The Hand of Confession – Chapter 243

Volume 8: The Days of the Ghost Marriage

Paper Kite

Perhaps the things in each of the Shao Manor’s wells are different.

Shen Maomao’s heart was pounding wildly, its speed heading straight for 180 mph.

At this moment, her mood could be described as fortunate; fortunate that she hadn’t softened her heart just now.

The woman in the well was clearly aware that the two of them were peeping from the outside. That laughter was meant for them to hear, a voiced mockery of two ants.

“This is not a place to linger.” Having just caught her breath for a couple of seconds, Lou Jingmo once again grabbed her hand, leading her toward the kitchen.

She hurriedly shook out her legs, which were sore and weak from overexertion, and was dragged forward by Lou Jingmo, only being released once they were inside the kitchen.

Shen Maomao plopped down onto a wooden stool, panting heavily, and couldn’t catch her breath for a long while.

Seeing her panting like this, one of the two young maids poured her a cup of water, stuffed it into her hand, and asked with concern, “How did you get so tired?”

Shen Maomao held the cup, and just as she was about to drink, she remembered Su Han’s reaction after drinking the water earlier. She immediately put the cup back down and asked in return, “Didn’t you say… we can’t just drink this water?”

The young maid smiled. “The Spirit Water is only in two places. The manor still has normal wells. If there were rules for even drinking water, wouldn’t all of us servants die of thirst?”

Shen Maomao: “One place is in the kitchen, so where’s the other? Is it in the small courtyard where the laundry is done?”

“Why would you think that?” The young maid raised her eyebrows in surprise. “If the well there also had Spirit Water, how could they possibly let people draw water to do laundry? The other well is in the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard.”

The other maid added, “The well in the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard didn’t have Spirit Water from the start. Not long ago, one day, the water in his courtyard’s well and the kitchen well changed at the same time. We tasted the water from every well in the entire Shao Manor and only found these two.”

These two young maids were named Baozhu¹ and Feicui². They weren’t old, but they were very mature and understood a lot about the ways of the world. They seemed to have worked in the Shao Manor for a long time without being dismissed.

Shen Maomao felt it was necessary for them to build a good relationship with these two young maids.

Baozhu was more lively than Feicui and especially loved to gossip. The moment Shen Maomao struck up a conversation with her, she could go on and on by herself without needing much prompting. “If the entire manor was full of Spirit Water, why would they restrict us servants? Ai, they say there are two wells, but now only the one in the kitchen can be used. The Eldest Young Master doesn’t like the Spirit Water and had the well in his courtyard sealed up directly, it’s really…”

Feicui, beside her, coughed once.

Baozhu shuddered and immediately changed the subject. “I heard someone say before that if two people in love drink the Spirit Water together, the gods will bless them, allowing them to obtain a fated bond of three lives and three worlds³!”

No matter how quickly she changed the subject, her previous words were already committed to memory by the two. Shen Maomao went along with her words, casting a yearning gaze at Baozhu and saying exaggeratedly, “Wow—! That’s too amazing!”

“It is.” A faint pink appeared on Baozhu’s cheeks. “If I had someone I liked, I would definitely beg the head chef for some Spirit Water to drink with him!”

Feicui, beside her, nudged her irritably. “You wretched girl, starting to daydream about romance already?!”

Baozhu smiled shyly and pushed her back. “All you know is how to laugh at me!”

The two began to fool around, completely forgetting about Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo beside them.

Just then, the head chef pushed the door open and entered, knocking on the table with a displeased face. “What’s all this ruckus? Have you washed the vegetables, that you’re making a scene here?! Hurry up and get to work!”

The two girls quickly stood up, lowered their eyes, and said, “Yes.”

Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo also stood up. The head chef’s weed-like eyebrows shot up as he said irritably, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go help!”

The two followed Baozhu and Feicui and went to a corner to pick vegetables with them.

Baozhu held a handful of scallions and said angrily, “The head chef just can’t stand to see others happy! If we also get angered into leaving by him, I’d like to see what he’ll do then!”

Feicui comforted her in a small voice, “Alright, don’t be angry. We can’t leave. If any more people leave, everyone will be gone…”

Shen Maomao moved a small stool to sit next to them and asked curiously, “Speaking of which… why have all the servants in the manor left?”

Baozhu and Feicui fell silent at the same time, their gazes turning to her in unison.

Shen Maomao felt her hair stand on end from their stares and asked weakly, “What? Is it something I can’t ask?”

Lou Jingmo pulled Shen Maomao behind her and met the gazes of the two maids.

This awkward atmosphere lasted for a moment before Baozhu suddenly burst out laughing with a “pfft.” “Why are you all so serious? Did I scare you? I did it on purpose, hahaha.”

After laughing, she lowered her head again to pick the scallions, peeling off the dry outer skin as she spoke. “What’s there not to ask about this? The rice harvest was good this year, so everyone went back to farm their land. Although it’s a bit more tiring, it’s better than having to watch people’s expressions to get by here.”

Shen Maomao didn’t believe this reason one hundred and eighty percent, but since she was clearly unwilling to say more, Shen Maomao didn’t dare to press further.

The number of long-serving staff in the Shao Manor was pitifully small. So far, they had only seen Steward Shao, Bi Chun, the head chef, and these two maids. Besides them, there might be a few other old-timers, but the rest had only been here for about half a year and had a partial understanding of the Shao Manor, unable to provide them with much help.

If they wanted to understand what had truly happened in the Shao Manor, they would probably have to find a way through these long-serving staff.

The moment Baozhu closed her mouth, the small kitchen suddenly became somewhat terrifyingly quiet.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the others also returned. The head chef manned the wok and began to prepare the masters’ dinner. As soon as the vegetables hit the wok, the oil immediately began to sizzle with a “tsst-la-la,” and whether anyone was talking or not no longer seemed so important.

Su Han, Potato Chip, and Milk Tea had all returned, none of them seriously injured. It was just that Milk Tea’s hand kept trembling as if she had Parkinson’s, and the relatively calmer Potato Chip also had a face full of terror. Both of their faces had an abnormally colored flush, which at a glance… looked like they had been slapped several times.

Taking advantage of Baozhu and Feicui being busy with other things, Shen Maomao asked them in a low voice, “What happened? Why are you two so scared?”

Su Han replied, “There was someone singing in the well. The two of them almost fell in.”

Shen Maomao: “What happened?!”

Su Han said, “I’m not clear either. I was afraid something would happen if I acted alone, so I went with them. At first, we didn’t have any clues, so we just wandered around for a while to see if we could find anything. But before we had wandered for more than a few circles, we were press-ganged⁴ by Bi Chun to deliver soup to the Second Miss…”

Potato Chip interrupted her, “You’re not explaining it clearly… let me say it.” She swallowed, her heart still fluttering with fear. “Everything was fine at the beginning… but just as we delivered the soup and were about to leave, I suddenly heard a woman’s singing voice…”

Milk Tea followed up, “I heard it too. It seemed to be a song from a poem, about a scumbag who loves the new and loathes the old…”

“You can actually remember her song…” Potato Chip sighed. “She sang so tragically, crying while she sang. I didn’t remember anything, I just kept thinking, how can someone be so miserable, there’s no meaning in living, I should hurry up and find a well to wash up and jump in.”

Milk Tea also said, “Me too… I just thought living was so tiring, I really wanted to die, and then I started walking towards the well. I’m timid to begin with and have a very pessimistic personality, so I was affected more deeply. I was already leaning over the edge of the well at that time…”

Shen Maomao looked at Su Han. “So you didn’t hear anything?”

Su Han nodded. “Didn’t hear a thing, otherwise the three of us probably wouldn’t have made it back. I was walking in front at the time and didn’t notice their movements. When I came to my senses and looked, they had already turned a corner.”

“These two were like they were sleepwalking, muttering as they headed straight for the well, and they were walking quite fast. I rushed over to pull them, but they actually resisted…” Speaking of this, Su Han excitedly rubbed her hands. “And you know what, Rabbit, your method is pretty useful. I gave them two slaps each and slapped them right awake.”

Shen Maomao: “…” No wonder, those two patches of high-altitude blush on their faces.

“So why weren’t you bewitched?” Potato Chip looked at Su Han, desperate to know the answer. Otherwise, for the rest of their days in this instance, the two of them probably wouldn’t dare to be separated from Su Han.

Su Han was also baffled. “Logically, I’m very sensitive to this kind of thing, so it should be easier for it to strike me dead…”

Shen Maomao said, “Just the three of you isn’t a universal sample. If conditions permit, the five of us can go take a look together. I’m starting to suspect it might be because of the well water…”

Lou Jingmo glanced at her with appreciation, playing the part of a supportive spouse (?). “I suspect that too⁵.”

However, this suspicion was just a theory. Potato Chip and Milk Tea weren’t about to go drink a few mouthfuls of well water based on a hypothesis. After all, the addictive nature of this stuff looked pretty terrifying, and it had the same effect as them being lured to jump into the well—both involved being temporarily bewitched.

Before the five of them could finish talking, Baozhu and Feicui returned. Everyone immediately shut their mouths and focused on the work at hand, each wearing an expression that said, “Working makes me happy.”

Perhaps because she had gone out for a bit, Baozhu had reverted to her previous chatty state. The moment she saw them, she opened her chatterbox. “You’re all here? What are you talking about? After we’re done, let’s go fly a paper kite⁶ in the front courtyard!”

Perhaps influenced by Zhai Yiqiao, the scene of a kite with a broken string flying down to land at the emperor’s feet automatically appeared in Shen Maomao’s mind. She quickly shook her head to drive the bizarre image from her thoughts.

Baozhu thought she was refusing and said, aggrieved, “Paper kites are really fun! The Shao Manor isn’t strict with its servants. Playing for a while when we’re not busy is definitely not a problem!”

Potato Chip replied, “Alright, we’ll play together later then.”

Baozhu let out a cheer and excitedly pulled Feicui along to go find the paper kites.

After they left, Lou Jingmo continued their previous topic. “Perhaps the things in each of the Shao Manor’s wells are different.”

Su Han narrowed her eyes. “How so?”

Lou Jingmo looked at Shen Maomao.

Shen Maomao, uncomplaining, voluntarily stepped forward to be the explainer, recounting what they had just experienced behind the rockery. She concluded at the end, “Our two groups were acting at almost the same time. Unless that ghost-sister has a clone technique⁷, it’s impossible for her to be chewing on Zhai Yiqiao raw while simultaneously luring you to jump into a well…”

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