The Hand of Confession – Chapter 239

Volume 8: The Days of the Ghost Marriage

The Lamp

Why don’t we have a lamp?

No matter how covertly an act is carried out, it will always leave some trace in the air. Although the servants of the Shao Manor had only been employed for a short time, it was impossible for them to not even know who the person marrying the estate’s Young Master in three days was.

And yet, this was exactly the situation that had occurred.

That left only one explanation—the Shao Manor had intentionally concealed the bride’s identity.

Lou Jingmo said, “The Shao family looks grand, but in reality, they are just a merchant family from Jiangnan¹, with a very low status.”

In the ancient hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant, the merchant was at the bottom². The Shao family was just such a clan, possessing wealth but no background. However, in Jiangnan, the heavens are high and the emperor is far away³; with their sufficient wealth, the Shao family had managed to establish a firm foothold.

For this small city, the marriage of the Shao family’s Eldest Young Master was undoubtedly big news. Logically, the bride’s identity and background should have been thoroughly investigated and made public by now. Even if the servants didn’t know when they were first hired, they should have been able to learn something through their interactions with the outside world.

Unless the people outside had no idea that a wedding was approaching at the Shao Manor.

The two of them chatted idly for a while before soon arriving at the kitchen entrance.

Servants were not worthy of eating at the same table as their masters. A table was specially set aside for them in a small corner of the kitchen. The masters’ leftovers would be rewarded to the servants, then successively picked over by layers of servants, so that by the time the food reached them, only a bit of soup and broth remained.

Shen Maomao wasn’t a picky eater, she was ultimately a bit disgusted by the leftovers that had been picked to pieces by the servants. However, they had no means to cook for themselves here, so they could only make do, dryly chewing on a couple of coarse-noodle bean cakes.

To a modern person, the taste was truly hard to describe. When swallowing, the wheat husks that hadn’t been properly sifted out scraped against her throat, but it was still within a tolerable range.

Not long after they started eating, the men who had gone to hang lanterns arrived in a group.

The NPC leading them lit an oil lamp, and the kitchen instantly brightened considerably. He placed the lamp in the very center of the table and said, “Hurry up and eat. After you’re done, get to sleep early. There’s other work to be done tomorrow morning. Remember to blow out the lamp when you’re finished. Leave the bowls for the kitchen staff to wash tomorrow morning.” After saying this, he withdrew.

Shen Maomao slumped against Lou Jingmo and said wearily, “I’m three years old, I’m so tired…”

Cheng Rui took a bean cake for himself, looked around, and asked strangely, “Where’s Zhai Yiqiao? Is she dead?”

Hearing this, the newcomer Tang Lusen frowned, glanced at him, and then quickly averted his gaze.

Potato Chip answered, “She latched onto an NPC’s thigh and went off to enjoy fine food and drink⁴.”

“I really underestimated her.” As he spoke, Cheng Rui took a bite of the cake, and an indescribable expression immediately appeared on his face. Still, he chewed and swallowed the food.

Tang Lusen and Jiang You also looked disgusted, but unlike Golden Retriever, they weren’t so clueless. Seeing that everyone else was burying their heads and eating, they swallowed their complaints back down along with the bean cakes.

After a while, Su Han stood up and looked at the other four girls. “I’m done eating. Are you guys leaving?”

Before the four could voice their opinions, Cheng Rui called out to stop them, “Wait a moment, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Since there are no NPCs around, why don’t we all share what we learned from our work today?”

Another man also said, “That’s right. Clearing the instance through our own efforts is obviously not as fast as working together. Nothing major happened to us today, but we heard the NPC leading us mention that the Shao family suddenly made their fortune twenty years ago. The head of the Shao family spends his days eating, drinking, and having fun, and barely manages his business, yet wealth just keeps flowing endlessly into his pockets…”

The man who spoke called himself Zhang Paohui⁵. He looked to be in his twenties, with a pair of long, narrow eyes. He gesticulated with his hands as he spoke, wishing he could just sketch out the situation for them with his fingers. “And not long ago, the pillar of the Shao family, Old Master Shao, passed away. Logically, they should still be in the mourning period⁶. So why is this Eldest Young Master Shao already preparing to get married??”

The news about Old Master Shao’s death was quite useful; they hadn’t gathered that information.

Their side finished sharing their information without waiting for the other party’s consent; it was too late even if the five women had covered their ears. Su Han glanced around and, after getting nods from Lou Jingmo and Potato Chip, she told them about the well.

The men’s expressions varied for a moment. After all, this directly ruled out a taboo, which directly increased their survival rate. It was far more useful than what Zhang Paohui had been talking about.

Only Yun Shengjin kept his head down, eating, making one wonder if his food was different from everyone else’s.

Cheng Rui smiled gently and thanked the five women politely, “Thank you for the information you’ve provided. It’s very useful.”

Su Han nodded nonchalantly, then asked again, “Are you guys leaving?”

Milk Tea said, “Shouldn’t we wait for them? It’s safer to walk together…”

Su Han looked at Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo again. “What about you two?”

Lou Jingmo stood up. “Let’s go.”

Shen Maomao quickly got to her feet as well.

Milk Tea felt that Su Han was deliberately trying to make her lose face⁷. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but bite her lower lip.

Potato Chip quickly pulled her to her feet. “Then let’s go too. There’s no point walking with a bunch of men.”

Although a larger group might seem safer from a numbers perspective, if something unexpected really happened, the two of them, girls with little strength, would definitely be the first ones pushed out as shields. In comparison, it was a bit safer to be with Lou Jingmo, Shen Maomao, and Su Han, who were also women.

The five women left the kitchen. The sky outside had already turned completely dark. All the lanterns in the Shao Manor were lit, casting a crimson glow on the ground and draping a layer of blood-colored gauze over the people walking beneath them.

A night wind gusted, causing the lantern tassels to sway. From the shadows of a distant study and rockery, the calls of some unknown bird sounded from time to time, making Shen Maomao, who had just stepped out the door, shiver violently.

The Shao Manor at night was like a cemetery built in the suburbs. Walking through it, besides the sound of their own footsteps, they could only hear the rustling of leaves in the wind and the sound of two nearby lanterns bumping against each other.

Milk Tea was getting a little scared. She clutched Potato Chip’s arm and walked forward with her head held high, whispering to the others, “Why is it so cold…”

Su Han suddenly cut her off, her voice low and serious. “Don’t talk. Walk faster. And don’t look back.”

Milk Tea’s eyes widened. She shivered violently, almost scared to tears by her words.

Shen Maomao was also scared, but more than that, she was surprised. It seemed Su Han knew something, or rather… had sensed something.

The five of them quickened their pace, walking silently beneath the red lanterns.

The kitchen was separated from where they lived by half a lake. Along the way, they could see many lit-up buildings, but there were no human figures visible on the paper windows of these buildings. There was no one moving inside the rooms at all.

Then why light so many lamps?

Shen Maomao was a little puzzled.

Could it be that they have money to burn?

Before long, they finally returned to the small hut where the servants lived, in the furthest corner of the Shao Manor. Besides them, there were other servants’ rooms here, for men on the left and women on the right, arranged in two neat rows.

Their room was in the first row.

At this moment, besides the players’ room, the lamps in all the other rooms in the first row were lit, illuminating the courtyard as brightly as day. Yet, there was no movement from within the rooms, as if everyone was already asleep.

Su Han pushed open the door and, using the light from outside, glanced at the windowsill and said strangely, “Why don’t we have a lamp?”

Throughout the entire Shao Manor, whether for masters or servants, as long as a room was occupied, a lamp or a candle would inevitably be lit inside.

Even Shen Maomao had understood this on their way here, so naturally, everyone understood the importance of light.

What’s most taboo in a game is being different. Being different means being more easily noticed by ghosts and monsters, and also makes one more likely to violate a taboo.

Lou Jingmo thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go borrow one.” She then took the lead and went to the room next to theirs, raising her hand to knock twice on the door.

There was no sound from inside the door, as if no one was there at all.

Lou Jingmo tentatively reached out and gave the door a push, only to find it was locked from the inside.

There was someone inside.

Shen Maomao thought for a moment, then grabbed Lou Jingmo’s hand as she was about to knock again, and whispered, “Excuse us. We are new maids, and a lamp was forgotten in our room. We were wondering if you have a spare one we could borrow for now…”

A figure was silhouetted against the window, followed by the sound of footsteps.

Lou Jingmo extended her arm to protectively guide Shen Maomao back a step. Potato Chip and Milk Tea also quickly retreated a few steps.

The door opened a crack, and a woman poked her head out, saying softly, “They actually forgot to prepare an oil lamp for you? I have a spare one here, you can take it for now…”

As she spoke, she passed a lit oil lamp through the crack in the door. The oil in the lamp’s base looked quite full; it was unclear if it would last the whole night.

The woman said, “Hurry back now. In the future, don’t just go around knocking on people’s doors at night.” After saying this, she slammed the door shut, ignoring the reactions of those outside.

Holding the lampstand, Shen Maomao called out a word of thanks through the door.

The five of them carefully shielded the flame and returned to their room. Su Han, who was walking last, closed the door and neurotically checked the gaps in the windows before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Shen Maomao placed the lampstand on the windowsill, and the tiny room was illuminated by the bean-sized flame.

Before they could ask, Su Han explained, “I ran into the Shao family’s Youngest Master when I went out. He made me play with him for a while. As a reward, he told me to return to my room as early as possible after dark, and that the doors and windows in the room must be shut tight.”

Shen Maomao nudged Lou Jingmo with her elbow. “Your info-gathering skills are lacking.”

Lou Jingmo shot her a look.

Su Han continued, “Also, about sounds. It’s best not to talk, not to make any noise. None of you snore, right?”

All four shook their heads.

“That’s good.” Su Han breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s hurry up and sleep. If you have anything to say, save it for when the sun comes up…”

Before her voice had even faded, Milk Tea next to her suddenly spoke up. “Wait… is it a bit risky to put the lamp by the window? What if the window gets blown open by the wind…”

Su Han said, “I’ve already shut the window tight. The problem you’re worried about won’t happen.”

Milk Tea opened her mouth, staring at the oil lamp, her thoughts unreadable. In the end, she swallowed back the words she wanted to say.

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The author has something to say:

Everywhere Kiss⁸ is such a great song

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