter, so Scotty hadn't noticed her. Looking in the direction of the voice, Scotty saw a cabinet behind the counter where the hotel kept room keys and messages. He immediately realized this was a hotel.

"Are you the owner of this hotel?" Scottie first wanted to confirm his judgment.

"Yes." Behind the counter was a kind and amiable elderly woman, but at this moment, a clear sense of wariness flickered in her eyes.

"Please tell me who lives in the room on the left corner of the second floor?"

“That corner…” the old woman thought for a moment, “I’m afraid we can’t provide that kind of information.”

Our guests have a right to privacy, and I believe this violates the law. Of course, I don't think they'll mind if…

Scotty didn't want to explain too much here, besides, he didn't know how to describe the situation, which was confusing even to himself. Fortunately, he still had his detective badge and hadn't turned it in; in this situation, doing so was undoubtedly the most convenient option.

After seeing Scotty's identification, the old woman's expression immediately changed. She sighed dramatically, her face showing regret.

"Oh my god, what did she do wrong?"

"What's her last name?" Scottie asked, adopting the tone of a detective investigating a case.

"Watt, Miss Watt, Spanish surname."

"Calado Watt".

"Yes."

Scotty was furious. He instinctively felt that Gavin was hiding something from him; at the very least, Gavin hadn't mentioned Calado Watt at all. But it was obvious that Mei Ling definitely had a very close relationship with Calado. For so many years, he had always aimed to get to the bottom of things, and he could never tolerate any concealment from those involved, much less allow himself to be deceived.

"But she didn't come today." The old woman fiddled with the room key in the cabinet.

"She didn't?" Scotty was starting to distrust the old woman in front of him.

"Yes," the old woman replied firmly. To prove her point, she even left Mei Ling's room key on the counter.

At Scotty's request, the old woman led him to the room, clearly willing to cooperate with the police. However, when the door opened, Scotty was surprised to find the room tidy but empty.

The windows were also tightly closed. Looking out the window, only Scottie's car was parked alone on the side of the road outside the hotel. Mei Ling seemed to have vanished from Scottie's sight.

On the way back to the city, the Scottie drove very fast.

Downstairs at Mei Ling's apartment building, her car was already parked quietly, as if it had never left. The observant Scotty noticed the bouquet of pink roses through the car window.

six

Scottie's face was grim and somewhat unnatural. He glanced at Miki sitting next to him, then hesitated to speak.

Miki introduces Scotty to Habirib, the owner of a used bookstore. Habirib is said to have all the stories of the city, big and small, in his head, and Scotty hopes he can answer all the questions he wants to know.

Habiref was a short, elderly man, warm-hearted and talkative, and most importantly, he truly knew many stories. In 1879, in this city, there were many versions of the story of Calado: the beautiful Calado, the sorrowful Calado, the mad Calado…

"She came from a small town in the south, some say from the church district. Young Calado initially sang in hotels, then was taken away by a wealthy man, and had a child. Later, the wealthy man abandoned her, taking her child with him. She was left alone in the big house, and then she went mad, stopping everyone on the street asking, 'Where is my child? Have you seen my child?' Finally, she committed suicide." Habiref was truly a master storyteller. "By the way, the old house you visited at the corner of Eidi Street and Gobi Street, that's the one with the wealthy man..."

"It was built for her by a powerful man."

Even after leaving the used bookstore, Scotty was still in a bad mood. Although Habiref had said a lot, it was all about Calado. What he cared about most was the relationship between Merlin and Calado.

Miki excitedly pestered Scottie with questions, her intuition telling her that Scottie must be doing something very interesting that he wasn't telling her. Scottie, however, had no patience to talk to Miki anymore. He took Miki home and then turned and left.

Scotty strode into Gavin's office. "How much more haven't you told me?" The thought of possibly being deceived made Scotty furious. Gavin seemed to have been expecting Scotty's questioning. He slowly closed the art gallery brochure Scotty had given him and calmly said, "Did you notice her hairstyle? And one more thing, my wife has a ruby necklace."

It belonged to Carado, and was inherited by my wife. She's never really worn it properly; it's too old-fashioned. However, when she's alone, she takes the necklace out to admire it, then puts it around her neck, looks at herself in the mirror, and then enters another world, becoming someone else.

Seeing that Gavin answered readily, Scotty moved on to the topic he was most interested in: "Calado Watt is..."

Your wife's...

Gavin answered quickly: "Great-grandmother. The child Calado was taken away was Mei Ling's grandmother."

That's the truth of the matter; all the explanations seem to make perfect sense now. "I think that explains everything; anyone with that kind of background would be captivated by it," Scotty finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“The problem is she doesn’t know Calado.” This time, Gavin chose to tell the truth. To help Mei Ling, he was willing to confront those unbearable past events.

"Why?" Scotty asked, a little puzzled.

Gavin then turned his head away from Scotty, his gaze fixed on an uncertain target. His lips moved, but he didn't speak.

Scotty realized this was the crux of the problem. He cut to the chase: "Are you sure you want me to help you save..."

Mei Ling?

Gavin frowned, lifted his hands from the picture book, hugged his head, and whispered, "Her mother gave birth to..."

They told me part of it beforehand; I found out the rest myself.

"Why didn't she tell her own daughter?" Scotty pressed quickly.

“Terrifying! Her grandmother also went mad and eventually committed suicide! Her blood flows in Mei Ling’s body, and Calado, and Mei Ling’s grandmother, were both 26 years old when they committed suicide!” Gavin became emotional, his voice suddenly rising, “Mei Ling today…”

He's 26 years old!

“Gavin?” Scottie asked, trying to calm Gavin down.

“I don’t want to lose Mei Ling…” Gavin said almost to himself.

seven

It's a new day.

But for Scotty, this day was far from easy. Ever since learning about the relationship between Mei Ling and Calado, a shadow had constantly fallen over him. Gavin's prediction that Mei Ling had suicidal tendencies made Scotty's daily surveillance even more arduous.

Heavy.

Today, Mei Ling seemed to be a testament to being haunted by death; dressed in a long black dress, she was pale and her expression was even more serious.

In the Hall of Fame, Mei Ling still sat opposite the portrait of Carado, gazing at Carado in the painting for a long time. Her pale blue eyes seemed to be shrouded in a thin layer of mist, making it impossible for Scotty to see anything inside.

Just like the previous days, Mei Ling didn't notice Scotty, who had been following her. After leaving the art museum, she glanced around instinctively before walking towards her parked car. This time, she didn't go to the hotel; instead, she drove straight towards the sea.

The seaside felt somewhat deserted at this moment, with only Mei Ling's lonely figure by the towering bridge. After maintaining a distance that wouldn't arouse Mei Ling's suspicion, Scotty got out of the car and stood on the beach with peace of mind.

Mei Ling's skirt fluttered in the wind as she slowly approached the seaside railing. She plucked pink rose petals one by one and scattered them into the sea. She seemed unperturbed by her unusual actions, her gaze calm and lonely as she looked into the distance, petals falling from her hand and drifting with the waves.

A strong wind lashed against Scotty's face, a suffocating, oppressive force. For a fleeting moment, Scotty seemed to smell death, a chilling sensation indescribable in words. This feeling brought Scotty's thoughts back to that recent night, to the scene where he had watched helplessly as his partner fell from beside him. All around was deathly silence; no human voices, no city noise, only the soft, resounding crashing of waves against the stone steps of the shore.

Scotty was suddenly struck by a sharp, agonizing pain, his hands clammy with cold sweat. He struggled to open his eyes, trying to escape the torment of the nightmare.

A muffled splash in the distance jolted Scotty awake. He was stunned by what he saw.

Mei Ling has disappeared!

Where did she go? Scotty tried to focus his mind, his thoughts gradually clearing, and his judgment slowly returning.

Soon, Scotty spotted a figure bobbing up and down in the waves. Mei Ling had jumped into the sea and committed suicide! Scotty finally understood where that aura of death had come from.

Scottie rushed to the railing where Mei Ling had just been and jumped into the water from where Mei Ling had jumped.

Mei Ling seemed to have no desire to survive. Her black body floated with the waves along with the pink rose petals. The withered petals were her own blessing and tribute to herself.

Without much effort, Scottie caught Mei Ling. Mei Ling's body leaned softly against Scottie, without struggling or making any movement, and she was simply held and pulled back to the shore by Scottie at will.

Scottie felt completely exhausted. He looked down at Mei Ling's face, a surge of tenderness welling up in his heart. At that moment, Mei Ling seemed like a sleeping angel, her slightly upturned lips and peaceful expression of relief.

eight

Scottie's house.

A cluttered desk, a silver coffee pot, half-closed blinds, blood-red curtains, and a desk lamp casting a soft glow.

In the kitchen, a white scarf, a white slip, and a black long skirt hung in succession on the side of the cabinet, and a woman's handbag sat on top of the cabinet. Of course, all of these belonged to Mei Ling.

The bedroom door was open, and Mei Ling could be seen lying on her side on the bed, her soft long hair scattered around the pillow. Judging from her expression, she had not woken up. A blood-red nightgown was placed on the white sheets, which looked particularly jarring.

In the living room, Scotty sat on the sofa, a silver coffee cup in front of him. The coffee was freshly brewed, and steam was still rising. Scotty sipped his coffee, his gaze fixed on Mei Ling in the bedroom. He was almost convinced to believe in the ghostly possession theory; otherwise, he didn't know how to explain everything he was seeing.

Mei Ling turned over in the bedroom. Scottie tentatively got up, but Mei Ling was clearly still asleep. Scottie adjusted his posture and picked up his coffee cup again.

Mei Ling's clothes were gradually drying in the kitchen, and Scottie's thoughts were slowly becoming clearer. Why not take this opportunity to truly get close to Mei Ling and find out the whole truth? Mei Ling was the real person involved; what could be more accurate in obtaining the truth than this?