As expected, the next day, Lu Xuan sent people to pick up Song Xiaozhou and bring him to the Lu mansion.
Song Xiaozhou was a little flustered and said he needed to change his clothes. Once inside the room, he stared intently at Lu Heng.
Lu Heng gave a slight smile and asked, “Are you scared?”
Song Xiaozhou nodded honestly, squatted down, and subconsciously gripped the animal tooth hanging around his neck. He said in a muffled voice, “Just a little scared, a tiny bit, not very scared.”
Lu Heng walked over to him and ruffled Song Xiaozhou’s hair. His voice was steady and calm as he said, “Don’t be afraid.”
Song Xiaozhou hugged Lu Heng’s waist, looked up, and was like a puppy that needed affection.
Lu Heng looked down at him and then squatted down as well, saying, “Lu Xuan has always been cautious. Before he figures out what really happened, he won’t do anything to you.”
Over the past few days, Lu Heng had indulged Song Xiaozhou’s every request, spoiling him greatly, so Song Xiaozhou’s courage had grown. He gently bumped his forehead against Lu Heng’s and whispered, “I’m not afraid of him—”
“I’m just afraid I won’t be able to come back and see you…”
Lu Heng was momentarily stunned. He almost wanted to say, “Don’t go,” or that he would accompany Song Xiaozhou, but a burning pain shot through his hands and feet, like an invisible chain that bound him and kept him from being free.
Lu Heng said, “There’s a steward in the Lu mansion named Lu Ying.” He took out a piece of jade, it was the finest suet-white jade, exquisitely crafted with a red tassel. Lu Heng hung it on Song Xiaozhou’s waist. “This person can be trusted. If you are in danger, he will help you.”
Song Xiaozhou blinked and nodded obediently. He rubbed the jade at his waist with his finger. An engraving of the character ‘Heng’ was on it. He thought it must be Lu Heng’s personal jade pendant. It was cool to the touch, just like Lu Heng’s hands.
Before he left, Song Xiaozhou hugged Lu Heng’s neck, very reluctant to part. He said, “You can’t leave, alright?”
Lu Heng smiled and replied, “Alright.”
Song Xiaozhou rode away on a horse. The suet-white jade pendant on his waist shone brilliantly in the bright sun. Lu Heng stood silently in the shade of a tree, watching the jade pendant he had personally hung on him.
Song Xiaozhou didn’t know that the jade, although it was something he had worn since childhood, was also his burial object, something that was supposed to be hidden in his coffin and never see the light of day.
The autumn air was crisp, and the sun was strong. Lu Heng was already feeling a searing burn, as if he were being incinerated alive. He closed his eyes and suddenly looked up, only to see Nanny Lin walking toward him. Lu Heng looked at her, and the two of them brushed past each other.
The Lu Mansion was in the eastern city; with pavilions, terraces, and lush flowers and trees, it was very grand. Song Xiaozhou followed the Lu family members inside. Along the way, the servants he saw didn’t look sideways; they were silent and indifferent. The entire Lu Mansion exuded a solemn, deathly stillness.
Song Xiaozhou finally met Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan looked nothing like Lu Heng. He was young, with pale skin, almond-shaped eyes, and a small mouth, giving him a very innocent and well-behaved face. Dressed in brocade robes, he sat with one leg crossed, casually observing Song Xiaozhou. The man looked like a porcelain doll wrapped in silk, completely unlike the cunning and ruthless Second Young Master of the Lu family.
“Song Xiaozhou.” Lu Xuan said with a soft laugh. For some reason, Song Xiaozhou found the sound strangely familiar.
Song Xiaozhou swallowed, trying to stay calm, and bowed. “Second Young Master.”
Lu Xuan spoke unhurriedly, “Are you finding everything to your liking in Jing’an Courtyard?”
“Everything is fine.” Song Xiaozhou replied.
“Xiaozhou, we are family now, so let’s be straightforward.” Lu Xuan’s tone was oddly old-fashioned but didn’t sound out of place. He looked at Song Xiaozhou and asked, “How old are you this year?”
Without waiting for an answer, he mumbled to himself, “Seventeen or eighteen, right? So young. I know it’s a shame to have you marry my eldest brother and guard a memorial tablet.”
Song Xiaozhou didn’t know what to say. He lowered his eyes, staying quiet and still like a timid and nervous young man.
Lu Xuan smiled and said, “Life is long. Do you want to leave this place?”
Song Xiaozhou’s head shot up, his eyes widening slightly. He stammered, “Le… leave?”
“Yes,” Lu Xuan laughed. “It was the elders of the clan who insisted on this ghost marriage to bring peace to my eldest brother’s soul in heaven. I, however, didn’t agree. No matter what, a person is dead when they’re dead, right?”
Song Xiaozhou met Lu Xuan’s gaze. Those eyes bore into him with a piercing intensity, and his words carried an unspoken meaning that sent a shiver down Song Xiaozhou’s spine.
Lu Xuan continued, “After a while, I will give you a sum of silver to leave this place, which will ensure you live the rest of your life without a worry.”
His voice was kind and gentle. If Song Xiaozhou hadn’t already been wary of him, he might have been moved to tears of gratitude already.
Song Xiaozhou’s mouth opened slightly. “Re… really?”
Lu Xuan smiled. “Of course.”
He tapped his fingers on the table, as if casually. “Xiaozhou, a few days ago, one of our stewards went to Jing’an Courtyard and, for some reason, never came back. Did you happen to see him?”
Song Xiaozhou thought for a moment and said, “Was it Steward Zheng?”
He continued, “On that day, Steward Zheng delivered the daily necessities to Jing’an Courtyard and then left. Why?” Song Xiaozhou’s eyes widened in confusion. “He didn’t come back?”
Lu Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he sat up straight. “Is that true?”
Song Xiaozhou said without blinking, “It’s absolutely true.”
After a while, Lu Xuan asked, “You’ve lived in Jing’an Courtyard for so long. Have you… have you ever seen anything strange?”
Song Xiaozhou replied, “…No. Is there something strange about Jing’an Courtyard?”
Lu Xuan looked at Song Xiaozhou and smiled. “There have been some strange things happening in Jing’an Courtyard recently. The servants are all saying the place is haunted and are scared to death.”
“…Haunted?!” Song Xiaozhou was startled, his face turning pale. “Second Young Master… Is that, is that true?”
Lu Xuan stared at Song Xiaozhou for a long time. Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the jade pendant at Song Xiaozhou’s waist. A mixture of shock and terror flashed in his eyes, but he quickly reined it in completely, smiling as he said, “It’s all nonsense. You must be tired today. Go and rest.”
He looked toward the door. “Lu Qiu, take him to rest.”
After Song Xiaozhou left, Lu Xuan stared intently at the open doorway. The image of the jade pendant seemed to still be flickering before his eyes, and his heart was pounding fast and hard.
“Second Young Master Lu.” Two people emerged from behind a landscape screen in the room. One was older, meticulously dressed in a Daoist robe with a sword on his back and a cold expression. The other was a young man, handsome and lively, with a pair of amorous peach blossom eyes.
It was the younger man who spoke. “Do you think he was telling the truth?”
All three of them looked in the direction Song Xiaozhou had left.
Lu Xuan’s face was expressionless. “It’s a lie. Not a single word was true,” he said through gritted teeth. “Gentlemen, you’ve been watching for so long, have you figured anything out?”
The younger man smiled and said, “There’s a shadowy aura around this young man’s eyes. He must have been in close contact with a ghost, and for quite some time already.”
“However, the identity of this ghost is unknown…”
Lu Xuan said coldly, “It was my eldest brother—Lu Heng.”
“Oh? How can you be so sure?”
Lu Xuan suddenly looked up, glaring fiercely at the young man, and said, “That jade, I personally placed it in my eldest brother’s coffin. I put it there with my own hands!”
He had personally hung it on Lu Heng’s corpse while cursing him never to find peace in the afterlife.
