Denghuaxiao

Chapter 40 Before leaving

Wanfu ordered people to prepare rice, flour, sesame oil and money for offerings to Wan'en Temple, and then returned to his house first.

As soon as he got back to the house, he took out two fragrant cakes in cloth bags from his arms, threw them into the brazier and burned them.

 When the fragrant cake is thrown into the fire, it immediately emits a strange fragrance. The fragrance reaches the tip of people's nose and makes people feel depressed for no reason.

Wanfu quickly covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves.

These two fragrant cakes were sent to him by the "Master Zheng" who had defaulted on the deed in Wanquan. Ask him to hang these two fragrant cakes on his body.

Although Wan Fu was unwilling in his heart, he had to do it as the handle was in his hand. When worn on the body, the scent of the fragrant pancake is very light, and you can't smell it at all if you don't smell it carefully. Wearing it for so many days is not life-threatening, except that it makes you sleepless at night and makes your heart palpitate.

 For Wanfu, insomnia is certainly not a big deal. But for Mr. Ke, who is suffering from heart disease and worried about Lu's ghost coming to seek his life, this uneasiness is like adding insult to injury and is really life-threatening.

 "Master Zheng" asked Wanfu to act like a ghost in the Ke family, pretending that the ghost of the Lu family came to claim his life, so as to encourage Mr. Ke's ambition.

So Wanfu followed what was said in the letter and had two wooden shoe molds made from afar. When they were poured with water, two wet footprints were revealed.

Ms. Lu’s feet are not big, so she makes all her embroidered shoes herself. It is not easy to buy them outside, but she can easily make shoe molds. From time to time, he helped Ke Chengxing fold clothes and tidy up books. He hinted that there might be a woman crying in the middle of the night. As expected, Ke Chengxing soon became frightened.

Ordinary maids can't enter Ke Chengxing's house, but Wan Fu can. Others don't know about Lu's habit of folding clothes and collecting books, but Wan Fu who follows Ke Chengxing knows it. It's just that Ke Chengxing trusted Wanfu and never pointed suspicion at the boy next to him. So Wanfu struck again while the iron was hot and suggested that a Taoist priest perform a ritual to exorcise evil spirits.

During the three days of exorcism, Wanfu did not pretend to be a ghost and scare people. Ke Chengxing even believed that evil could not suppress good and everything was caused by Lu's ghost. This movement alarmed Mrs. Qin and Mrs. Ke. They did not allow Ke Chengxing to continue doing these ghostly things in the house. Ke Chengxing, who was desperate, would be convinced when he heard the last straw of the Qinglian Festival.

Wanfu was secretly frightened.

"Mr. Zheng" is really scary. He has never entered the Ke family, but he seems to have anticipated every step that happens in the Ke family. In this way, he introduces Ke Chengxing to the Qinglian Festival step by step.

As for what will happen at the Qinglian Festival, Wanfu cannot even think about it.

 Now that he has reached this point, it is impossible to turn back.

Aunt Wan came in from the outside and saw Wan Fu sweeping away the burned ashes. She suddenly said angrily: "What on earth are you doing all this?" She took two steps forward and asked in a low voice, "You Tell me honestly, how is Quan'er doing now?"

Wan Fu didn’t tell Nanny Wan everything. He only told her that Wan Quan had a gambling debt and that he was trying to find a way to raise money to replace her. Just because the matter was of great importance, Aunt Wan didn't know the inside story of Lu's death, and it would be dangerous if she knew it.

Even if she didn't say "Mr. Zheng", Mr. Ke couldn't spare her.

So Wan Fu hid it from Grandma Wan. After all, sometimes ignorance is a blessing.

He stood up and put the bamboo broom into Grandma Wan's hand: "Come on, I'll be back in a few days. Don't let anyone see it out. I can hide my money for a while."

 Wan Mammy was touched by the seriousness of his expression and nodded subconsciously. Seeing Wanfu go out again, he hurriedly chased him a few steps behind him and asked, "It's time to eat, where are you going?"

Wanfu didn't answer her words and quickly disappeared outside the house.

 …

 The day always goes by quickly.

After the number of people buying medicinal tea decreased, there was nothing else going on in the medical clinic. Du Changqing took Acheng to go home early. Yin Zheng closed the door of the shop and took inventory of the remaining medicinal tea jars. Finally, it was time to hold the lamp.

The lanterns in the courtyard were swaying. It had rained a few days ago, and the lanterns were wet from the rain. The patterns on them were blurred and looked more and more old. The small window in the kitchen was closed tightly, and some orange light leaked through the cracks in the window, adding a bit of softness and tranquility to the small courtyard.

 Lu Zhen was making medicine in the kitchen.

 She has been very busy lately. When Du Changqing was in a daze in the shop, Lu Zhuo would often go back to the small courtyard behind the shop and get into the kitchen, where he would stay for several hours. Sometimes I would be busy until late at night, only to wake up and open the door again early the next morning.

Yin Zheng walked to the corridor and looked at the lights between the windows. She also wondered in her heart, wouldn't her girl feel tired? Ordinary people would be too tired to worry about this, but she looked clear and clear every day without any signs of fatigue.

The bluestone vat in front of the corridor is filled with clear water, and a gourd-made water ladle floats on the water, creating shallow ripples under the light.

Yin Zheng composed herself, opened the door and walked in while saying: "Girl..."

 The entire back kitchen was filled with smoke, and a strange aroma hit our nostrils.

This aroma is very strange, it seems to be mixed with some kind of rosin, and it is like the sandalwood in the temple. It is both fragrant and light, both clear and thick. As soon as it enters the tip of the nose, it feels like someone has poured a mouthful of old liquor that has been left for a long time, making the person's brain swollen.

Yin Zheng was startled. The next moment, Lu Zhuo's stern voice came to her ears: "Get out!"

She rarely spoke to Yinzheng in such a stern tone. Yinzheng was startled, quickly stepped back, and closed the door. For some reason, her heart beat wildly.

The room was filled with smoke, it didn’t look like medicine was being made, and the incense...

The cold wind outside blew away the panic just now, the night was quiet in the small courtyard, and Yin Zheng's racing heart slowly calmed down. She thought for a while, looked back for a meal, sat down on the porch in front of the kitchen, and waited with peace of mind.

The oil lamp was half lit, and the kitchen door was opened.

Lu Zong walked out. Her brown cloth was gray from the smoke, and there was a hint of tiredness in her eyebrows.

Yin Zheng stood up and said softly: "Girl, there was a message from the happy building. Wan Fu said that everything is ready. Early tomorrow morning, the Ke family will set off to Wan'en Temple."

She didn't mention the strange aroma she smelled in the kitchen just now. She just smiled at Lu Huan and said, "The Ke family is convinced of Wanfu's proposal. I didn't expect this to go so smoothly."

 At first, when Lu Zong brought the fragrant pancakes to Wanfu, Yin Zheng was a little uneasy. It is certainly a way to find someone to pretend to be a ghost, but the old lady of the Ke family is not easy to fool. Once discovered, trouble will inevitably come to your door.

Unexpectedly, the fragrant pancakes sent by Lu Zong also included some cold ointment. Wanfu secretly rubbed several times on the rim of Mrs. Ke's daily cup. Mrs. Ke soon caught a cold as soon as she blew the wind.

Mrs. Ke, who was ill, could no longer take care of the affairs of the government, so she had no choice but to let De Wanfu play around with Ke Chengxing.

 Getting Ke Chengxing to agree to go to Wan'en Temple was much easier than expected.

Yin Zheng looked at Lu Yu: "But girl, when should we set off?"

Lu Yan said calmly: "It takes half a day to go up the mountain. We will leave at noon tomorrow and arrive at the temple in the evening. After spending the night, there will be a Qinglian Festival on the second day."

 She lowered her eyes and said, "We'll set off tomorrow afternoon."

 (End of this chapter)