CMRW Chapter 5

As usual, Xia Yuan opened the teahouse doors on time and drew back every curtain. Sunshine poured into the small but delicate shop, spilling across the tables and chairs like freshly melted caramel, making everything feel warm and sweet. Yet Xia Yuan’s expression was the complete opposite of the bright day—she remained quietly downcast.

Two years ago, an old physician and his young apprentice came to town, invited by the wealthy Gu family to treat an illness. Xia Yuan had been a maid in Young Master Gu’s courtyard. She was an abandoned orphan, without family, and her life had never been easy.

By chance, the apprentice took a liking to Xia Yuan and soon proposed marriage. Xia Yuan didn’t dislike him, but in her heart, she believed she owed her life to Young Master Gu, and that even in death she should stay by his side to repay his kindness.

Unexpectedly, Young Master Gu agreed at once. He changed her household registration and even provided her a dowry. After marrying the apprentice, Xia Yuan and her husband set up their own household in Annan Town. The apprentice became a small but reputable physician, and Xia Yuan opened a teahouse named Lingering Charm. Clever, diligent, and skilled at making pastries and snacks, she quickly earned a good reputation and even took on the regular business of supplying treats to the Gu Residence—so her ties with them were never fully severed.

A week ago, when she heard that Young Master Gu had suddenly fallen ill and died, Xia Yuan wept until she fainted several times. But the very next day, she still forced herself to open her teahouse. Because that shop had been part of her dowry, a gift from Young Master Gu. She could not protect her benefactor, but at least she could protect this shop.

Not long after she opened that day, a little maid from the Gu Residence arrived with a letter—astonishingly, written in Gu Yunwu’s hand.

“If I truly walk the road to the underworld, then there must be foul play. For such a ridiculous request, I feel deeply ashamed. But I ask that you lend some aid to Chuntao, to uncover the truth.”

After making some inquiries about the situation, Xia Yuan swiftly closed her shop and followed the maid in secret back into the Gu Residence.

“Miss Xia Yuan, I have long—” Before the words “long admired your name” were out, Li Si was interrupted by Gu Yunwu.

“You should say ‘long time no see.’”

Li Si swallowed hard, quickly correcting himself. “Long time no see.”

“Miss Xia Yuan?” Xia Yuan glanced doubtfully at Chuntao, even reaching out to feel her forehead. “The fever should’ve gone down, no?”

“Usually Chuntao calls people by name directly,” Gu Yunwu explained from the side. “Her husband is a physician. If there’s a problem with the medicine I used to take, perhaps he could help.”

Li Si’s eyes lit up. Grabbing Xia Yuan’s hands, he said eagerly:
“Xia Yuan, perfect timing—I have a favor to ask. I want to check if the medicine Gu Yunwu drank regularly had issues. Could I consult your husband?”

Startled, Xia Yuan tried to pull her hands back. But Chuntao held on so tightly that, after a few failed attempts, Xia Yuan gave up.
“I suppose that’s possible. But where would we get the prescription?”

“I don’t have it. But I used to get stubborn and secretly dumped out the medicine. To avoid being discovered, I probably buried it in a corner of the courtyard.”

“Probably? But the Yunsheng Pavilion is sealed off. I can’t enter.”

“I’ll handle that. If I retrieve the medicine, could I ask for your help?”

“If it concerns the young master, of course I’ll do all I can.” Xia Yuan nodded. “But I’ll head back for today. I’ve come here too often lately and might draw suspicion. I’ll wait a few days before returning. Remember to apply your medicine.” After neatly gathering her things, she stood up to leave.

Li Si thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke. “Xia Yuan… thank you for these past days. If I often bullied you before… I apologize.”

Xia Yuan froze, her eyes suddenly welling with tears.
“Chuntao. To meet a young master as kind as him, anyone would harbor some improper thoughts. But you—rather than letting it go—you indulged in vain hopes, which turned into obsession. You tormented him, and yourself. For selfish desire, you spread lies, stirred trouble, tarnished his reputation… in the end hurting both him and yourself. I truly, utterly despised you.”
She paused, softening.

“But in this devouring household, filled with sly foxes reading faces, the young master was never valued. We servants could all see it. If you hadn’t strutted about pretending strength, his days would’ve been far worse. This time you argued on his behalf before the master and were gravely injured, while I did nothing. It should be me thanking you. Thank you, for still clinging to him so blindly.”

She wiped her tears, bowed, and left.

Li Si looked after her, then at Gu Yunwu. “I understood every word she said… but what did she mean? Was she praising Chuntao’s devotion, or condemning her obsession?”

The sunlight streaming through the window cut through Gu Yunwu’s faint, flickering figure, shrouding him in a haze of drifting dust. His expression was unreadable.
He said: “This world is not simply black and white.”

But in the underworld, good and evil are clearly defined. Judges discern everything without doubt—sinners fall to hell, the righteous reincarnate, no in-betweens. Everything in strict order. Those allowed to remain in the underworld may have strange tempers or quirks, but at heart, they are the good chosen by Yama himself.

Li Si, raised among such pure souls, had grown up with a rigid black-and-white view of morality. To him, Chuntao was no good woman. So Xia Yuan and Gu Yunwu’s attitudes toward her left him puzzled.

He tilted his head, pondering Yunwu’s words, but didn’t understand. Soon enough, he gave up thinking.

“In a couple of days, when I’m better, I’ll dig up the medicine.”

“How did you know Chuntao buried it in the courtyard?”

Asked this, Li Si wrinkled his nose and grinned smugly.

“Your fancy courtyard is packed with rare flowers, rockeries, and potted plants. But there’s one corner where the soil’s been dug up, a complete mess—bald and obvious.”

“Sharp eye, Fourth Brother. I lived there daily, yet never noticed.” Gu Yunwu played along, offering praise.

But Li Si didn’t catch the flattery. He said seriously: “You lived there every day, of course you’d overlook it. But any outsider would see the odd patch instantly. Pity poor Chuntao’s frail body couldn’t take the strain. Give me two more days, and the truth will come to light.”

Yet though he said so, his injuries were too grave. By the time he could move freely, ten days had passed—leaving only a few days until the forty-nine-day mourning period ended.

During that time, at Madam Liu’s orders, old nurse Cui visited once. She marveled at Chuntao’s tenacious will to live, then again urged her to leave the residence quickly and avoid further trouble.

Each day, Li Si lay around, alternating between cursing and sighing. Gu Yunwu, however, was perfectly calm, even cheerful, as if none of it concerned him. He kept Li Si company, listening patiently to his grumbles, occasionally telling him old stories from his childhood.

On a dark, windy night, Li Si decided the time had come. He slipped out of the woodshed like a ghost beneath the ink-black sky.

They crept into the deserted Yunsheng Pavilion, retrieved the buried medicine, and wrapped it in a handkerchief. Everything went smoothly. All that was left was to take it to Xia Yuan.

But passing by the study, Gu Yunwu suddenly halted.
“I want to look inside.”

“Hm? Why?”

“I need to confirm something.”

Without pressing further, Li Si crouched low, sneaking in through an unlatched window.

Inside was pitch black. Though Gu Yunwu, as a ghost, could see clearly, Li Si—bound to a mortal body—was blind. After fumbling, he lit a lamp and quickly scanned the room. Compared to the rest of the residence, the study was plain, almost dull. Only the slightly worn paper kite on the wall lent it any charm.

Gu Yunwu stood before the desk, staring at the kite in silence, his face shifting in the candlelight, unreadable. At last, as if resolving something, he gestured for Li Si to open a drawer. At the very back was a small ornate box. Inside, cushioned by yellow silk, lay a plain notebook—the Gu Family Genealogy.

It contained only a few lines: Gu Changwei, his late wife Madam Li, his second wife Madam Liu and her two children, and finally, in the corner, the name of a concubine-born child. That was all.

Li Si scoffed. “All that trouble hiding it, and it’s just this worthless scrap?”

But Gu Yunwu exhaled deeply. The fog that had haunted his heart for years finally began to clear.

All his endless hopes, now condensed into just two words: Forget it.

Li Si nearly asked something, but perhaps because of the wavering candlelight, Yunwu’s eyes looked wet. Li Si hesitated, then swallowed his words.

Just then, a shout came from outside the study:
“Who’s in there?!”

A patrolling servant.

Gu Yunwu and Li Si exchanged a look. With a puff, the lamp was blown out, and they ducked behind the door. As the servant entered, Li Si struck him sharply at the neck, then bolted without checking if he was out cold.

Soon the entire residence was in an uproar.
“Thief! Catch the thief!” Servants rushed about with torches, the courtyard ablaze with light.

Li Si clambered up a low wall. Before jumping down, he looked back one last time at the grand estate. He realized that once he leapt, he could never return. That final glance he gave—to Chuntao.

And also, to Gu Yunwu.

After escaping, the unlit roads and unfamiliar paths had him stumbling and tripping. Suddenly, from a pitch-dark corner, a figure lunged out, seizing his wrist.

“Young lady, your brow is dark, your soul scattered—you must be haunted by something unclean. Would you like me to tell your fortune?”