CH 3.2

After walking around the courtyard, Tang Tian realised that despite the estate’s age, it had been renovated to allow for modern amenities. There were proper electric lamps, and a solar-powered water heater in the bathroom at the corner building.

She turned on the heater, and took a long, pleasant bath. Then, she went back to her room with her hair still dripping-wet. 

There were already a few dishes placed on the table. Small wafts of steam above the appetising food suggested that someone must have come in moments ago. 

“Despite him not liking to see me, he is still quite thoughtful when it comes to his work.” 

Tang Tian decided to taste the food. There were two meat dishes, one plate of vegetables, one bowl of soup along with a bowl of white rice. From double-cooked pork to Mapo tofu and stir-fried vegetables, these were all Sichuan delicacies. The taste was far from authentic, but it was not bad. More importantly, they had been kind enough to consider that she may not be used to the local dishes and specially prepared Sichuan cuisine for her. 

After eating some food, she felt a little bored, so she decided to head to the study in the other courtyard, looking for a book to read.

The study wasn’t locked. The moment she turned on the lights, she was astonished at the sight of the bookshelves that completely covered the three walls of the study.

“So many books.”

She liked reading books in her spare time, but the number of books she had read in her life couldn’t even compare to the contents of one of the bookshelves here. The tall bookshelves stretched to the ceiling, with each book neatly arranged according to its respective category. Despite each book being of different thicknesses, widths and lengths, they were arranged in a way that was still pleasing to the eyes. 

“The owner of this study must be a Virgo,” said Tang Tian. Only a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder could achieve this level of neatness. 

She casually picked a few books to flip through. Books from a wide range of categories were available. From astronomy, to geography, to literary fiction. She pulled out a book on Tagore poetry and sat down to read. 

She was so engrossed in the book that she did not realise she had sat there for more than an hour. When she stopped reading, she couldn’t help but shiver as it was getting a little chilly. 

It was late at night, but she only had a thin nightgown on, and both her arms were exposed to the cold air.

As she began to get up from the chair, she heard footsteps coming towards the study and stopping just by the door. The person outside stood still for quite some time before knocking the half-closed door. Tang Tian, who had been patiently waiting, responded, “Come in.”

“…Miss.” The old woman who had greeted Tang Tian earlier appeared behind the door. Her gaze darted instinctively to the shelves, and she shuddered inwardly. Quickly composing herself, she turned to smile at Tang Tian, causing her wrinkled face to crease up even more, resembling a chrysanthemum.

“It’s getting late, please get some rest.”

In her hands were the dishes that Tang Tian had left half-eaten. She also informed Tang Tian that she was the one responsible for bringing her daily meals to her. 

Tang Tian briefly said her thanks, with a mind to continue reading for a while longer. There was nothing else to do. There was no television, nor internet connection, here. Her phone signal was terrible too. She wouldn’t be able to sleep at this hour either. 

The old lady stood by the doorway, unmoving. She didn’t step over the raised threshold by the door, but she didn’t leave either. 

Tang Tian felt her staring, and looked back at her. “Is there anything else? Or…” She glanced around the study with an apologetic smile on her lips. “Is this place forbidden?”

She closed the book in her hands and stood up hastily. “No-one told me that it was. Sorry, I’ll go now.”

Tang Tian was about to place the book back on the bookshelf when the old lady said, “No, no. Old Chen never said that this room is off-limits. It’s nothing, really…” 

She looked at Tang Tian as if at some alien. “I just came over to— I’m old enough to have seen my fair share of ghost marriages, but… this is my first time seeing a living, breathing person agreeing to a ghost marriage with the dead. I also heard that Boss Chen offered a huge sum for it. Everyone around here knows …”

The old lady’s tone was filled with misgiving. How could a lady so young and beautiful agree to such a thing, unless she was a gold-digger here to swindle some money? Rumour had it that she would flee the moment she received the money. 

“Auntie Zhang, if I wasn’t going to die soon, I wouldn’t have agreed to this deal either.” Tang Tian had waist-length hair and was wearing a white nightgown which revealed her bony, thin figure. Apart from those dark, calm eyes, her expressionless face was pallid, and the rest of her skin was pale too, making her look like a ghostly shadow. 

Auntie Zhang took a step back in shock. She remembered how Old Chen mentioned that the young lady’s days were numbered. She hadn’t noticed earlier when the surroundings were still dimly lit, but now, as she looked carefully at her, she realized that Tang Tian was all skin and bones. There was no way she could have faked such an appearance. The young lady seemed to be ill, very ill indeed. 

Auntie Zhang tapped her own lips in regret, “So sorry, I never did much school, and I sometimes say things without thinking it through, please don’t be angry.”

It seemed to do little to relieve the awkward silence between them, so she racked her brains for comforting words to say, “It should be fine, once you really pass away, you still get to send the money to your family. That way, at least your life wouldn’t be for nothing.”

What she didn’t know was that she had brought up a topic Tang Tian disliked. Tang Tian had been abandoned by her own parents at an orphanage and had grown up there. She had been able to graduate from university by working part-time jobs and financial support from donations and student loans, but before she could even finish paying back her loans, she was already sick from over-exhaustion and malnutrition.

She had no family, not many friends, never experienced love, and never had a carefree life like other normal girls. 

All in all, this short life of hers didn’t seem to be very meaningful.

“My family’s dead.” Tang Tian gave Auntie Zhang a small smile, and the old woman noticed the little smile dimples that formed on Tang Tian’s cheeks, which lent her an adorable appearance. “Regardless, people all die someday. It’s either sooner or later. Don’t you think, Auntie Zhang?” 

She smiled while she spoke in a gentle tone with her sweet voice, but Auntie Zhang was so stunned by her words, she didn’t know how to respond. She had not expected the waif of a girl to be so sharp-tongued. Embarrassed, Auntie Zhang hurriedly made her apologies. 

As they say, “where one should forgive, one should not hold on to the other’s mistakes”.1 Tang Tian softened her tone and said, “It’s late, Auntie Zhang, you should rest early too.”

Auntie Zhang didn’t budge. When she heard that Tang Tian didn’t have any family, her sympathy for the poor girl grew.

“Miss, I didn’t mean nothing by it. I just wanted to remind you that”—she looked around worriedly, then lowered her voice as if she was afraid someone else might hear her—“this estate is haunted!” Her face as she spoke was filled with terror. 

Tang Tian froze. Wang Li had not told her about this. 

Since the earlier encounters with things that seemed supernatural, she had been struggling with many doubts and unanswered questions. Bravely putting on a smile, she said, “Auntie Zhang, if it was really haunted here, how do you all have the courage to continue working here?”

Auntie Zhang quickly explained, “Everyone here is rather old and has worked with Butler Chen2 for decades. I’m just a local here, and for a while, rumours were still just rumours—nothing really happened these past few years. 

“Some time ago, they were recruiting temporary staff and offered really high pay for it. Since my son was going to marry, I decided to earn a little more money and applied for it.”

She observed Tang Tian’s expression while she spoke. Even though Tang Tian was still smiling, her face was filled with scepticism. 

The old lady went on, “Yes, yes. Ghost marriages are indeed a tradition in these Shanxi lands. The richer one’s family is, the more attention they pay to the stature of the intended match. Usually, it’s not a rushed job either. If it’s done sloppily, their child might be unhappy with the match, so they must be very meticulous and thorough in making their choice. 

“Finding a suitable match may take up to two to three years—they’re not worried about money after all. Some families are still looking for a suitable match, even though their children have been dead for over ten years! But Young Master only passed on less than a month ago, and his family has already urgently arranged a ghost marriage for him. Do you know why?” 

TL: Yukirin

Editor: Orizhinal

This is a direct translation of a Chinese proverb, which means that sometimes it’s better to forgive someone than to persist in looking further into the mistake they made.

Butler Chen refers to Uncle Chen who is the head of servants in the household, also known as Guanjia (管家).