Ci Jinzhi

  Chapter 62 Worship

  The visitor was tall and handsome, and he was clearly the man in the picture who had a dispute with Zhou's mother.

   This is Zhou Ningyue's father, a Jin Linwei who works in Beizhen Fusi.

  Xin You looked at her calmly, and Zhou's father said, "Go home and get something. Yue'er, are you going out to play with your friends?"

  Zhou Ningyue looked at Xin You: "I'm taking my friend out. Sister Kou, this is my father."

  Xin You saluted, "Hello, Uncle."

  Father Zhou nodded: "You have fun." After speaking, he walked into the house.

   "Sister Zhou doesn't need to give it away."

   "Sister Kou, come and play with me when you have time." Zhou Ningyue was in a good mood and invited with a smile.

   "Okay. You can also come to the bookstore to play at any time. I am usually there."

  Farewell to Zhou Ningyue and Ji Cailan, Xin You went back to the bookstore.

  Seeing that Xinyou's face was not looking well, Xiaolian brought her a cup of warm water with honey to moisten her throat.

  Honey water entrance, moist and sweet.

   "Xiao Lian, is it fourteen today?"

  Xiao Lian didn't expect Xin You to ask this suddenly, she froze for a moment and said, "Yes, today is fourteen."

  Xin You held the teacup, looked out of the window, and murmured, "Hungry Ghost Festival is here."

  People at that time had the custom of worshiping relatives and friends during the Ghost Festival. In the picture she saw, for whom did Zhou's mother burn paper money, and did Zhou's father get angry?

  Does the thing in the picture happen tonight, tomorrow night, or the day after tomorrow?

  Xin You slowly drank the honey water and made a decision.

   Zhou's mother burned paper money behind Zhou's father's back, obviously not for the ancestors of Zhou's family. Looking at Zhou Ningyue's temperament, it doesn't seem like it can be cultivated by living in the disputes between her parents for a long time, and it is not very likely that Zhou's mother will burn paper money for the deceased of her natal family.

  There must be a reason for the strange things, but unfortunately she can only see the picture but not hear the sound. Then go and hear it for yourself, maybe you will gain something.

   "Girl, do you still drink? The servant girl is going to pour another glass?" Xiao Lian guessed that this special festival, the Hungry Ghost Festival, had aroused Xin You's sadness, so she spoke cautiously.

   "No need." Xin You smiled, "Bring the black dress that the nanny made earlier, I will wear it tonight."

  Xiao Lian blinked and realized: "Are you going out at night?"

  She said why the girl asked Nanny Fang to make a set of all black clothes, it turned out to be night clothes!

  At this moment, the stories from the scripts she heard played a role, and Xiao Lian made a bold guess: "Girl, you don't know kung fu, do you?"

   "Yes." Xin You said calmly.

  Xiao Lian covered her mouth to stop her screaming, and stared at Xin You with burning eyes.

  Ah, the girl can know kung fu, the chivalrous woman in the story really exists!

   No wonder the girl climbed the tree so neatly, no wonder the girl was so calm when encountering anything.

   "Girl, are you a chivalrous woman who walks the rivers and lakes with a sword?" Xiao Lian asked in a low voice.

  Xin You reached out and patted the excited little maid: "I'm not a chivalrous woman, I just know some kung fu. Just read the story, don't take it seriously."

   "Oh, oh." Xiao Lian responded, but the villain in her heart was still screaming.

  Ah, the girl is a chivalrous woman who kills one person in ten steps and never stays behind for thousands of miles!

  Xin You didn't know Xiaolian's wild thoughts, and said with a smile, "So you don't have to worry when I go out. I'll go out to do some errands at night."

  When night fell, Xin You put on a black dress, quietly left the bookstore under the watchful eye of Xiaolian, and went straight to Jixiangfang.

  The full moon is in the sky, the night breeze is cool, the streets and alleys have faded from the bustle of the day, and are empty.

   There was the sound of a night watch, and occasionally a drunk staggered past, as well as sporadic pedestrians in a hurry.

  Xin You avoided it carefully, climbed up to the top of the wall from the place where she quietly observed during the day, and jumped in quietly.

  She hid beside the woodpile, looking towards the main room.

  The lights in the room were still on, and sometimes a figure reflected on the window could be seen passing by.

  Mosquitoes are indispensable next to the woodpile. Xin You waited patiently without moving, until midnight.

  She looked up at the position of the full moon in the sky, compared it with the picture, and confirmed that it was not tonight.

  After going back, Xin You fell asleep until the sun was high before getting up, changed into black clothes at night and went out again.

  On the night of the Hungry Ghost Festival, there was not even a single pedestrian on the road, and the air was filled with the smell of burning paper money, which made the bustling and noisy capital a little more gloomy and strange.

   It was another night of feeding mosquitoes and returning home without success. Xinyou caught up with sleep during the day, and shopkeeper Hu couldn't help but came to Xiaolian to inquire, asking the owner if he was not feeling well after not going to the front for two days.

   On the night of Shiliu, looking at Xinyou who had changed into black, Xiao Lian finally couldn't help asking: "Girl, do you go out every night?"

  Xin You looked up at the full moon in the sky, and shook her head slightly: "I shouldn't go out tomorrow night."

  When Xinyou walked into the night, Xiao Lian suddenly had a guess: the girl must have pretended to be a ghost during the Ghost Festival!

   Somehow, the more mysterious the girl is, the more confident she is in getting back the Kou family's wealth.

  Xin You walked into Zhou's house with ease and hid in the old place.

   Waiting for two days did not make her depressed, but became calmer.

  The scenes she saw will all happen in the near future. Since the scene of Zhou's mother secretly burning paper money was not in the previous two days, it must be tonight.

  Xin You's judgment was not wrong. After waiting for an hour, when everything was silent, the door of the main room quietly opened.

  A person walked out lightly with a basket in hand, and under the moonlight one could see that it was Mother Zhou.

  She looked very careful, and looked back at the door frequently, making sure nothing was disturbed, and ran to the osmanthus tree in the corner.

  Xin You stared intently, and saw Zhou's mother kneeling there, taking out the folded paper money from the basket and lighting it up, muttering something silently.

  Yellow paper was burned in the basin, illuminating Zhou Mu's sad face.

  Xin You turned her gaze to the door of the main room.

  A tall figure came out, he stopped for a moment, and then strode towards the corner.

   Zhou's mother turned around vigilantly when she heard the movement, but because the yard was not big, Zhou's father had already come in front of her.

  Xin You saw the panic on Zhou's mother's face, and was pulled up by Zhou's father just like in the picture.

  Different from the silent picture, she heard the conversation between the two.

   "Why are you burning paper money? Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble!"

   "I burned it quietly at home, and no one saw it, how could I get into trouble?"

   "No one saw it? Don't you know how powerful Jin Linwei is?" Under the moonlight, Zhou's father looked gloomy.

  Mother Zhou also got angry and pushed his hand away: "Jin Linwei, Jin Linwei, if I hadn't believed in you, Empress Xin wouldn't have died at all! Woohoo, I killed the empress—"

  Father Zhou's face changed drastically, and he lowered his voice to reprimand: "Are you crazy? It's impossible to want the whole family to die without a burial place!"

   "Let go!"

  While the two were tugging, Mother Zhou accidentally fell down and pressed one hand into the basin of burning paper money.

  Screams sounded, startling the sleeping people, several servants came out one after another, even Zhou Ningyue ran out in clothes.

  (end of this chapter)