The Chen family, in their hypocrisy, selected an auspicious burial ground to conceal the truth, burying Lord He and the He sisters together in a single grave marked by three upright tombstones.
For the first few Qingming Festivals, they sent people to perform tomb-sweeping rituals as a show for outsiders. Later, seeing that no one inquired about the two orphaned He siblings, the Chens couldn’t even be bothered to keep up appearances. The graves fell into disrepair, weeds growing taller than a person, and rabbits even burrowed into the mounds to make nests.
Lu Ying ordered her subordinates to dig up the graves overnight and open the coffins to verify the truth behind the He sisters’ deaths.
Perhaps the spirit of Miss He—who had been tortured to death by her former fiancé—was aware from beyond the grave. The moment the first shovel struck the earth, thunder rumbled across the sky, followed by flashes of lightning that instantly illuminated the night, revealing even the finest hairs on the weeds.
“There’s a ghost!”
The Embroidered Uniform Guards digging the graves hastily dropped their shovels in panic.
Upon hearing mention of ghosts, Wang Daxia, who was terrified of them, immediately retreated into the carriage. He lit a ram horn lantern, designed to withstand wind and rain, and bowed toward the He family grave, saying:
“Respected three, we did not mean to disturb your eternal rest tonight. We are here to uncover the truth behind Miss He’s death. Surely you do not wish to remain unjustly wronged in death, do you?”
Wang Daxia then threw the half-beaten bookboy toward the grave. “Retribution has its source, debts their master—don’t come after me! If you seek vengeance, go after him! He was an accomplice!”
The bookboy knelt before the grave, kowtowing like a candle being stuck into the ground. “It wasn’t me! I’m just a family servant—my whole family’s lives are in our master’s hands. If the young master told me to go east, I wouldn’t dare go west.”
“Still trying to weasel out of it!” Wang Daxia shoved a shovel into the bookboy’s hands. “You committed the crime—you dig.”
The bookboy hurriedly insisted he didn’t dare.
Lu Ying’s expression at that moment was darker than the sky. She lashed out with her whip. “Will you dig or not?”
“I’ll dig!” Dragging his injured body, the bookboy shouldered the shovel and began scooping earth.
As luck would have it, just then a thunderbolt struck the shovel he had raised. With a piercing scream, the bookboy’s clothes instantly caught fire before he collapsed, his head smashing against Miss He’s tombstone. He died on the spot.
His skull cracked open, brains and blood spilling across the ground, while a lightning-shaped burn scar scorched his back.
Given the manner of his death, it was impossible to tell whether he had been struck by five thunderbolts or died from the head injury.
“Oh heavens, there really is a ghost!” Wang Daxia grabbed his ram horn lantern and fled in terror, scrambling back into the carriage once more.
Lu Ying wasn’t sure whether to laugh at Wang Daxia or thank him.
If Wang Daxia hadn’t been afraid of ghosts and switched out the grave-diggers at the last moment, it might have been an Embroidered Uniform Guard struck dead by lightning.
As raindrops the size of soybeans began to fall, the heavy rain and lightning made it too risky for Lu Ying to allow her subordinates to continue using iron tools like shovels and hoes. Digging by hand was impractical, so she ordered, “We’ll withdraw for now. Take the bookboy’s body with us. We’ll return tomorrow after the rain stops and bring a coroner to exhume the graves.”
Hiding in the carriage, Wang Daxia surprisingly agreed with Lu Ying’s decision. “Commander Lu, you are truly wise! Absolutely right! Tonight is far too sinister. Let’s come back tomorrow at noon, when yang energy is at its peak.”
West Sanlihe was in the suburbs, and with midnight approaching, the city gates had long been closed. Unable to return home, the group had nowhere to go. Lu Ying chose a nearby inn to stay the night.
Wang Daxia, still fearful of ghosts, insisted on going farther to lodge at the nearby Tian’an Zen Temple. “...Inns are unclean,” he argued. “Temples are guarded by Bodhisattvas—all ghosts will scatter.”In just one night, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's impression of Wang Daxia had drastically improved. Thanks to him tonight, who knows whose head that lightning bolt might have struck otherwise.
Seeing the fearless Wang Daxia, who dared to play cat and mouse with the Embroidered Uniform Guard on the streets, show fear for the first time, panic quickly spread through the ranks. The guards chimed in one after another:
"Commander Lu, I think Wang Daxia makes a valid point. Tonight has been too eerie."
"I second that."
"I also agree. It's better to seek lodging at Tian'an Temple. Though it's farther, we can sleep soundly under the protection of the gods in a temple."
If Wang Daxia had been the only one insisting, Lu Ying would never have listened. But with all his subordinates agreeing with Wang Daxia, coupled with the bizarre events of the night, Lu Ying feared that forcing them to stay at an inn would scatter morale and make the team difficult to lead.
"To Tian'an Temple," Lu Ying ordered.
The group pressed on through the rain.
Meanwhile, in Sweetwater Lane, Northern City of Beijing, Wei Caiwei was dreaming.
She dreamed of her most helpless and powerless childhood—her sister dead with her unborn child, Chen Dalao and Old Woman Wang trying to poison her mute, and her desperate escape.
She wandered north, the little money in her small bundle stolen by a group of beggars, who even took her shoes!
Tattered and reduced to begging, she scraped by on the streets and soon fell ill.
One day, a heavy rain fell. She lay by the roadside, too weak to even seek shelter.
The rain washed away the grime on her body, revealing her delicate, fair features, but it also stole her body heat. She felt she was about to die...
No!
I must live! I must take revenge!
The will to survive jolted Wei Caiwei awake from the nightmare. Her body was cold—she had kicked off the blankets in her sleep. The sound of rain pattering against the window echoed in her ears, mingled with the faint drip-drip of water, and the distinct earthy scent of rain filled the air.
The evening had been stifling, so Wei Caiwei had left the north and south windows open for ventilation. She hadn't expected the midnight rain to drift inside.
Wei Caiwei pushed aside the mosquito net, lit a candle, and closed the windows, but the sound of dripping persisted.
Following the noise, she went to the adjoining study and found it leaking. Raindrops hammered against the floor with a rhythmic thud.
Wei Caiwei hurriedly brought several copper basins to catch the water. It wasn't just the second-floor study—two basins were also placed downstairs, as rainwater seeped through the wooden floor into the room below.
The rain didn't stop until the fifth watch, and the copper basins were filled to the brim.
She had only moved in three nights ago: the first night at the Home-like Inn, the second sharing a room with Young Master Wang, and the third encountering a storm and a leaking house.
Every night had been restless.
The house belonged to Wang Daxia, whom Wei Caiwei had personally driven away. His current whereabouts were unknown, but the leaking roof urgently needed fixing.
Unfamiliar with the area and unsure what to do, Wei Caiwei went early in the morning to Machang Hutong to find Chen the Agent. As the intermediary for the house, if the landlord couldn't be reached, the agent was the next best option.
Chen the Agent hurried to Sweetwater Lane. Seeing the damp floor and the copper basins nearly full enough to raise fish, he acknowledged the house indeed had problems.
Chen the Agent apologized profusely, saying, "It hasn't rained in the past month, so I truly didn't know the roof tiles were broken. I wasn't intentionally hiding it. According to the contract, leaks are not the tenant's responsibility—the landlord must cover the repair costs."Wei Caiwei said, "Young Master Wang is like a wild horse without reins—who knows where he's gone off to (he must have gone looking for some Miss Yingying!). I can't just wait around for him to send someone to replace the roof tiles. If another heavy rain comes, this house will be uninhabitable. Since you have extensive connections, Agent Chen, could you help recommend a few craftsmen to replace the tiles first? I'll cover the cost upfront and settle it with Wang Daxia when he returns."
Chen the Agent replied, "That's easily arranged. My neighbor happens to be a tile maker."
Eager to bring business to his neighbor, Chen deliberately built suspense, "Have you heard of Lu Bing, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Doctor Wei?"
Wei Caiwei nodded, "The second most powerful figure in the capital after the Emperor."
Chen chuckled, "Lord Lu's residence is in Xiaoshiyong Lane, where nobles gather, right next to the Mansion of the Duke Yansheng. When the Lu estate was being built, Li the Roofer was specially hired to lay the roof tiles. His craftsmanship is beyond doubt."
Chen spoke truthfully—Li the Roofer's family had been tile makers since the founding of the Ming dynasty. Their ancestors had worked on the imperial palace in Nanjing, and when Emperor Yongle moved the capital to Beijing to construct the new palace, the Li family participated as well.
Wei Caiwei said, "In that case, please ask your neighbor to come repair the roof. Here is the door key and a string of cash as deposit—we'll settle the balance later. I need to go out for medical visits and can't wait at home, so I'll have to trouble you with this."
Chen promptly responded, "No trouble at all. Handling housing issues is part of my job."
Wei Caiwei went out for her medical rounds as usual, the ringing of her Tiger Crutch echoing through the streets.
Pleased to have secured work for the Li family, Chen hurried home to boast to his sweetheart, Li Jiubao—the belle of Machang Hutong, "...It's just replacing a few broken tiles and re-laying that section of the roof. Simple work, quick money."
Li Jiubao said, "Thank you for your help, Brother Chen, but my father and brother are working in Sanlitun outside the city and won't be back for a while."
Chen replied, "No matter. I'll take a mule cart to bring your father back. Your brother can handle things in Sanlitun. The roof will only take half a day—I'll return your father afterward without delaying their work. They can earn from both jobs."
The Li family was poor. Li Jiubao's eighteen-year-old brother still lacked a presentable betrothal gift to marry. Given the tradition of elder siblings marrying first and the societal preference for sons, until her brother wed, Li Jiubao's own marriage prospects remained distant.
Chen, who wished to marry Li Jiubao, knew that his personal wealth meant little—he needed to help the entire Li family prosper.
Li Jiubao glanced at the gloomy sky, "It looks like heavy rain is brewing, who knows when it'll pour. Sanlitun is far—a round trip might not make it in time. If it leaks during a storm and damages the house, wouldn't that harm your reputation and betray their trust? Let me go instead."
Chen hesitated, "You... a girl climbing roofs to remove tiles—is that proper?"
Li Jiubao explained, "My father gambles, my brother drinks—since childhood, I've assisted them and learned by watching. Sometimes they'd get unsteady on the roof after drinking, and I'd climb up myself to lay tiles, fearing they might fall. I've never made a mistake. You can trust me, Brother Chen."
Unable to refuse his sweetheart's request, Chen agreed. They loaded half a cart with spare tiles from the Li household and drove the mule cart to Tianshui Alley to repair the roof.In the afternoon, Wei Caiwei noticed swallows flying low and the wind shifting northward, as if rain was approaching, so she closed up shop early and hurried home.
Li Jiubao carried a bucket of water up to the roof and poured it over the newly repaired tiles.
"Still leaking?" Li Jiubao called out loudly.
"No leaks!" Chen Jingji replied from inside the house, keeping an eye on the roof beams. "The repair is excellent, not a single drop is coming through. You can come down now!"
Chen Jingji steadied the ladder below as Li Jiubao climbed down, just in time to run into Wei Caiwei, who had just returned home.
The moment Wei Caiwei saw Li Jiubao, she froze in shock.
Good heavens! This girl looks exactly like the future Empress Dowager Li, who would later assist the young emperor!
In her previous life, Empress Dowager Li was the mistress of the imperial harem and a powerful dowager who governed the country alongside the Grand Secretariat and the court. Naturally, she was also the boss of both Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia.
Thinking that Wei Caiwei's stunned expression was due to the fact that the roof repairer was a woman, Chen Jingji quickly explained, "Doctor Wei, this is Li Jiubao, the daughter of Li the Roofer. She knows everything her father does. Just now, she poured five buckets of water, and not a single drop leaked through."
Li Jiubao! The Empress Dowager Li's maiden name was also Li Jiubao! It couldn't possibly be such a coincidence!
Wei Caiwei couldn't help but ask, "Is... is Miss Li's father's name Li Wei?"
"That's right," Li Jiubao nodded. "So Doctor Wei knows my father?"
Wei Caiwei nearly knelt down on the spot. Twelve years from now, Li Jiubao would become the most esteemed woman in the Ming Dynasty.
And now, Li Jiubao was repairing her roof and laying tiles.
It seemed she wouldn't be able to live in this house peacefully anymore.
Author's Note: The fourth kill, and Caiwei has already latched onto an even thicker thigh than in her previous life. The plot is soaring with excitement, so I'm giving out 100 red envelopes to celebrate! Wishing everyone a happy weekend~ In her previous life, the thick thigh was the Shou Consort, who was exclusively favored by Jiajing in his later years—so much so that he played with fireworks in bed with her, setting the palace on fire just to make her smile. This time, it's directly the future big boss, Empress Dowager Li. I'm being too good to the female lead.
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