Chapter 2 : The Corpse Moves
2: The Corpse Moves
At daybreak, Nanny Zhao, standing outside the mourning hall, let out a long sigh.
"Such rotten luck, they just had to pick us to keep vigil."
Nanny Yang yawned, a look of impatience on her face. "Exactly. The younger they are, the more inauspicious it is. The Ninth Young Miss was only sixteen. I heard when they fished her out of the lake, her eyes were still wide open. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps."
"You didn't see it," Nanny Zhao said. "When the Old Madam found out, her face turned white with fury. She didn't even want to hold a funeral. If it weren't for the fear of a vengeful ghost lingering, she'd probably have had them carry her out and bury her the very morning she was discovered."
A single, pale funeral lantern hung under the eaves. The two nannies sat on low stools by the doorway, the paper money basin at their feet long since gone cold.
Inside the hall stood a solitary bier.
Upon it lay a young girl dressed in plain white burial robes, her eyes closed, her hair loose, her complexion a deathly gray. She had been dead for some time.
Yet, if one looked closely at her features, one could see they were exceptionally delicate and refined.
"When she was first sent here by the First Household years ago, the Old Madam already called her an ill‑omened person," Nanny Zhao continued, rubbing her sore back. "Why else do you think she's been treated so poorly all these years? Now, with her dead, the Old Madam can finally rest easy."
"She brought misfortune to her own parents. If it were me, I wouldn't want to raise her either. Isn't that what the First Household was so wary of?" Nanny Zhao added. "Now she's gone, the Second Household of the Qin Family is effectively cut off. Who knows what the First Household will say."
Nanny Yang shook her head. "What can they say? She jumped into the lake herself. They can't blame the Third Household for that, can they?"
She let out a cold snort. "It's truly laughable. Young Master Huo from the Prefect's family didn't fancy her, so she went and threw herself into the lake. When this gets out, who knows how the people of Jinzhou City will gossip about our Loyal and Valiant Marquis's household…"
"Exactly," Nanny Zhao chimed in quickly. "That's the main reason the Old Madam is so angry. It's both inauspicious and gives people a handle to talk."
It was late summer, verging on autumn. Nanny Yang, unable to bear the night's chill, pulled her collar tighter and glanced toward the courtyard gate, huffing, "Where is that wretched girl Fuling? Fainting from crying earlier must have been an act! She just didn't want to keep vigil!"
Nanny Zhao spoke with a hint of schadenfreude. "To be fair, Fuling was usually quite devoted. She served her mistress since they were children, after all. But now that her young lady is dead, she'll have to think of another path forward."
"What path is there? After serving the Ninth Young Miss for so many years, which master in this household would want her? Most likely she'll be sold off." As she spoke, Nanny Yang lifted her gaze toward the bier. This glance made her eyelids twitch violently.
"Did you see that?!" She grabbed Nanny Zhao's arm, her voice tight with fright.
The question startled Nanny Zhao to her feet. "See what? Don't you scare me—"
"Her hand… I thought I saw her hand move…"
Nanny Zhao rubbed her eyes and stared hard at the bier. Then she glared at Nanny Yang in annoyance. "Where? No hand moved. You must be seeing things!"
Nanny Yang looked again several times and finally let out a long, relieved breath.
"Must have been a trick of the eyes. Keeping watch for so long has tired me out."
Frowning, Nanny Yang looked toward the western side of the estate. "No, I can't let Fuling shirk her duty. I'll go drag her up. She even said during the day she wanted to follow her young lady in death! Hmph! If she's so loyal, she should properly mourn and keep vigil for her mistress! She won't get off that easy—"
With that, Nanny Yang strode toward the courtyard gate. Nanny Zhao, suddenly afraid to be left alone, wanted to call her back, yet also wanted Fuling to come so she herself could rest. While she hesitated, Nanny Yang had already walked out.
Though the sky was faintly lightening, a dead person lay in the room. Even after living half a lifetime, Nanny Zhao couldn't stop a chill from creeping up her spine. She stole another glance at the bier, then quickly turned her head away.
The moment Nanny Zhao looked away, Qin Wan's eyes snapped open.
The gray pallor of death had not yet left her face. Her eyes held a profound, abyssal darkness. She stared straight up at the ceiling, a sharp, fleeting light flickering deep within her gaze…
But soon, her eyes dimmed completely.
She had regained consciousness hours earlier. At first, she thought it was a strange dream of her final moments, but as time stretched on, she slowly realized this was no dream.
If not a dream, then what?
The Household of the Loyal and Valiant Marquis, the Qin Clan, the Second Household, the Third Household, an orphaned girl, the Ninth Young Miss, jumping into a lake…
She was unclear about matters of the Second Household, Third Household, or this Ninth Young Miss. But she knew of the Loyal and Valiant Marquis's household and the Qin Clan.
Over two hundred years had passed since the Great Zhou Dynasty's founding. Noble families with titles of Duke or Marquis were countless. Yet, in all of Great Zhou, there was only one Household of the Loyal and Valiant Marquis, and its clan name was Qin. They were considered a prestigious family in the capital. Could this truly be the Loyal and Valiant Marquis's household of Great Zhou?
She wasn't certain of the answer. But the fact that she, who should be dead, had come back to life was as solid and undeniable as iron.
Memories of her father's kindness and her mother's love flashed through her mind. Her eyes instantly reddened.
Her father had spent his entire life overseeing prisons and courts, clearing the names of the wrongfully accused. Yet, in the end, he and his entire family had met a tragic, unjust death!
Tears were about to spill over. She gritted her teeth, forcing the sorrow back down.
In its place rose a fierce glint that would send shivers down anyone's spine.
It seemed Heaven knew she had died with grievances unresolved!
As this thought crossed her mind, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded in the courtyard. Nanny Zhao under the eaves jerked her head up to see Nanny Yang's face, now filled with terror, rushing back in.
"Old Zhao… that… that wretched girl… she really did go with her…"
Nanny Zhao stood up. "What? Went with who?"
Nanny Yang looked ready to cry. "It's Fuling! She hanged herself! She's hanging in the western back courtyard!"
"What?!" Nanny Zhao's eyes widened. "She… how could… how…"
The image of Fuling dangling from the roof beam was still vivid in Nanny Yang's mind. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I… I went to call her to come keep vigil. Who would have thought, the moment I pushed the door open, I'd see her hanging from the beam. She was a loyal servant. She must have lost the will to live after her mistress died. She looked stiff already… Old Zhao, you go to the front courtyard and report this. Two deaths at once, this…"
With the elders and senior family members all present, the death of a junior was already inauspicious. Now, even her maidservant was dead. Nanny Yang had no desire to be the bearer of such an ill‑omened message. If the masters heard this news as soon as they rose, someone was bound to get the blame.
The death of a maidservant wasn't a major event. Nanny Zhao, with her own brand of shrewdness, quickly composed herself after the initial shock.
She stepped forward. "Just a servant girl. Dead is dead. Her life wouldn't have been good anyway. Just pretend you never went to the western back courtyard and don't know about it. It's almost time for everyone to get up. Let someone else discover it in a little while, alright?"
Nanny Yang was flustered and frightened out of her wits. Shivering, she agreed. "Alright, we'll do as you say… You don't know, it was terrifying. Having to look at this ill‑fated one is bad enough, but to stumble upon a hanged corpse… Do you think Fuling's ghost will come for me…"
After saying this, Nanny Yang paced back and forth in the courtyard, too afraid to stay still. She'd heard many stories of hanged ghosts coming to claim lives. The image of Fuling in hemp robes, hanging from the beam, refused to leave her mind.
"Where is Fuling?"
Suddenly, a hoarse, rasping voice sounded from inside the doorway.
At first, Nanny Yang thought Nanny Zhao had asked the question. But a chill instantly ran down her spine. How could Nanny Zhao not know where Fuling was?
With that thought, Nanny Yang stopped in her tracks and looked toward the source of the voice.
When she saw, she let out a piercing, blood‑curdling scream!