Hair locks furiously bobbing like heads of angry black snakes interweaved, showing all of their ugly fangs as they floated to the surface. A minute later, a skeletal white hand broke through, piercing that murky darkness like ghoulish spirit breaking from its burial mound. A head rose first, then her shoulders emerged, then a nose came out choking over mouthfuls of dirty water, all while a pair of hands kept frantically struggling to stay afloat.
The thick cloak she wrapped around her shoulder seemed determined to drag her down, as did the weeds entangling her ankle bones, but she didn't stop swimming for even a second. Soon, her white hands grasped a bunch of grass and forced herself out.
Mist had started thickening.
'Wei Ziya.' Wei Zhiruo recalled, rowing her boat in the opposite direction, 'The eldest daughter of the Wei House, the second child of Gentleman Wei Houyu. Soon to be married to the Second Prince of Dajin, a figure of much envy. But they didn't kill her.'
They could have easily killed her, but chose such an indirect method. However she tried looking at this event, she couldn't make sense out of it. Wei Zhiruo looked back one last time.
Wei Ziya was shaking like a leaf. Her lips quivered, letting out a silent cry. No sound came out; she gripped her throat tightly as if she intended to choke herself to death or force out the imprisoned voice in her breast. Two round and hazy eyes desperately roved in their places, engorged —her brown pupils dilated and wavered uncontrollably. She looked like she was having a seizure, but her hands quickly raised to cover her eyes, a whimper finally reaching her mouth. Like the most horrific chirp of a dying bird, her lips trembled and let out a quivering cry.
"Uhhh...argh—!"
Like a silent shriek.
The boat reached the shore, mooring beside a reed bed. Wei Zhiruo stood up shivering in the cold, stepped out with difficulty and noticed a few blood traces on her feet left behind by a sharp cut at her ankles. It would take some time to heal, she wondered if it would get infected—after all humans were quite delicate…
Then she heard the whimper.
"Mother…was it you? Is this your blessing?"
"No. No, no, no!! It was tonight! Tonight! She stole everything from me—my body, my life."
"The Red phoenix…but the Red phoenix is gone. She's gone—! Did you hear Wei Ziya, she is gone. She will not come to us again! Never—! Do you dare to believe this, Wei Ziya? She…failed." Tears dribbled like rushing wild brooks.
Something wet fell on Wei Zhiruo's lips.
"Tip-tap-tip."
It had started raining.
As she turned, a desperate urge to leave everything behind and be completely free of all secrets and conspiracies completely stifled her curiosities—there were too many ghosts lurking in this mansion. She couldn't contend with any of them. A wise person would've immediately washed their hands of all concerns and fled, and she would've done the same if she didn't know she was leaving tomorrow. Before leaving though, tonight, there was still one last thing she needed to do. Wei Zhiruo crept back onto the familiar looking pathways. Although the roads were getting mistier, dotted with lurking shadows of tall trees, she didn't lose her way.
Before long, some old and abandoned corners of the mansion appeared in front of her. Just a courtyard of a few crumbling rooms, fallen roof tiles littered on the ground, a few of them growing wild mosses and a few heaps of piled up rotten woods and leaves, scattered nearby, had weeds sticking out. A faint drizzle swept across her face. Rain dripping from the roof tiles fell down in trains of silvery beads, then gathered into small puddles under the eaves. There were only a few places in the mansion with lights still flickering late in the night, just yellow candles burning within chambers full of human breath. But here, there was just gaping darkness.
She pushed the courtyard door, and walked past the corridors till she reached the same hall she had seen. Walking up to the stone, she looked down at the etching carefully. Her eyes immediately brightened up.
'An ancient rune…No, this is a completely preserved runic enchantment!'
She stood back up quickly. Thinking, some kind of protective mechanism could be shielding the stone, she investigated the hall carefully. But the hall didn't have anything. Perfectly sure, she walked up to the hall's center, groped around for a bit, carefully examined the stone again and then biting her thumb, she let out freshly pricked blood. She drew a grotesque looking shape on the floor with her thumbs then waited.
"Snap!"
A faint crack echoed. The stone fell apart turning into rubbles, revealing a tightly encased wooden box inside. She couldn't read the inscription tightly engraved on the wood, but there was no other mechanism stopping her from opening its latch and looking inside. There was just an inconspicuous looking book lying there collecting dust.
The wooden box itself looked like something a woman would keep on her vanity, placing the most precious of her jewels hidden within it. But looking at the booklet, so thin and so commonplace that it was indistinguishable from an antique, she became intrigued. Why would such a book deserve such an intricate piece of runes to safeguard it? And the one she'd just seen was just...magnificent—
Suddenly, a bird's faint twittering reached her ears.
She quickened her pace.
***
"Hong Tao-you! I see you over there and you're still loitering around! Keep on doing that and see where you'll be in a fortnight's time —! And that wouldn't be within this mansion, I tell you. You either listen to orders or go pack your bags now! Have you done what I told you to do?" The old, frowning matron immediately lunged down at a young man and ruthlessly pulled his ears.
"Arrggh! Aunty Li! Why are you here?"
The young boy panicked and immediately put on an innocent face. His eyes became full of tears, begging for forgiveness. He even let the woman twist his ears a few times to vent, before explaining. "I have already placed Ninth Miss's luggage over the two other carts and I was just going to check on Yao'er. I'm really not doing nothing!"
"Okay, okay." Giving a cursory look around, the old woman immediately put down her hands and started giving orders. "Go hurry up. Call out Shaoyao immediately! Ninth miss is already here, and that girl, I don't know what she is thinking!! Hurry! Wake her up with cold water if you have to, but drag her here within ten minutes!"
The matron drove him away waving her hands at him.
Wei Zhiruo watched with lidded eyes as the boy ran away quickly, entered the giant wooden doors and disappeared completely. She kept watching all this fuss with a cup of warm tea in her hands, gazing through the narrow gap in the middle of the thick bamboo screen hanging over the carriage's door. Men with darkened skins, and women wearing washed off linen skirts were running around, checking every preparation as quickly as possible. It wasn't even six in the morning, yet the people here seemed determined to send her off immediately.
She took another tiny sip, squinted her eyes at the warmth and then bowed her head to look at the box lying on her lap.
However, at this moment both the horses started neighing loudly. When she parted the curtains to see what was happening, she found the carriage-driver seated. He was yelling at the horses to calm them down, then shouted loudly to the people around him, urging them to hurry.
"Hurry up! Master Wei has given orders to be out before the sun is fully overhead. Whatever is left to be done, don't worry about it, leave it! Tao De, just call everyone who is going today and I'll set out immediately. What —? You said it needs some more time? I'll give you ten more minutes to finish everything and that's it. If I don't see people coming in ten minutes, they can go ask Master Wei for his orders themselves as I won't be responsible for the rest."
Aunty Li gave the newly arrived man a brisk glance, then wrinkling her nose at his scarred cheeks and cunning eyes, she looked away muttering something under her breath. Whether it was heard by the driver remained unclear, but Wei Zhiruo heard it clearly.
"—Good heavens the days that have come! Lady Jiang would have wept to death had she known this would happen...and to her child too whom she carried for twelve months in her womb! She entered the gates of hell to bring her child to this world and died. But god be the keeper...a motherless child is really an orphan no matter where she is born! At this young age she is being sent away because of rumors…monsters don't even spare children! Hyenas, wolves, dogs…!"
As she left, many people began whispering.
"What are you looking at! Go, hurry up!" A slightly flustered voice of steward Tan drowned the murmurs. Everyone got back to their work.
Wei Zhiruo took the last sip of her tea, then looked up to meet a pair of very hesitant looking eyes.
Brown eyes, honey-like warm skin, with pointed nose and clear-cut features that still dripped with innocence of youth, this personal maid arranged by the 'family' for her was quite a beauty. Everyone called her Xiaorui. Before being given this ludicrously honored 'position' of the 'waiting maid upon the youngest Wei lady', she seemed to have worked some kind of heavy job. There were thick layers of calluses on her palms, her bones peeked out everywhere and that lingering malnutrition, all spoke of how rough her previous job had been. At this moment, the flustered girl was looking around everywhere, picking at her calluses as if wishing she could disappear.
Wei Zhiruo ignored her.
She looked at her lap again, where a thick cotton fabric tightly wrapped a wooden box. Wei Zhiruo had removed the carvings on the outer panels, and cut them into small pieces putting everything within the box itself, then filled the remaining space with all the jewels in her silver casket.She was going to tug open the cloth, when a unique bustle outside snatched her attention.
"Mama Jiang! You are here. Does the Eldest Miss have something to say to Ninth Miss? She is already sitting inside the carriage, please come this way—"
"Don't worry, I did come to bid farewell. But before that I have some words to say to all of you."
Many in the crowd hurriedly came forward to greet Mama Jiang, the personal wet nurse of Wei Ziya. Many immediately noticed the absence of two other siblings. Eldest Master and Eldest Miss, both of them were really missing.
"I have brought some words for everyone who is going away today, gather here." The old woman's shaking voice was crisp and rang like bells. She didn't waste a single syllable, though, and waited for everyone to gather before she conveyed her message.
Wei Zhiruo watched an anxious Xiaorui hurriedly jumping down to join the gathering. A cold gust of wind hit her face and tugged at her to go down and breathe in the open space, but she leaned back more comfortably on her seat and closed her eyes instead, pretending to fall asleep.
"Mama…Jiang?"
She didn't have many clear memories of this nurse.
Outside Mama Jiang was speaking slowly.
"I've seen many heads like yours, coming and going out of this Wei house —some dead, some with silver heads, some fortunate, some ashamed. We, servants and slaves of our master, cherish each order, but everyone knows the truth. What drives us primarily in our life is still money, silver, and interest. It's human nature, no one is faulting anyone for that. I too desire the same things! For a good life, many can suffer day after day toiling hard, but remember, there are some benefits that shouldn't be touched. I don't know how many here would dare to rob their master, how many of you will steal and then sell things in marketplaces. I don't know. No, don't say you dare not! Everyone dares, when time is right. Here everyone knows exactly what they are truly capable of, and that is why I bring you words from the eldest lady of this mansion, lady Wei Ziya. It's just a kind reminder to you all — don't betray your mistress at any cost or see the result of such betrayal!"
Her tone was chilling.
"This young lady, being sent away today, is the cherished granddaughter of Count Boyi. Her maternal family is an old nobility from Heisui province. She is sister of future Count Wei of Jinghai province, and sister of future crown princess of Dajin! She is born noble and worthy. No one here can fully imagine what such blood and title means, but isn't it said —the ignorant fears no one? But, don't worry, my mistress will see through sufficient punishment for such ignorant and wicked servants! When you go, leave your crooked thoughts here. I know everything you think, your resentment at being sent away, your belittlement of Ninth young lady. And my lady knows it clearly too! So she warns you all, if her sister suffers even a little bit, don't worry, both you and your family, and especially I'm warning you Steward Tan —you'll face the same wrath of Wei jia that a traitor should suffer, and it will be my Lady Wei Ziya who will make sure of that!"
"Don't worry aunt Jiang, we are here to oversee Miss's safety. She will live well in Qianshui —"
"That better be the case. Now, go do your things."
Mama Jiang waved everyone away.
Soon, an old woman climbed into Wei Zhiruo's carriage. She first held Wei Zhiruo's hands and touched her forehead, then quickly stuffed something in her hands and softly apologized for her mistress's absence with tearful eyes.
"She is sick."
No name was given, but both knew who was being talked about.
"I don't know how it happened…but miss, if it hadn't been for her sickness coming at the wrong time, she'd have never allowed this atrocity to happen to you at all—! No one slipped a word to us about your departure, and when we knew about it this morning, at such a time miss is lying on her bed, sick and hardly able to even talk! We searched for the eldest young master, but he has been sent away too! They…don't want you to stay, maybe this is good for you." A tear trickled down the old woman's eyes as she looked pityingly at Wei Zhiruo, then she clasped her hands gently. "Please take good care of yourself, miss. You'll be on your own for some time, but don't worry, my mistress will fight tooth and nail to bring you back home!"
"Hmm…I know." Wei Zhiruo, who found all this quite interesting, nodded gently. Turning her head, she refused to meet the woman's eyes anymore. She didn't want the old nurse to notice any changes on her body. "Take care of my sister, Mama Jiang."
"That I will, Miss."
The old woman seemed to hesitate about saying some more things for a long time, but then fell silent.
"My lady sent some snacks for you. Although they wouldn't last long, they should be good for three days. By the time you see Heishan peaks, some inns and taverns and villages will start coming in your path so take adequate rest at times."
"Mama Jiang. You should go back."
Wei Zhiruo safely put away the bag which was entrusted to her. She didn't know how else to end this uncomfortable parting, so she reminded the woman of the time. "They said, we need to go away before noon. Mama Jiang, go back to my sister and tell her I'll be fine."
"…Okay. Take care, ninth miss."
Wei Zhiruo didn't check what kind of things were left for her; she already knew the heavy bag must carry some sort of hard currency. She watched the back of the old woman disappear. A few more people came out to join, then with a quick announcement by the carriage driver, the journey began.
A horse drawn carriage soon made its way through the brick-laid pavements of Jinghai's most affluent area, then hurtling through crooked paths, it climbed the main road. The huge town gates of Jinghai were crossed amidst the shouts of carriage-driver, yelling at his horses. Men, women, children crossed past her sight. She kept looking out the window, then slowly picked up the newly brewed tea, taking in small sips.
"Miss, do you need…something."
The carriage had crossed the bustling Jinghai and came into more secluded regions.
"Nothing. Don't worry about me, please do whatever you want." Wei Zhiruo shook her head and then, she looked down at her lap holding the wooden box closely.
That book—
She had enough time.
Whatever was inside that book, she was going to slowly savor its mystery.