Chapter Forty-Six: Xiaolian's Scheme to Bewilder Xiaoguang, Tang Yi Investigates Clues in the County Gazetteer

Outside the thatched cottage, the sound of goblins echoed through the woods, and in the deep, moonless night, even the wind seemed terrifying.

The Zhang family, secluded courtyard.

A late-era bronze mirror with gilded edges reflected the image of a beautiful woman. Ma Xiaolian, dressed in a sheer feathered gown, carefully stitched golden thread onto precious bird plumes, applying light makeup before the mirror, her allure both coquettish and enchanting.

Zhang Shanshui, usually taciturn, now had a glint of lasciviousness in his eyes. He rudely embraced his woman from behind, his hands wandering restlessly.

"Impatient fool, aren't you afraid you'll ruin our grand plan?" Ma Xiaolian, far from angered, laughed with delight, pushing him away with feigned resistance that barely concealed her invitation.

Zhang Shanshui sneered triumphantly, "Even if Zhang Xiaoguang guards his purity like jade, I refuse to believe he won't fall at your feet."

"You wretched pimp, since when does a man offer his own woman to another for amusement?" Ma Xiaolian, stirred to passion by Zhang Shanshui’s antics, accidentally drew her eyebrows a touch too long.

"You wanton thing, don’t think I haven’t seen your interest in that brat." With that, Zhang Shanshui pressed Ma Xiaolian beneath him...

Barely half an incense stick’s time had passed when Ma Xiaolian rose to arrange her clothes, turning her back to Zhang Shanshui with a hint of disdain in her gaze.

"You must take that boy soon. If another Wang Yue or Li Yue appears, this vast family fortune will have nothing to do with us," Zhang Shanshui spoke slowly, satisfaction lingering in his eyes as he watched Ma Xiaolian’s slender back.

"Rest assured, there is no cat that doesn’t eat fish. And I..." Ma Xiaolian paused.

Zhang Shanshui laughed, "Are you the fish?"

Ma Xiaolian tossed her hair seductively, "No, I am the cat."

With that, Ma Xiaolian swayed her bewitching hips and strode out.

Outside, the night was pitch-black and profound, devoid of moon or starlight. Evil lurked in the shadows, and only such nights could stir the deepest restlessness in the heart.

Ma Xiaolian walked slowly toward the mountain’s thatched hut. Last time, her loosened robe failed to ignite Zhang Xiaoguang’s desire, but tonight she was prepared.

Touching the powder at her waist—the very kind she used during her days as a courtesan—Ma Xiaolian chuckled.

She and Zhang Shanshui had devised a scheme: seduce Zhang Xiaoguang until he took her. The Zhang family, valuing its reputation, would never allow a man tainted by scandal to become head of the household. Then Zhang Shanshui could maneuver further and perhaps seize the inheritance.

But Ma Xiaolian had her own designs. Outwardly, she conspired with Zhang Shanshui, yet were it not for the chance to enter the Zhang household, she would have kicked this useless man to the curb long ago.

Zhang Xiaoguang, by contrast, was not only handsome and talented, but also the young master of the Zhang family and a provincial examination champion—a man of boundless prospects.

If she could just cling to him, would she ever want for shelter and protection again?

Ma Xiaolian, seasoned in the world of pleasure, believed firmly in only one thing: her own beauty.

"No matter how cunning Zhang Xiaoguang is, tonight he will drink the water I’ve washed my feet in..." she murmured inwardly, her hand busy as she loosened her sash a little further, revealing a proud expanse of pale skin.

...

Behind the mountain, a half-collapsed thatched hut.

"Cough! Cough! Cough-cough!"

Zhang Xiaoguang rose to shut the wooden window, chilled by the mountain breeze, and the cold triggered a fit of coughing.

After some time, he looked at the flecks of fresh blood on his handkerchief and sighed, "Yueshu, this relapse of my lung illness—is it your retribution?"

He gazed at the painting hanging by his bedside, his eyes darkening.

Half a year ago, Zhang Xiaoguang caught a chill in the mountains, and when it lingered, it turned into a lung disease. Troubled by his mood, he went to the winding hills to admire the autumn scenery, where he met Zhao Yueshu.

Zhao Yueshu came from a scholarly family and somehow obtained a prescription to treat his illness. After several doses of decoction, Zhang Xiaoguang was nearly cured.

Thinking of Zhao Yueshu now tore at his heart. He despised his own weakness.

Human or demon, Zhao Yueshu’s feelings for him were clearer to Zhang Xiaoguang than to anyone.

"Yueshu, where are you now? Cough, cough." He thought of her and fell into another fit.

Knock, knock, knock.

A gentle tapping came from outside the hut.

"Yueshu!" Joy flickered across Zhang Xiaoguang’s face as he forced himself up to open the door.

Outside stood a woman with ornate makeup—not Zhao Yueshu, but Ma Xiaolian.

"Auntie, it's late. Why are you here?" Zhang Xiaoguang made no effort to hide his disappointment, feeling wary toward Ma Xiaolian.

She covered her mouth and laughed, "Xiaoguang, I’m not much older than you. Just call me Xiaolian."

Zhang Xiaoguang replied gravely, "It’s a matter of propriety. I dare not overstep. It’s late, Auntie; you should return, lest you invite gossip."

Ma Xiaolian, feigning grievance and coyness, said, "Well, then, Auntie is thirsty and came for a cup of hot tea. Surely that's acceptable?"

As she spoke, she ran her tongue over her ruby lips—a gesture that, from a young married woman, was most beguiling.

Zhang Xiaoguang was about to refuse, but Ma Xiaolian, ignoring him, sashayed into the hut.

He could only hope she would drink and leave, not create trouble.

Inside, the lamplight was dim, but Ma Xiaolian immediately noticed the painting by Zhang Xiaoguang’s bed.

"This seductive fox..." A flash of malice crossed her eyes, quickly concealed.

While Zhang Xiaoguang was distracted, Ma Xiaolian swiftly sprinkled her powder into the kettle on the table, then naturally poured out two cups of hot tea.

"Xiaoguang, won't you join Auntie for a drink?" she laughed softly, her gaze dreamy.

Zhang Xiaoguang, wishing only for her early departure, hesitated briefly before picking up the cup.

Both harbored their own intentions, neither noticing the strange shadow creeping from the collapsed side of the hut...

...

The autumn wind rustled. On the official road of Changning County, a lone rider sped along.

Tang Yi pondered the clues gathered over the past few days. Murders had occurred in succession, and the woman in the portrait entrusted by Song Mo was a prime suspect. When his investigation led to the Zhang family, things became bizarre.

According to them, the woman in the portrait—Zhao Yueshu—was a fox demon.

This matched the fox hairs found on corpses by county coroner Liu Qi. But why had the fox demon appeared at the Zhang household? What secrets did the Zhangs conceal? Tang Yi knew none of this.

He had considered going straight to the Zhangs for answers, but ultimately turned his horse back toward the county yamen.

After all, the Zhangs were only human, and people always seek benefit and avoid harm. Tang Yi knew he would learn nothing from them directly.

Trusting his intuition, Tang Yi suspected the clues might lie within the county annals filling half a room.

Back at the yamen, he ordered the candles lit.

Tang Yi was no aimless fool; he remembered the Zhang family’s rise was recorded as occurring in the thirty-second year of the Great Zhou Hengliang era. If the annals held clues, they would be from this period.

But the annals were dense, chronicling biographies, mountain collapses, river course changes, and more.

Tang Yi searched carefully, and after an hour and a half, his eyes suddenly brightened.

"So that's it." He finished reading, frowned, and uttered the words, then rose, left the yamen, and rode eastward out of the county.