Seeing Weng Yong’an outside, Beisitian nodded, "Inside."
Weng Yong’an brushed past her and walked briskly inside.
Beisitian closed the door and turned back inside.
Entering the house, she saw Tian Qiu with her back to Weng Yong’an, and Weng Yong’an was tense.
"Xiaoqiu, what’s going on?" Weng Yong’an asked with a frown.
Tian Qiu hesitated for a mont before saying, "Nothing much, just ca to Beibei’s to sit for a while."
Her evasiveness had happened before, and Weng Yong’an’s frown deepened, "It’s already late, co ho with ."
Tian Qiu turned around, but her eyes didn’t et Weng Yong’an’s, and she said, "I’ve already promised Beibei to stay overnight here, you can’t make go back on my word."
Weng Yong’an pursed his lips, "You’re not yourself, what’s really going on?"
Tian Qiu pursed her lips; the letter had already been torn into pieces by her. At the ti, she was too angry and couldn’t control herself, and now she was saying empty words that Weng Yong’an would never admit.
Whether he admits it or not doesn’t matter now; this marriage is bound to end sooner or later.
"Maybe I’m just tired, how about giving a few days off?" Tian Qiu’s eyes were sowhat cold, and her smile carried a hint of mockery.
Weng Yong’an felt a blockade in his chest, and seeing Tian Qiu like this, he couldn’t let her leave, so he stepped forward and grabbed Tian Qiu’s arm, saying in a deep voice, "Let’s talk about it at ho!"
Tian Qiu initially wanted to break free, but seeing Beisitian standing outside watching them, she imdiately gave up struggling and let Weng Yong’an pull her away.
Arguing in front of Beisitian was too embarrassing for Tian Qiu.
"Beibei, I’ll co to you another day." Tian Qiu forced a smile.
Weng Yong’an’s face was gloomy, and without greeting anyone, he took Tian Qiu away.
Beisitian didn’t try to stop them; matters between a husband and wife are best left untouched by outsiders, as interference often backfires.
Alone in the small courtyard, Beisitian settled down to think about how to counteract the talismanic water, but after several attempts, she couldn’t quite figure it out.
It’s not that her dical skills are lacking, but her mind was not at peace.
Although Tian Heming had given a decent idea, if those people decided to hide and stay out of sight, what could she do if she couldn’t find them?
Fortunately, both sides were in the dark now, neither gaining an advantage over the other. It was just a matter of who could seize the initiative first.
Beisitian simply put down the brush and talisman paper and called Wu Yuekai.
Wu Yuekai was quite surprised to receive Beisitian’s call and, upon hearing that she wanted to co over, he suggested sending soone to pick her up.
"No need, old man, I can go by myself." Beisitian replied with a smile.
Since there were always people to pick her up wherever she went, she’d been here for many days but was still unfamiliar with the area.
Today, she planned to walk around a bit and get to know the surroundings.
The location of the small courtyard she was in was different from the deep alleys she had visited before; it seed like many people lived in one yard, but in this area, every household had its own separate small courtyard, indicating that people living here were likely not regular citizens.
Beisitian recalled Luo Xudong ntioning there were military family compounds here as well as other veteran officials, and although it wasn’t as nice as the environnt at Wu Yuekai’s place, it was still better than many people crowded together.
As Beisitian stepped out, she happened to see a woman locking the door to the house on the right. The woman appeared to be in her thirties, dressed plainly without any deliberate adornnt.
The woman also saw Beisitian, curiously glanced at her a few tis, and when Beisitian looked over, she smiled and nodded, as if greeting her.
Beisitian returned the smile, knowing that getting along with neighbors was important.
The woman walked in one direction, while Beisitian headed in the opposite direction.
The alley had many households, and now quite a few people were outside; at one crossroads, there was an old man fixing shoes and an aunt selling tea eggs.
This alley was rather wide; as long as cars didn’t et here, a single car could easily pass through. The alley frequently saw vendors on wooden tricycles and n and won carrying grocery bags returning ho, exchanging greetings.
Seeing the lively scene, Beisitian couldn’t help but wear a smile.
In the Old Beijing alleys, almost everyone knew each other; Beisitian, being new here, naturally drew a lot of attention, with many people observing this beautiful woman.
There were even so enthusiastic, bold aunts, holding grocery bags while standing to watch her, and as Beisitian walked closer, one asked, "Young lady, where are you from? Haven’t seen you before?"
Beisitian smiled and gestured back, "I live at Number 25."
Upon hearing "Number 25," the aunt’s expression subtly changed, becoming odd. She gave a perfunctory laugh and quickly turned to leave.
Beisitian was stunned by this and noticed that others were displaying similar changes in their expressions, with many pointing fingers and whispering nearby.
Beisitian looked puzzled, her eyes moved, and she approached the tea egg seller’s stand, smiling as she said, "I’d like two tea eggs, please."
The aunt replied with a smile, using her hand-made wax paper bag to pack two eggs and handed them to Beisitian. Her tea eggs sold quite well, not just because they were tasty but also due to the neatly made wax paper bags.
"Here you go, young lady, take them!" The aunt chuckled as she handed them to Beisitian.
Beisitian handed her five dis, smiling as she said, "Keep the change, auntie."
The aunt’s face lit up with joy—it was a small business, after all, and any extra earnings were delightful.
"By the way, auntie, I just moved here. Where did the previous owner of that house go? Why did they leave such a nice house?" Beisitian asked curiously.
Of course, the tea egg seller had heard what she said earlier—Number 25!
The aunt glanced around, realizing most people had gone ho to cook, and then leaned forward to gesture Beisitian to do the sa; she then whispered, "Young lady, let give you so advice—move out of there quickly, that house is uninhabitable; it’s a haunted house!"
Beisitian was taken aback. How could such a nice house be a haunted one?
"You don’t know, do you? That house was rumored to be owned by a wealthy family long ago. When turmoil struck, the family fell into misfortune; everyone died outside, and the lady of the house hung herself on the toon tree, it’s said you can hear cries and grievances at night!" The aunt’s own expression soured as she spoke, as if she’d experienced it herself.
"But I’ve lived for several days already and haven’t heard any sounds," Beisitian said, puzzled.
Her remark piqued the aunt’s storytelling urge further, who leaned around her stall to quietly tell Beisitian, "Don’t doubt it, every family that lived there before moved out!"
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