Following Steward Liu, the group arrived at a serene and secluded courtyard. The scenery and standards here were noticeably superior to those of the previous courtyard they had visited, with glazed tiles laid along the walls that dazzled brilliantly in the sunlight.
Outside the courtyard gate stood guards known as Protectors, fierce as tigers and leopards, each holding a nacing staff, resembling two door deities. Steward Liu halted in front of the gate, turned his head, and instructed, "Please wait a mont here; I will go in and report our arrival."
Steward Liu hurried off and from Yang Xiao’s perspective, he could see a small building standing erect in the courtyard. Inside the hall of the building was an altar with all sorts of offerings, including incense burners and joss paper. Amid the curling incense smoke knelt an elderly man in white, appearing to be chanting scriptures.
Upon closer examination, the old man’s attire was not ordinary white clothing but mourning clothes.
"How strange. It is the second son of the Feng Family who died. It has always been the younger generation that mourns for their elders. Why would a father be mourning for his son?" Ke Long didn’t understand.
Kuang Hongyi’s expression turned grim, noticing sothing unusual, "This is not ordinary mourning; this is heavy mourning. Look, this person is wearing a mourning hat made of white cloth, tucking a three-foot square kerchief on the right, a white mourning robe with a raw-edged, opposing lapel, the length of the robe reaching the knee, sleeves without collars, belts without buttons, his waist tied with raw jute, and his feet in a pair of white mourning shoes with soaring clouds soles. He is following the path of ’boundless mourning costu,’ which, at the very least, represents a three-year mourning period."
"A father mourning for his son disrupts the proper order, doesn’t it?" Su Tingting asked in surprise.
"Ancient texts do record instances of a father putting on mourning for his son, but only for the legitimate eldest son. However, this is clearly not right, he’s not mourning for the Feng Family’s second son," Yang Xiao seed to have spotted the problem.
Shi Dali looked Yang Xiao up and down a few tis, "What do you an by that?"
"Think about it. If he were really mourning for the Feng Family’s second son, with the master himself in heavy mourning, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for the servants of this residence to be indifferent?"
Awake as if from a dream, everyone recalled that, along the way, none of the servants they encountered wore mourning clothes or exhibited any sign of grief; their attire was very ordinary.
"This isn’t mourning; it is praying for blessings, asking for forgiveness for the evil deeds one has committed," Xu Su slowly spoke up, lowering his voice, "He’s paying respects to the woman who was singing last night."
As soon as these words ca out, Shi Guanming’s complexion instantly changed. Clearly, he too had heard last night’s singing, which had left a deep psychological shadow on him.
After conversing with the kneeling elder for a while, Steward Liu straightened his body, walked to the front of the hall, and beckoned to the others, allowing the Protectors to let everyone in. By then, the elder had already risen and took a seat on an armchair in the side hall.
The old man had a kind face with features indicating wealth and prosperity. However, the persistent undercurrent of sorrow and grief in his eyes did not escape the attentiveness of Yang Xiao and the others. This must be the steward of the Feng Family, the well-known good Samaritan of the town, Master Feng.
After exchanging courtesies, Master Feng sighed softly and got to the point, "The purpose of asking you all here is already known to you, so I will not elaborate. You must have witnessed the severity of that thing last night, ah. Alas! I heard from Steward Liu that another person was found killed this morning; it really is... truly a sinful act!"
"All of you are renowned Settle Guests from miles around. I must entrust you with this matter. Rest assured, once this affair is resolved, the reward promised to you will certainly be delivered in both hands."
Kuang Hongyi saluted Master Feng with a fist, exuding a manner that was typical of the martial arts world, "Master Feng, rest assured, this is the trade my brothers and I partake in. It is our honor that you sought us out. Please tell us the details of this affair, so that we may know how to prepare."
Nodding, Master Feng raised his eyelids, and with a glance, dismissed the two maids waiting beside him. Now, only Yang Xiao and his group, along with Master Feng and his confidant Steward Liu, remained in the room.
"This matter requires a long explanation, starting from ten years ago. My father had just passed away, and since he was extrely fond of watching plays during his lifeti, our family thought it fitting to invite a troupe to perform at our residence on the night of the seventh day after his passing, to pay him a final tribute and bring peace to his soul."
"But...but who could have imagined that such a thing would happen?"
Upon reaching this point, Master Feng suddenly grew agitated. His withered fingers gripped the armrest of the chair tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, "Halfway through the play, an actor from the visiting troupe accidentally fell into the water. Although the people of the manor imdiately went to rescue him, it was too late to save him—he just... just drowned like that."
Kuang Hongyi, recalling the scene from last night, roughly knew where the play took place, but still asked, "May I know where in the manor the play was held?"
Master Feng shook his head, his expression pained, "It was on the lake in the back garden."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao frowned, "A lake play? Water harbors yin; did you invite the troupe to perform a ghost play?"
At the ntion of the word ’ghost’, Steward Liu’s face darkened, and just as he was about to say sothing, Master Feng interrupted, "Indeed, we invited them to perform a ghost play for my father."
"We are aware of the many taboos acting troupes have, but we offered a considerable amount of silver, and also burnt paper money to pave the way for the Underworld ssengers. You should know, being in this business, that they accept such jobs privately, albeit they don’t openly talk about it for various reasons."
Master Feng spoke earnestly, and his explanation made sense. Troupes that dared to perform ghost plays were few, but not nonexistent. Actors travelled all over, performing for both the joyous and sorrowful events; indeed, they were like a bowl fed by a hundred families, and it was highly likely they would encounter strange occurrences. Without certain real abilities, these troupes would have disbanded long ago.
"May I ask which troupe Master Feng had invited?" asked Xu Su.
"It’s the Chunxi Troupe from the Yingke Building south of the town. The troupe leader has the surna Bai, so people also refer to them as the Bai Family Stage. They used to be quite famous around here."
"The woman who accidentally drowned and died was a leading perforr of the Bai Family Stage, a renowned actor by the stage na Xi Yao; she was also the daughter of the head of the Bai Family Troupe."
"But her death has nothing to do with my Feng Family. We paid the silver, the Bai Family Troupe accepted it, and we have all the contracts and receipts. Who could have known... who could have known that this woman would beco entangled with my Feng Family? This past year, my family has faced nothing but misfortune, continuously losing mbers. This...this is going to be the end of my Feng Family!" Master Feng grew more and more excited as he spoke, and at last, his blood surged with violent coughing. Steward Liu hurriedly stepped forward to help him pat his back and it took quite so ti for him to catch his breath.
Hearing this, everyone finally understood the identity of the female ghost; no wonder she was obsessed with performing—it turned out she had been an actor in life.
The singing from last night was hauntingly ethereal and filled with extraordinary sorrow. Surely, there was more to the story than what Master Feng had said. One shouldn’t take only one side of the story.
Thinking this, Yang Xiao gave a respectful bow to Master Feng and politely said, "Master Feng, please take care of your health. By the way, may I ask where we can find the Bai Family Troupe? We have so questions to ask."
Master Feng, with a pained expression, covered his chest and slowly shook his head.
The crowd did not understand his aning until Steward Liu, with a complexion like that of a dead man, opened his mouth. His cold voice sent chills down one’s spine, "I’m afraid you won’t be able to find them."
"Why is that?"
"After that woman died, all of them died too. The Bai Family Stage...is no more."
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