Old Lady Wang shook her head, still standing in the dark. In a hesitant tone, she spoke, "I think that person outside won't be leaving anytime soon, why don't you follow me into my house, and I'll ask my son Ling to send you back later."
"Sorry to trouble you." Yan Liu'er was greatly terrified, beads of sweat had covered her forehead.
She followed Old Lady Wang toward her yard. Unsure whether it was because she was sweating, Yan Liu'er felt the air around her was freezing cold.
It was the same even in the house. All of the Wang family's savings went toward supporting their son's education, and since Old Lady Wang was a widow, she was usually very frugal. Hence, they did not light any fires for warmth.
Yan Liu'er rubbed her arms. She then realized that Old Lady Wang was wearing only a thin shirt in such a frigid winter, did she not feel cold?
"Have some tea." Her low voice passed over Yan Liu'er's head.
Yan Liu'er shivered in the cold. Initially, she wanted to hold the teacup in her palms to warm herself up, but when she took it, she noticed that even the tea in the cup was cold.
How strange, maybe Old Lady Wang was reluctant to boil any water.
Yan Liu'er held the teacup and thought about it, she really did not want to drink the cold tea. In such a cold winter, even her breath was frosty, who would want to drink cold tea?
What she did not expect was that Old Lady Wang actually drank it.
Furthermore, she downed it very naturally, as though the temperature of the liquid did not bother her at all.
The atmosphere froze for a split second.
Old Lady Wang sat on her rocking chair as she stared at Yan Liu'er, the expression on her face unreadable.
Without knowing why, Yan Liu'er felt a sense of unease that could not be described. Maybe the shock that she felt just now had yet to dissipate, causing her to fear everything she saw.
Yan Liu'er tried to start a conversation. "Old Lady Wang, I still have some unused charcoal at home, I'll send some over to you tomorrow. I have outerwear of cotton robes too, if you don't mind, I can bring them to you as well."
Old Lady Wang did not reply.
Just when Yan Liu'er thought that she had fallen asleep, Old Lady Wang's voice rang out huskily. "In this alley, you have the kindest heart, you don't hate the poor nor fancy the rich. You take such good care of both of us as well. Liu'er, whoever marries you, he will be a lucky guy."
"I'm not as good as you think." Yan Liu'er smiled shyly. "You've helped me a lot in the past as well, and we're all living in the same alley, these are things that I should do, other people would have done the same as well."
Old Lady Wang huffed in disagreement. "They won't, not those girls from the Zhang and Li family. Whenever they see my son, Ling, they mock and jeer at him, always saying that he would never make it in this life. What do they know? My son, Ling will be the top student one day, it's just a matter of time."
"I bet they're anxious as well, don't take it to heart," Yan Liu'er said in a rather awkward manner.
Old Lady Wang's voice was emotionless. "You don't need to speak up for them. They have no decency, going out on dates in the middle of the night. If I had daughters like these, I would just strangle them to death, what a shame to our ancestors."
To be honest, Yan Liu'er was not good at topics like these, so she just said quietly, "No, I'm not defending them, some of the things they've said is true after all. You see, Brother Ling is getting older now, he couldn't possibly let you go out and work all the time, it would be nice if he could work while studying."
"Your Brother Ling's hands should be used to write edicts for the Emperor! How could they be used to labour for other people!" Old Lady Wang raised her voice all of a sudden. It was quite shocking to hear such a loud noise in the middle of the night.
Yan Liu'er was frightened, she then replied instantly, "No, I didn't mean that, I just…"
"Enough," Old Lady Wang cut her off. "You're still young, you don't understand these things. Not many people from our alley can write, your Brother Ling is the first, people like this must only aim higher."
Yan Liu'er smiled uncomfortably. "Old Lady Wang is right." Then she looked at the sky outside. "That person would have probably left already, I'll go outside and check."
"There's no hurry." Old Lady Wang had no intention to stand up. Taking another sip of tea, she continued, "Since you're here today, then I'll tell you something."
Yan Liu'er asked with a smile, "What is it? You can just tell me."
"Liu'er, I watched you grow up, you've always been close to your Brother Ling. I didn't like that Zhang's daughter in the first place, but their marriage was set by your Uncle Wang when he was still alive. Now that this marriage is not happening, it also meant that your Brother Ling is free. I want to ask you, would you like to be the daughter-in-law of our Wang family?" Old Lady Wang's tone finally had a hint of warmth in it.
But the girl who was listening turned pale. Yan Liu'er never expected that Old Lady Wang would say such things to her, thus she had no idea how to reply.
The main issue was that she had no feelings toward Wang Ling.
Besides, Wang Ling was eight years older than her, this...
"What's wrong? Was that too out of the blue?" Old Lady Wang continued to smile. "Although you've never been properly schooled, you've always had a gentle personality. I can be at ease if Brother Ling could have somebody like you to take care of him and stay by his side. Don't you worry, even if one day your Brother Ling succeeds and becomes an official, there would be a place for you in his manor. After all, he is a generous person, he would never mistreat his wife."
The more Yan Liu'er listened, the more she felt the urge to say something. "It's not what you think, I...I have always treated Brother Ling as a big brother, the two of us can't be together."
In an instant!
The temperature inside the house dropped to the coldest point.
Yan Liu'er could clearly sense that the elderly person on the rocking chair had stopped smiling. Her voice sounded low in a demonic way when she spoke, "You mean to say that you refuse to marry your Brother Ling?"
"I…" Yan Liu'er wanted her to listen to her explanation, so she approached her. However, as she stepped closer, she noticed that under the candlelight, Old Lady Wang's fingers looked abnormal. Hidden beneath her worn out sleeves, they were long, black, and weirdly unnerving...
Chapter 697 - Posthumous Marriage, Wei Wei's Appearance
Yan Liu'er was utterly terrified. The fear distracted her and the teacup in her hand fell to the floor and shattered!
The noise definitely caught Old Lady Wang's attention. She slowly tilted her head up and looked at Yan Liu'er's face. A creepy smile spread across her face as she said, "You saw everything, didn't you?"
Yan Liu'er pretended to be calm, but she could not hide the fear in her eyes. She tried to look normal as usual. "What are you saying? What did I see? Hehe, I'll take my leave first. The thing you mentioned just now, I'll think about it at home."
Upon saying that, Yan Liu'er turned to leave, but the wooden door was impossible to be opened.
Yan Liu'er was now anxious, even her hands were moving quicker, like a mouse scampering for dear life.
The old voice that resembled a dead person became more overbearing. "Liu'er, you've disappointed me so much. I never thought that you would be just like those other girls, you all love the rich and despise the poor. No matter how nice you pretend to be on the outside, you still care about wealth on the inside…"
This time, Yan Liu'er did not reply Old Lady Wang. She kept shaking the wooden door with both hands, all she wanted was to leave this scary place.
She tried to scream for help, but she felt weak throughout her body. The voice that came out of her was so small that it could barely be heard.
It was the tea that she drank!
Her tea was spiked!
Yan Liu'er slumped against the wooden door before she crumpled to the ground. There w
as no strength in her fingers, only her consciousness remained. She saw Old Lady Wang's face, which was covered with livor-mortis, getting nearer and nearer. She tried desperately to keep away from her.
Old Lady Wang slowly raised her arms...
Just then, a man in a scholar outfit stood sideways in front of Yan Liu'er, blocking her. He looked into Old Lady Wang's eyes, pleading, "Mother, you know Liu'er is not that kind of person. She probably just haven't thought it through, please give her more time to consider."
"Brother Ling!" Yan Liu'er felt like she finally met a normal person. She grasped onto his arm like it was a lifeline, and asked quietly, "What happened to Old Lady Wang? What are those things on her hands and face?"
Wang Ling did not know how to answer Yan Liu'er, so he just shook his head.
Yan Liu'er was so terrified, her face had turned pale. Yet she continued, "Brother Ling, I know you always obeyed Old Lady Wang, but…"
Old Lady Wang could not hear Yan Liu'er's words, she just glared at Wang Ling with disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in her eyes. However, she finally stopped her choking gesture, and her eyes darkened.
"Ah Ling, you're perfect in every way, but not steely enough." Old Lady Wang laughed coldly, then turned to Yan Liu'er, "Forget it, according to my principles, girls like you are not qualified to be Ah Ling's wife, but Ah Ling likes you anyway. Plus I don't have much time left, there's no need for you to go home and consider. Tonight is a good timing, Ah Ling, go get that pair of wedding outfits that I made. You wear one and let Liu'er wear the other one. Seeing that she had always cared about me, if she behaves and completes the wedding ceremony with you, we'll be a family from then on."
Wang Ling did not move, as if he was hesitating.
Yan Liu'er grabbed his sleeve tightly. "Brother Ling, please let me go home. Marriage is not a thing to be taken lightly. Besides, Old Lady Wang is not normal right now, you can't follow her craziness, Brother Ling!"
"Liu'er," Wang Ling cut her off, instead he held her hands with eagerness. "Actually, ever since you sent us those cotton robes, I've fallen in love with you. You've always been close to me since we were young, I know you have feelings for me as well, right? You don't need to care what other people would say. Although I have nothing right now, there will be a day when I'll be a high official and they'll all see it. Please just see it as fulfilling my mother's wishes, and marry me tonight."
Yan Liu'er widened her eyes, staring at Wang Ling like he was mad. "Brother Ling, you know very well I don't have such feelings for you!"
As if Yan Liu'er's words hurt him, Wang Ling's eyes dimmed. Despite that, he did not give up, and reached his arms out to hug her. "Feelings can be cultivated, Liu'er."
Yan Liu'er only felt disgusted as she tried to block him with a hand. "Brother Ling, you've been studying for so many years, and the only thing you learnt is how to force other people?"
Wang Ling was a simple man, apart from his unrealistic fantasizing where everything would eventually fall perfectly into place, he had no ill intentions.
To be honest, not many women would like to marry a man like this.
Apart from studying, he would not do anything else. While he was overly ambitious, he was not a hardworking person. Moreover, due to the fact that he was spoilt by Old Lady Wang, he had no concept of hard work and labour.
However, Yan Liu'er's words made him stopped his advances. He stood to the side and did nothing else.
The reason he came out was to protect Yan Liu'er, but he really could not understand why Liu'er would refuse him. Of course it left him feeling somewhat dismayed and angry.
On the other hand, Old Lady Wang's face had turned abnormally frightening upon hearing Yan Liu'er's words. "Ah Ling, stop talking nonsense with this woman. Bring the wedding outfits right now and get married! Those two people from this morning were weird, to disguise as Feng Shui specialists and visit the Yan family. I suspect they were people from the official authority, but they were much more impressive than those officials, and clever too. To play it safe, after you both get married tonight, I'll leave tomorrow, so they won't come back and find out about anything that could affect you. I have few wishes in my life, all I want is to see you get married, then I'll be at peace."
As she spoke, Old Lady Wang's voice turned gentler, and she seemed to be in a good mood. "Today's Four Pillars of Destiny are dark, which is suitable for you two to get married. Liu'er, I advise you to cooperate, or else you might end up…like these people!" As she spoke, Old Lady Wang pulled back the curtain behind her to reveal three corpses hanging from the beam of the roof. All the corpses were extremely pale, and their faces were so horrifyingly familiar.
Horror-struck, Yan Liu'er stumbled backward heavily. All the strength she had tried so hard to muster was used up at once. Her pupils shook violently in fear, even her breathing became panicked and unsteady.
She never imagined that the culprit behind the cases of disappearance in the past few days was her neighbor, Old Lady Wang!
Yan Liu'er felt like her heart had been chained by a weight, it was sinking downwards rapidly as chills gnawed at her core.
She might have had a chance to run before, but now that she knew everything, there was no way for her to escape.
Even Wang Ling would not let her go unless they became a family!
She felt as if her blood was flowing backward, to a certain point, all that was left in Yan Liu'er was fear. She was not even aware that a dark red wedding gown was fitted over her...
Chapter 698 - Clever Wei Wei, The Case-Cracking Begins
The color of the wedding gown was too dark but with a hint of brightness, like fresh blood gushing out, intense and intimidating.
"First bow to the heavens!" Old Lady Wang sat on the rocking chair, playing the role of the wedding officiant. However, the scene was not beautiful to behold, because her face had started to stiffen and turn green. When she smiled, she looked all the more sinister.
Yan Liu'er did not want to bow, her whole body was shivering as she kneeled on the floor.
Wang Ling gave a thought before he apologized, he then reached out to press down on the back of Yan Liu'er's neck. "Liu'er, believe me, there's nothing bad about marrying me."
Yan Liu'er shook her head as tears slid down her cheeks. "No…"
Wang Ling felt sorry for her, but he clenched his teeth, and continued pushing his hand down. Once this women get married and lose their innocence, they have no choice except to be loyal to their spouses.
He really liked Liu'er.
When he thought about Liu'er becoming his wife, he got excited all over. So be it, he should use this opportunity to make her marry him!
Yan Liu'er continued to struggle. The people in the yard had not noticed that they have been surrounded by high ranking officials since everyone walked very silently.
After the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs got everything ready, he said to Helian Wei Wei, "Princess Consort, I've followed your instructions, we are ready to ambush. All our men are armed with the Dog Blood Red Rope, and they all have the lightness skill. Everything was done without alarming those people inside. Next, shall we barge in quickly to catch her off guard?"
Helian Wei Wei looked at the wooden door and pondered. At last, she shook her head. "No."
"Why?" The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs did not understand, did he missed something?
Helian Wei Wei c.a.r.e.s.sed the huge black dog who was as tall as her. Slowly, she said, "Because I'm not sure if the person she has is dead or alive. We cannot sneak in nor can we barge in, in case she is holding someone hostage, which will then force us to be on the passive side."
The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs could not help but admire Helian Wei Wei's mind. Even at this moment, the Princess Consort could still be so comprehensive!
"You guys stay here and wait to ambush," Helian Wei Wei directed the men with a clear mind. "No matter what comes
out later, no one should touch it directly. Pull your Dog Blood Red Ropes tightly and stay in your respective positions."
"Yes," the officers replied lowly.
Helian Wei Wei turned to look at the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs. "Lord Li, ask the people at the front door to step back to their left and right, hide themselves. His Highness and I will go and knock on the door."
"I'll follow His Highness and the Princess Consort! I'll be worried sick if you enter!" Judging from the amount of manpower used by the Princess Consort to capture these people, even having to use the Dog Blood Red Rope, they must be dealing with something devilish. How could he let her and His Highness enter without any guards? What if something happens? If he followed them he could help shield them! The expression in the Secretary's eyes was very earnest.
Baili Jia Jue turned around and glanced at him.
The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs replied quickly, "Your Highness, my Four Pillars of Destiny are heavy, those filthy things have always followed me around since I was young, I…"
"You have a big belly, one look and everyone can tell you're an official." Baili Jia Jue cut his subordinate off slowly and steadily.
The officers almost burst into laughter, but it was obvious from their expressions that they had a hard time holding it in!
The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs was speechless.
Is my belly really that big?
Okay, maybe it is a little big.
But Your Highness, did you really have to point it out?!
Being very conscious of his appearance, the Secretary glared to his left and right as a warning. He could not stand His Highness' sarcasm, and automatically gave up his intention to enter the yard. So he stuck to the wall and prepared for an ambush.
However, his belly was so big that no matter where he stood, a round silhouette was visible.
The Anarchic Consort c1-1376 Page 300
