Chapter 249
At the beginning of the last century.
No one knew whether it was still the Guangxu era or already the Republican era.
In Lincheng, there was a wealthy household by the surname of Luo. The master of the house was Luo Baichuan, a local man of considerable fortune.
There were more than thirty mouths to feed in Luo Mansion. In those days, anyone who could support that many people naturally had both money and influence.
Luo Baichuan had taken seven concubines. With that many women under one roof, conflict was inevitable. After the First Concubine, the legitimate wife of the household, passed away, the remaining concubines stirred up trouble and quarreled every day, turning Luo Mansion into a place where even the chickens and dogs knew no peace.
Naturally, all that fighting was over his favor. As for Master Luo Baichuan himself, he was the sort of man who thought with the lower half of his body. He spent his days indulging in wine, women, and pleasure, and he had no mind to manage much of anything. As long as they did not come to blows, he ignored the disputes between his women.
But eventually, something did happen. According to the records, the one involved was the youngest concubine-the Seventh Concubine.
One morning, a maidservant went to draw water from the well. She had just leaned over and was about to lower the bucket when she saw a pair of eyes staring straight up at her from inside the well.
The owner of those eyes had a deathly pale face and was floating on the surface of the water, her eyes wide open as if she had died with a grievance unresolved. It was none other than the Seventh Concubine of the household.