Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

In the afternoon, the wind picked up again. Sixth Sister took the child to sleep, and Aunt Jiang first taught Liu how to sew the hem. Watching her clumsily sew, Aunt Jiang didn't say much and just kept busy with her hands. Aunt Liu couldn't bear to watch any longer. She took a shoe sole from her sewing basket and said, "You should learn to sew soles first. Once you're more skilled, you can learn to sew other things."

Jiang Ma stared at the fabric, her eyes darting around nervously. Liu Ma, however, remained calm, seemingly oblivious, and urged, "Use this to practice first. Anyway, that third son won't be able to make anything decent." Seeing Liu Ma's reaction, Jiang Ma felt embarrassed and started chatting with her, "I heard that the Lu family's child still has a fever. I wonder if he's feeling any better?"

Aunt Liu said, "Master said he's much better. He can get off the kang (heated brick bed) and eat, but he's still not allowed to leave the house." Aunt Jiang sighed pitifully, and Aunt Liu also sighed pitifully. The room fell silent.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside the gate. Liu Ma and Jiang Ma exchanged surprised glances, then quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed). Liu Ma turned to Liu Lian and said, "You stay inside and don't come out!"

Liu Lian found Liu Ma's seriousness strange and quickly nodded in agreement. Soon, Liu Ma's loud cursing came from outside. Jiang Ma's voice was lower, but it also sounded like cursing. Liu Lian was puzzled and listened with his ear tilted, but he couldn't make out what they were cursing about because of the courtyard. So he slipped out and tiptoed behind the gate to eavesdrop.

A hysterical female voice was shouting and cursing outside. Although Liu Ma was not to be outdone and was cursing back, with Jiang Ma helping her, they were no match for the woman's voice. Liu Lian was about to stick her head out to see what was going on when she was suddenly grabbed by the ear and pulled back to the inner courtyard. It was Qian Xuewen who grabbed her. She was furious. Qian Xuewen said sternly, "Go to the backyard and keep your sister company. This is none of your business! Don't run around!"

"Brother-in-law, who's outside?"

Qian Xuewen didn't say anything, he just sighed.

Outside was Widow Yang. Her son was reduced to a charred corpse, driving her almost mad. Yesterday, the women of her family had confined her, preventing her from even leaving the house. Today, her son was to be buried, and if she didn't do something, his death would be in vain. She was determined to seek justice for her son. As for why she wanted this justice to come from Liu Ye'er, even Widow Yang herself probably couldn't explain it.

The Huo family had always doted on Liu Ye'er, and the apprentices naturally extended their affection to her as well. Moreover, the girl was always well-behaved, and the people in the outer courtyard genuinely cared for her. Widow Yang, however, arrived with hostility, insisting that Liu Ye'er go and pay respects to Da Niu. No one believed her nonsense, and naturally, they tried to stop her, leading to a heated argument. The town was small, and people who would watch and comment on even a rooster's fight couldn't resist such a spectacle, so the crowd grew larger and larger. When the parents of the other two deceased children arrived, Widow Yang, who was arguing fiercely with the Huo family, shifted the focus. She turned to the crowd and said, "Who doesn't know that at such a young age, she caused the death of her mother, grandmother, and grandfather? Would her father have died so young if it weren't for her being a jinx? My A Niu only went with her to pick a few mulberry leaves… Anyone who gets even a little bit associated with her is doomed. I know the Huo family has a strong destiny and isn't afraid of being cursed…"

Liu Jiabao and Lü Fengyun's parents were stunned, their minds buzzing. While others might have let Yang Widow's words go in one ear and out the other, they had taken them to heart. In ancient times, people were superstitious and generally believed that those struck by lightning were wicked people who had committed evil deeds. However, if this girl was the one who caused the disaster, then it was a different story.

Liu Lian had no idea that after only three days in this world, without even leaving the house, she would commit such a grave crime! Had she known this would happen, she would never have thought her life would be so peaceful. Liu Ma's explanations were weak and feeble, sounding more like excuses than anything else. Widow Yang began to incite the crowd, demanding the Huo family hand over Liu Lian. Chaos erupted. Old Man Huo could no longer remain calm, cursing Widow Yang's wickedness. He was about to speak to calm the agitated crowd when Widow Yang wouldn't let him. In terms of eloquence and shrewishness, Old Man Huo was no match for Widow Yang. Moreover, men shouldn't fight women; Widow Yang was adept at bullying the weak. In the past two years, she had run a tea stall to support her family, and her tongue had become even more formidable. Although Liu Ma was of similar status to Widow Yang, she was a gentleman at heart, and her words were clumsy. How could she possibly deal with this shrew?

A middle-aged man carrying a child squeezed in. Qian Xuewen shouted, silencing the commotion. The middle-aged man said to the child on his back, "Mi Liang, tell me what happened that day. Who called whom?"

Lü Miling then recounted the events of that day in detail. Actually, many people knew what had happened; it wasn't a secret that the children had gone to play together. The deceased Lü Fengyun was Lü Miling's cousin, and her family lived not far from Liu Jiabao's. The two children had agreed to go pick mulberry leaves. Fengyun called her cousin Lü Miling, and Lü Miling called Liu Ye'er. All the children had fed silkworms and often went to pick mulberry leaves together. Many people saw the four children walking towards the edge of the village. Da Niu, who was always disliked, went on his own without being called. He first insulted Liu Ye'er—Da Niu harbored a strange hatred for her due to his mother's influence—then threw her cloth bag far away before climbing the tree. Liu Ye'er left, wiping away tears. Lü Miling, unable to bear it any longer, picked up Liu Ye'er's bag for her. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck, killing all three children in the tree, except for Lü Miling. The crowd was speechless. It wasn't Liu Ye'er who caused this; it was clearly Da Niu who caused it!

Widow Yang refused to accept this claim and hurriedly tried to say something, but Old Man Huo first bowed to Liu Jiabao's father and asked, "Brother Liu, did your cousin Shuisheng, who died for love twelve years ago, leave a few strings of cash with you?" Liu Jiabao's father was taken aback and quickly argued, "That was the money he was saving to buy a donkey. He entrusted it to me first, but who knew he would leave on his own. It wasn't that I wanted to embezzle it!"

"How many strings?"

“Thirteen strings of cash.” He wanted to argue, but Old Man Huo raised his hand to stop him and turned to ask Fengyun’s mother, “Yu Niang, who died with Shui Sheng back then…” Fengyun’s mother was equally confused, so she said truthfully, “Yu Niang and I were like sisters.”

"What happened after she died? Clothes and a coffin?"

Fengyun's mother seemed to understand something, as if she had realized something. "I was living at my parents' home at the time. After she died, her family disliked her for being immoral and refused to acknowledge her. Shuisheng's clansmen said that she hadn't married Shuisheng, so they refused to bury her body. I used my best clothes to wrap her up, pawned a silver bracelet, bought a coffin, and asked someone to bury her. Could it be that Fengyun is a reincarnation of Yuniang?"

"I don't know," Old Man Huo said calmly, suppressing his joy. "I just dreamt of two people who said they couldn't be together in their previous life, and they begged me to make it happen in this life, otherwise their souls would be restless and they would cause trouble."

"No wonder your Fengyun is so sensible and considerate, she came to repay a debt of gratitude!"

"No wonder you always called Bao Ge'er a debt collector, it turns out he really is a debt collector!"

The crowd chattered amongst themselves, leaving Widow Yang out in the cold; no one showed her any sympathy anymore.