After finishing her cultivation, Gu Qingyun took the fifteen taels of silver Old Lady Zhang had given her and went to Lady Su’s room in the backyard.
“Mother, keep this silver. Having money on hand gives you peace of mind.”
“I don’t need it,” Lady Su said. “You secretly slip me silver all the time, and with what your grandma just gave me, I already have several dozen taels.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I could save this much money. I’ll keep this silver and quietly buy a courtyard house when the time comes—it’ll serve as a backup plan for the future.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingyun pressed a hand to her forehead with a sigh. “Spend it however you like. I can earn plenty, so you don’t need to worry about the future.”
“Mother knows what she’s doing, so don’t worry about it. Who knows what the future will bring? We get along fine now, but nobody can say for sure later on—you can know someone’s face without knowing their heart. If one of your older brothers ends up marrying a troublemaker, living apart will become inevitable.” Lady Su held up a bolt of gifted fabric and measured it against Gu Qingyun.
“I need to make an outfit for you too. You might have new clothes now, but none of them were made by your mother. This time, I’ll make sure to do an even better job so my daughter looks all the more respectable when going out.
“Qingyun, it’s only been a few months, but you seem to have grown taller again.”
Lady Su felt a touch of worry. Her daughter was already half a head taller than her. If she kept growing like this, she might end up taller than most men—what would they do then?
Gu Qingyun pursed her lips in a smile. By modern standards of measurement, she was probably around one meter seventy now. Girls supposedly stopped growing around age fifteen; would she reach one meter seventy-five?
For a girl, this height was pretty good—at the very least, it was an advantage in a fight.
“Mother, once I learn how to ride a horse, I’ll take you out for a ride to see the countryside. You’ve stayed cooped up at home all this time, rarely stepping outside. In the future, I’ll take you all to see places further away.”
...
As night deepened, Gu Qingyun finished dinner and headed toward the county yamen carrying several boxes of pastries, with Little Black tagging along. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past, and Gu Qingyun caught an ominous scent on the breeze.
She turned her head toward the direction of the wind—it was Bamboo Leaf Alley. After standing quietly for a moment, she turned around and continued walking toward the county yamen.
Gu Qingyun took out a box of pastries to share with Xiao Huan and a few others, and gave another box to the County Magistrate’s household; how they divided it was none of her concern.
The remaining box in her hands went to Bai Fan and the other constables.
Pastries from a prominent shop were truly delicious; even someone like Constable Yu, who had no fondness for sweets, ate several pieces. Seeing that darkness had fallen completely, the group split up to begin their night patrols.
Along the way, Bai Fan yawned repeatedly, barely able to keep his eyes open.
Gu Qingyun gave him a few hard pats on the back. “What did you do during the day to be this exhausted?”
“Sigh, nothing really. I just didn’t get enough sleep today, and my head feels heavy—I think I might have caught a cold.”
Gu Qingyun nodded in understanding. “Dress more warmly on ordinary days. From what I can tell, fierce winds will pick up in a few days, followed by the Great Cold; even colder days are coming.
“All right, catch your breath for a bit. We’re about to start patrolling the streets. In these months leading up to the New Year, we have to stay sharp at night. Head Constable Liu said petty thieves are running rampant lately, all trying to scrounge up some silver for the New Year.”
“Yeah, I know. If I really run into one, I’m no pushover either,” Bai Fan said spiritedly.
“We’ll see how you handle it when you actually run into one.”
Gu Qingyun stopped mid-sentence and stared straight ahead. Without realizing it, they had walked into Bamboo Leaf Alley. Seeing Gu Qingyun stop in the middle of the road, Bai Fan urged her, “Sister Yun, why did you stop?”
Gu Qingyun blocked his line of sight, keeping her voice down to a whisper. “Don’t look ahead.”
The tone of her voice sent a shiver through Bai Fan’s heart. He couldn’t see anything, and it was precisely this unknown that terrified him even more. His voice shook uncontrollably. “Sister Yun, what is it?”
Gu Qingyun didn’t say a word, keeping her gaze locked onto the woman in front of them without looking away for an instant.
The woman wore only an unlined robe, her hair wild and disheveled, standing there barefoot. Even so, it was evident that she had delicate features, with large, dark eyes clear and enchanting like crystal.
The woman averted her gaze from Gu Qingyun, unconsciously taking a few steps back.
Gu Qingyun frowned at her and barked sternly, “Who are you? How dare you be out past curfew? Come with me to the yamen!”
No sooner had she spoken than cries came from behind them, and an older woman came running over out of breath:
“Miss, why did you run out again in the middle of the night? Hurry and come back with me! Ah, why aren’t you even wearing shoes? The Master and Madam will be worried sick!”
Upon seeing Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan, she quickly bowed and scraped. “Officers, my deepest apologies! Our young miss is mentally impaired and doesn’t understand much. She slipped out while no one was looking. I’ll take her back right away.”
With that, she slipped two qian of silver into Gu Qingyun’s and Bai Fan’s hands, then pulled the woman along to head back.
The woman offered no resistance, simply following the older woman away. Along the way, she turned her head to stare straight at Gu Qingyun, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Gu Qingyun watched in silence for a long while until Bai Fan asked again:
“Sister Yun, what happened? Who was that?”
Gu Qingyun turned back and gave a faint shake of her head. “Just a young woman who’s somewhat mentally impaired. She wasn’t dressed properly, so to protect her reputation, I had to block your view.”
Bai Fan breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought you’d run into that kind of thing again. You gave me quite a scare.”
Gu Qingyun feigned calm. “How could we run into those things all the time? All right, back to patrol. I need to inspect other areas. Now that I’ve finally received a promotion, I can’t just collect silver and slack off.”
Bai Fan’s interest was piqued by her words, his face filled with envy. “Sister Yun, your food and wage allowance rose to one tael of silver! You can buy so many more flatbreads with that.”
“Is that the limit of your ambition? You can achieve it too in the future. All right, I’m off. Head straight back to the county yamen when you finish your patrol.” Without waiting for Bai Fan to answer, Gu Qingyun walked away.
She shadowed the woman until she saw her enter a house. After waiting for a long time and confirming that the courtyard was completely deserted, she slipped stealthily into the woman’s room.
“You’re here.”
The moment she stepped inside, a female voice drifted over—chilling and ethereal, faint and weightless, yet cold enough to seep into one’s bones. A woman sat before the vanity, slowly combing her hair. Anyone else witnessing such a scene would likely have fallen ill from sheer terror.
Gu Qingyun remained completely unfazed. Sizing the woman up, she could tell at a glance that the female ghost possessing her was not the kind to slaughter the innocent. She asked softly:
“Why are you possessing her?”
Her voice was not loud, but to the female ghost’s ears, it sounded deafening.
The woman’s hand froze mid-stroke. Then, she let out a disdainful chuckle. Her voice was soft, yet it caused the murderous intent in Gu Qingyun’s eyes to deepen:
“The girl I’m possessing hasn't even had her hair-pinning ceremony, yet she is no longer a virgin.”
“Who did it?” Gu Qingyun asked, holding back her fury.
“Heehee, take a guess. You’re a constable; surely you have an idea by now. Let me tell you another thing: this girl wasn’t born mentally impaired. And my possessing her body? I had her consent, you know.”
Rate on N.U.
