The Hand of Confession – Chapter 244

Volume 8: The Days of the Ghost Marriage

The Young Master

It’s not the Young Master’s problem, it’s…

The three of them had little reaction to Zhai Yiqiao’s death and their act of seeing death and not saving¹; instead, they were more concerned with the matter of the different female ghost-jiejies.

Countless newcomers had died in instance dungeons. They were merely a group that had survived by a fluke and could meet the same end as Zhai Yiqiao at any moment, so there was nothing to sympathize with. Besides, if they had encountered the same situation, they absolutely would not have extended a helping hand either.

It was still the same sentiment: with so many people on the verge of death in an instance dungeon, they only wanted to look after themselves.

Lou Jingmo said, “We now know of five wells that are problematic.”

Su Han continued, “The young ladies’ courtyard, the laundry courtyard, the kitchen, the one behind the rockery, and the one in the Young Master’s courtyard.”

Lou Jingmo nodded. “Correct. Three have already been confirmed. The wells in the kitchen and Young Master Shao’s courtyard can produce the so-called ‘Spirit Water.’ Based on the current situation, we can infer that it causes addiction in a short period but can prevent bewitchment by ghosts. We’ll have to discover any subsequent effects ourselves.”

Milk Tea fell into a state of melancholy, saying, “The one in the kitchen is easy enough to verify, but what about the one in the Young Master’s courtyard? We can’t get in…”

Shen Maomao clapped her hands. “When the cart reaches the mountain, a path will surely appear². Maybe we’ll get a chance to go work in the Young Master’s courtyard next!”

She said this, but she never expected her meeting with the Young Master to come so suddenly.

After preparing dinner for the masters, little servant girls like Shen Maomao didn’t have much else to do. Baozhu brought out a swallow-shaped paper kite and gathered a few of the women to go fly it together.

Naturally, the players wouldn’t refuse.

The group arrived at the open space in front of the kitchen. Baozhu flew the paper kite up, then handed it to the others to run a couple of laps while holding the string, and that counted as having played.

For modern people, it was indeed a bit boring, but for Baozhu and Feicui, two bona fide ancient people, this activity was an absolute blast. Even the more reserved Feicui couldn’t help but laugh out loud, her eyes seemingly nailed to the paper kite, unwilling to move for the longest time.

Come to think of it, these two girls were only fourteen or fifteen, an age where they’d still be in middle school in modern times.

Shen Maomao sat on the steps, propping her chin on her hand, reminiscing about her own middle school days amidst their laughter.

…

…

Forget it, better not to think about it.

That Shamate³ past is best left unmentioned.

Lou Jingmo sat down beside her. She took the opportunity to lean over and rest her head on Lou Jingmo’s shoulder, watching the paper kite in the sky and enjoying the rare moment of peace.

As she watched, she started to get sleepy, her eyes fluttering, on the verge of closing completely… “Ah!” Just then, Baozhu suddenly cried out, “The kite string snapped!” After saying this, she hurriedly ran in the direction the kite was falling.

Shen Maomao jolted upright, a sentence blurting out of her mouth: “What the? For real?!”

Lou Jingmo: “What’s for real?”

Shen Maomao: “You know, the palace drama⁴ trope. A consort flies a kite, the string breaks, and the kite lands at the emperor’s feet…”

Lou Jingmo stood up with considerable interest. “Let’s go. Follow them and see where it landed.”

The paper kite in the sky wobbled, tumbling over and over in the wind, yet it still drifted in one direction as it fell.

The seven of them ran for a good long way before finally finding the remains of the paper kite—it was hanging on a branch extending from a certain courtyard.

Baozhu was in a bind. “This is terrible… It’s so high, we’ll definitely never get it down…”

Before them was a wall. Behind the wall, many trees were planted, with small pink flowers blooming on them. The branches stretched out from within the wall, extending even further, and the paper kite was hanging on one of them, swaying precariously in the wind but refusing to fall.

Shen Maomao walked to the wall and used herself as a standard to measure its height. The wall was about one and a half of her, built from stone bricks with a very rough surface, suitable for climbing.

Never mind her current height; when she was eight or nine years old⁵, she wasn’t even 1.3 meters tall, yet she dared to scale her family’s roof with her bare hands—though she only dared to go up and not down, getting so scared she wailed her eyes out and even got a beating from her dad.

After sizing it up, she first rubbed her hands together, then said to Baozhu, “Stop crying, watch me get it down for you!”

After speaking, she took a few steps back from the wall, getting ready for a running start.

Baozhu looked at her, then at the paper kite on the branch, and couldn’t help but worry. “It’s so high… Why don’t we go borrow a ladder?” [LP: The source text uses 提子 (tízi), which means “grape.” This is almost certainly a typo for 梯子 (tīzi), meaning “ladder,” which fits the context perfectly.]

Lou Jingmo also spoke up coolly from the side, “Can you do it?”

Shen Maomao waved her hand magnanimously. “A woman can’t say she can’t!” With that, she pushed off with her right foot and charged directly at the brick wall.

As she reached the wall, she bent her knees, stretched her hands upward, and used her momentum to leap high, grabbing onto the very top of the enclosure wall.

Then she hung on the wall like a noodle, motionless.

Lou Jingmo: “? Aren’t you going to climb?”

Shen Maomao whimpered, “Give me a boost… My arms aren’t as strong as I thought…”

“Pfft…” Baozhu covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh. Just as she was about to help, Lou Jingmo beat her to it.

Lou Jingmo bent down beside her and patted her calf, saying, “Bend your knee, step on my back.”

Shen Maomao was reluctant. “Don’t… I’m pretty heavy… and the soles of my shoes aren’t clean…”

A hint of a smile flashed in Lou Jingmo’s eyes. “Can you still hold on?”

Shen Maomao: “…” She was not a woman. She couldn’t do it.

Lou Jingmo patted her calf again. “Hurry up and step.”

Shen Maomao: “Oh…” She strained with her hands, arms tensing, and used Lou Jingmo’s back as a support point, gritting her teeth to lift one leg onto the wall.

Fortunately, the servant girls wore pants under their skirts, which saved her from flashing anyone with this move.

On the other side of the wall was an ordinary little courtyard. There was no one inside, and she didn’t know whose residence in the Shao Manor it was.

With a heave, she brought her other leg up as well, then carefully straddled the top of the wall, inching forward bit by bit.

After finally shuffling near the branch where the paper kite was, she carefully reached out to grab it. She tried several times without success, making Baozhu below watch with her heart in her throat. “Why don’t you just leave it… Hurry and come down! It’s too dangerous!”

Shen Maomao: “…” Is the next part of the plot where my foot slips, I fall with a splat, and I’m caught by the passing male lead?

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but glance down from the wall and saw Lou Jingmo watching her with an unblinking gaze, probably ready to catch her at any moment.

A sweetness filled Shen Maomao’s heart. She gave Lou Jingmo a huge smile, then suddenly shot her hand out and snatched the paper kite.

Instantly, Baozhu’s cheers rang out from below. Lou Jingmo held out both arms to her and said with a smile, “Come down, I’ll catch you.”

Shen Maomao’s old face flushed red, just as she was about to jump down, she heard a man’s voice from behind her: “Who are you?!”

!!

It’s happening, it’s happening!

Lou Jingmo’s male lead status is in jeopardy!

Shen Maomao turned her head to look, and it was actually the Young Master, whom she had met once before.

She didn’t answer, simply jumping down from the wall and into Lou Jingmo’s arms. “Go, go, go, run!”

Lou Jingmo asked, “Who was it?”

Baozhu said in alarm, “Don’t tell me the Young Master is there?! This is terrible! If I had known, I wouldn’t have come to get it! Let’s go, quickly!!”

Shen Maomao: “?? “

She didn’t want to deal with this Young Master because she had personally witnessed the last person who did get thrown into a well, but why were Baozhu and the others also afraid of seeing him?

The seven of them ran like the wind, covering a great distance in the blink of an eye.

Young Master Shao had no intention of bothering with a few little servant girls, nor did he send anyone after them.

Only when the walls of the Young Master’s courtyard were no longer in sight did the group gradually slow to a stop.

Shen Maomao asked Baozhu breathlessly, “What’s wrong with the Young Master? Why do we have to run when we see him?”

Baozhu, also panting heavily, replied, “It’s not the Young Master’s problem, it’s…”

“Ahem, ahem…” Feicui coughed twice.

Baozhu immediately stopped talking, only reminding them, “Anyway, just remember not to get too close to the Young Master, or else don’t blame me for not warning you…”

Shen Maomao was so angry she wanted to sew Feicui’s mouth shut.

She coughs whenever it gets to the crucial part, she always coughs at the crucial part, what the hell is wrong with her throat?! Can’t someone get the kid some treatment??

She handed the paper kite, which now had two large holes poked in it, back to Baozhu, saying, “Sorry, the kite still broke.”

Baozhu smiled. “It’s not your fault, it was clearly pierced by the branches. Thank you… By the way, we’ve known each other for so long, but I still don’t know your name.”

Shen Maomao: “…” This was a life-or-death question.

Whether telling an NPC her name was a good or bad thing, no one could say for sure. She also couldn’t be certain if Baozhu and Feicui held human cards or ghost cards…

The air fell silent for a moment. Baozhu was still looking at her with wide, puzzled eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Maomao swallowed and glanced at Lou Jingmo out of the corner of her eye.

Lou Jingmo stood there quietly, arms crossed over her chest, watching her without any intention of giving her a hint.

Shen Maomao pursed her lips and finally said her screen name: “I… I’m called Rabbit.”

Baozhu covered her mouth and smiled. “Little Rabbit, so cute…”

Being called cute by a girl so much younger than her, Shen Maomao, who considered her face to be thicker than a city wall, found that even she couldn’t quite take it. She scratched her head and said shyly, “No, no…”

Beside her, Lou Jingmo rolled her eyes.

Su Han said, “Alright, let’s get going. We’re done for if the head chef finds out we disappeared.”

The seven of them quickly continued on their way, returning to the kitchen without any further trouble. The head chef was done after making dinner and was currently hugging a water bucket, lost in a drunken stupor, so he had no time to care where the few of them had gone.

The sun gradually set in the west, and the servants who had been busy all day could finally eat.

As usual, it was the masters’ leftovers. The kitchen staff ate first, followed by the other servants.

After eating, they were kept behind to wash the last of the dishes. Su Han glanced at the sky, feeling very uneasy. “Do we have enough lamp oil for tonight? Should we secretly take some back with us?”

Lou Jingmo shook her head. “Better not. The lamp oil might have some special significance. Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

Su Han sighed. “I just have a feeling tonight won’t be peaceful… Something is definitely going to happen.”

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The author has something to say:

I changed the candles from before, for the little darlings who haven’t read it, you don’t need to specifically read it a second time, the candles have been changed to oil lamps!

I completely forgot about Valentine’s Day a few days ago, forgot to wish all the single dogs a ‘may you have this day every year, and this moment every year.’ _(:з」∠)_

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