The old nurse very quickly returned holding the corrected phoenix coronet.
Li Zhi once more placed the phoenix coronet on the bride’s head. The beaded curtain before the forehead hung down, blocking that rotten, pale face. Li Zhi again put the red bridal veil over it, and this time the head was completely covered. Chi Yi finally did not have to hold onto a dead person’s head anymore, and let out a long sigh of relief.
The old nurse said to Qi Yongyi who was standing at the doorway: “Young Master, you should carry Miss onto the bridal sedan.” She lowered her stiff voice, as if it were a reminder, and as if it were a warning, gloomily staring at him: “Before the bride gets onto the sedan, her feet must not touch the ground. Once they touch the ground, she will not leave.”
Qi Yongyi shivered.
What must come cannot be escaped; it was his turn after all.
Chi Yi cast him a glance of shared misery and silent warning to take care of himself.
Qi Yongyi silently took a deep breath, his steps heavy as he walked to the bride’s side, slowly crouching down: “Younger Sister.” He did not forget his role, stiffly opening his mouth: “Elder Brother sends you to be married.”
The three together lifted the bride onto Qi Yongyi’s back.
Those stiff, powerless arms hung down from his shoulders. The old nurse brought a strip of red silk and tied those hands in front, to prevent them from slipping off midway.
Qi Yongyi felt the heavy weight of this corpse on his back.
Because the steel frames tied to the corpse had not been removed, altogether they weighed dozens of jin. Fortunately Qi Yongyi had practiced before; otherwise, if another person had drawn the identity card of the elder brother, it was truly uncertain whether he could carry it.
The head of the bride covered by the red bridal veil rested against his left shoulder. Chi Yi thought she could finally take a breath, but unexpectedly was again scolded by the old nurse to go over and hold that head in place.
Chi Yi: ……
Fine, today I am the Master of Holding Heads.
The wide red skirt draped down, and those feet, wearing only white brocade socks, dangled in midair. Without waiting for the old nurse to call, Li Zhi took the initiative to walk to the bedside and picked up that pair of brand-new red embroidered shoes.
Qi Yongyi stood in place carrying the “younger sister,” while Li Zhi half-squatted and put the embroidered shoes onto those feet.
“The bride leaves the boudoir, the spirit tablet sets out.”
The old nurse raised her voice and shouted once. Li Zhi saw her lift a spirit tablet from the wedding bed and hand it to her: “Madam,” she said, “send Miss on her way.”
The large red spirit tablet was painted with black and gold, inscribed with the deceased’s birth and death years and name. At the very top of the tablet hung a large red flower. It turned out the bride’s name was Pan Qiping. Li Zhi glanced—she was only nineteen years old.
She accepted the spirit tablet, held it before her chest, and walked at the front. Qi Yongyi carried Pan Qiping, following behind her. Stepping out of the boudoir, in the courtyard a team of those sending the bride off had already gathered, though no one knew when they had assembled. Among them, they saw their teammate Han Wenlin.
Han Wenlin, upon seeing his teammates, looked somewhat agitated. The identity card he had drawn was that of a servant boy in the Pan household. As soon as he awoke, he had been pushed and shoved by the other servant boys to wait outside the courtyard. Listening to their chatter for half the day, he finally understood his current identity situation.
It turned out the young miss of the Pan household had died, and Madam Pan had arranged a ghost marriage for her. Today was precisely the day she was to be married off. Judging by the circumstances, Han Wenlin’s identity card was the safest. When he saw his teammates, he also realized this point, and could not help feeling a bit pleased.
Compared with the teammate carrying the ghost bride, his luck was truly much better.
Their gazes crossed in the air, without much exchange. The group walked out through the gates, the wedding escort team following behind with noisy music. The sound of drums and suona pipes spread in the gloomy sky with a lingering echo.
The Pan residence was large. From the bride’s boudoir to the main gate was not a short distance. The corpse on his back began to slowly slide downward, the crossed hands tied in front tightening around Qi Yongyi’s neck, strangling him until he could hardly breathe.
Qi Yongyi did not dare to jolt upward too forcefully, fearing that too big a movement would cause the head on his shoulder to be shaken off.
He could only slowly adjust the position of his arms, trying his best to hold the corpse upward. But no matter how he adjusted, Qi Yongyi clearly felt the hands strangling his neck tightening more and more.
How could a dead person use strength?
Qi Yongyi in that instant felt an immense horror.
“Hu Die…” he forced his voice out with difficulty, “pull Miss’s hands down a bit, I can hardly breathe…”
Chi Yi, hearing this, hurriedly tugged at those hands hanging from Qi Yongyi’s neck.
Those hands were stiff, as if welded there with iron. Chi Yi used great effort before she could pull them down slightly.
Qi Yongyi’s face flushed red. He gasped for breath, then quickly hastened his steps.
By his ear, the beaded curtain of the phoenix coronet atop the bride’s head swayed with each movement, letting out a crisp sound of collision.
Ding-lang—
Ding-lang—
Heh—
Qi Yongyi trembled, and in a low voice asked Chi Yi at his side: “Did you hear someone sneering?”
Chi Yi whispered: “No.”
The hairs on Qi Yongyi’s neck all stood on end.
But he could not simply throw the corpse on his back away, so he could only lower his head and charge forward. When he stepped out of the main gate of the Pan residence, the welcoming procession had also arrived.
Owen Dong sat atop a tall horse, and at a glance he saw Li Zhi walking out from the Pan residence.
Ahhh—at last he saw the great one! He was saved!!!
Owen Dong’s heart leapt with excitement, but the joy of seeing a teammate was quickly extinguished by a bucket of cold water when he realized the roles they each carried.
He was here to welcome the bride. The person carrying the bride’s spirit tablet out at this moment must surely be the bride’s blood kin! The great one was of the Pan household! Their identity cards were opposed—would the great one really help him?
Owen Dong’s figure swayed on horseback. The servant boy beside him reminded: “Son-in-law, it is time to dismount.”
Just as Owen Dong was dismounting, he saw reliable Brother Qi carrying the bride out, with Chi Yi following at his side. At once he collapsed in despair, nearly falling off the horse.
Wuu wuu wuu—why was Heaven so cruel to him!!!
At last, the six teammates had all gathered, but each bore different identities, and at this occasion they did not exchange words. You Jingmeng, as the ghost matchmaker, also played the role of the wedding matron. When she awoke, there had already been a list of ghost marriage rites on her body—her task to fulfill.
At this moment, she quickly stepped forward, pinched her voice, and said: “The auspicious hour has arrived, please let the bride enter the sedan!”
Before the Pan residence’s main gate stood a red bridal sedan.
Yet this bridal sedan was unlike those they had usually seen. It was long and narrow, like an upright coffin. At the four corners of the sedan top hung white flowers. A wedding treated as a funeral—utterly eerie.
The players naturally also saw this red coffin sedan, and their scalps tingled. Qi Yongyi numbly carried Pan Qiping before the bridal sedan. You Jingmeng lifted the sedan curtain—inside was long and narrow, the inner walls pasted full of yellow talisman papers.
The sedan bearers pressed the coffin sedan down. Qi Yongyi, with his back to the sedan interior, crouched down and placed Pan Qiping inside.
Da—
The bride fell slant against the narrow sedan wall. The phoenix coronet struck it, knocking out a light sound.
Qi Yongyi’s back was already soaked through with cold sweat. As he stepped out, Chi Yi was just about to follow along when the old nurse suddenly grabbed her wrist: “Where are you going?”
The old nurse’s gaze was too chilling. Chi Yi could not help but shudder, stammering: “I…I am not going anywhere, I will follow the sedan, to send Miss to her marriage.”
The old nurse looked at her, and suddenly smiled faintly: “Outside the sedan there are others to follow. You should go in and accompany Miss.”
Chi Yi was horrified: “Go in?!”
The smile on the old nurse’s face lessened, revealing a trace of suspicion: “You are Miss’s dowry maid. By reason you should always remain at Miss’s side. Do you not understand the rules?”
In her mind Chi Yi was screaming madly, but on the surface she nodded like a pecking chick: “I understand, I understand! I do! I will go in now to accompany Miss!”
Having spoken, she turned around and swiftly slipped into the long narrow coffin sedan.
Inside, the space was cramped, barely enough for two people to sit. When she saw Chi Yi sit properly at Pan Qiping’s side, the old nurse finally nodded in satisfaction, and slowly lowered the sedan curtain.
Although it was daytime, inside still seemed dark and gloomy. Chi Yi pressed herself tightly against the opposite sedan wall, trying her utmost to keep far from that corpse in bridal attire.
The small windows on either side of the sedan were sealed with red wooden planks. Even if she wanted to lean out for a breath of air it was impossible. She could only endure her fear, hugging her trembling self.
Outside the sedan, the bridegroom, accompanied by the ghost matchmaker, came forward with a mournful face.
Li Zhi smiled, handed over the spirit tablet in her arms, and kindly said: “Today, I entrust Pingping to you.”
Owen Dong felt like crying with no tears, his trembling hands extremely unwilling to accept that spirit tablet. The old nurse beside him said coldly: “What does this mean, Son-in-law? Could it be that now, at the very door, you wish to repent?”
This old nurse’s force of presence was too great—just like the dreaded old nurses he had seen in costume dramas who stabbed the female lead with needles, truly terrifying.
At once Owen Dong grabbed the spirit tablet, forcing a constant awkward smile: “No, no, how could I repent? I could not be happier!”
The old nurse still kept a cold face, as if she had great dissatisfaction toward this son-in-law. That their own young miss was forced to marry such a person was truly too grievous. Yet there was no way out; in these times, even a person with courage could not be found. After great difficulty they had finally gotten someone willing to marry in; they had no other choice.
Owen Dong accepted the spirit tablet, and with the servant boys supporting him, once again mounted his horse. The sedan bearers lifted the long narrow coffin sedan.
The suona pipes began to sound. The bridegroom had received his ghost bride. The welcoming procession once again set out, the sending procession following behind, scattering red spirit money all along the way, heading toward the residence Madam Pan had bought for this pair of newlyweds.
The old nurse said to Li Zhi and Qi Yongyi at her side: “Madam, Young Master, we should also set out.”
The bridegroom was a vagrant, without parents, and moreover he was marrying into the bride’s family. At the wedding ceremony later, there must still be Pan Qiping’s natal family present.
Li Zhi calmly nodded. A carriage came rolling forward. Qi Yongyi, dutiful, supported her, and the two got on the carriage together. When the wheels rolled over the ground, Li Zhi lifted a corner of the curtain and looked outside. The old nurse had not gotten on.
Because of difference in status, she and the other maids sat in the carriage behind.
Qi Yongyi could finally breathe out, collapsing onto the seat: “Too frightening.”
Li Zhi propped her chin in thought: “When you carried her just now, did you notice anything wrong?”
Qi Yongyi recalled that cold laugh, the nape of his neck prickling: “I felt that this Pingping did not much like her elder brother.”
If she liked him, she could not possibly sneer at him.
Li Zhi said: “Did you notice, when she opened her eyes to look at us before the mirror, that glance too carried resentment.” She said: “We are her closest kin. After her death we even sought a husband for her and arranged a ghost marriage. By reason, she should not bear resentment toward us.”
Qi Yongyi understood Li Zhi’s meaning: “You mean… her death may have hidden circumstances? That she was killed by her mother and elder brother?”