Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 103 Bleeding Puppet Doll

"You're crazy!" Su Qing suddenly felt humiliated and looked at Xiao Muchen awkwardly. "Sorry, I'll take her back right away!"

As he said this, he called a few more people to try to pull Qin away, but Qin was like a spoiled child and refused to leave no matter how they pulled her.

At this moment, an old servant of the Su family rushed over and cried to Qin and Su Qing, "Master, Madam, the third lady...she jumped into the lake!"

Qin suddenly burst into tears and cast a resentful look at Murong Huan.

Murong Huan just looked at Su Qing and said, "Uncle, take me to see Sanniang!"

"Okay, I'll take you there right away!"

……

When Murong Huan and Xiao Mochen arrived at the Su family, Su Sanniang had already been rescued. She was pale and motionless, and seemed to have died.

Qin hugged her and cried bitterly, and Murong Huan came to Su Sanniang and took her pulse.

"What are you doing? You've already killed her, isn't that enough?"

Murong Huan continued in a cold voice: "If you hold her and cry for another moment, she will really be beyond saving."

Su Qing hurriedly asked someone to pull Qin away and said to Murong Huan, "Ah Huan, come here!"

Murong Huan nodded, then knelt down and pressed hard on Su Sanniang's abdomen several times until a mouthful of water suddenly choked out of Su Sanniang's mouth.

Su Sanniang opened her eyes and looked around blankly. Finally, when she cast her gaze on Murong Huan, a hint of secret joy flashed in her eyes.

Qin was overjoyed when she saw this, and she hugged Su Sanniang and cried with joy.

……

After sending Su Sanniang to her boudoir, Murong Huan chatted with her alone.

"Is it worth it to gamble your life and reputation?"

When Murong Huan asked this question, Su Sanniang was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on her lips and she asked, "What do you mean?"

"I can read your dreams and your heart. I know exactly what you're thinking. You're making such a fuss just to marry into the Cui family, aren't you? Cui Jiulang is unruly and has a cold temperament. He has countless girls around him. Even if you could marry into the Cui family and become his concubine, do you think your life would be easier?"

Tears suddenly welled up in Su Sanniang's eyes.

"That's better than marrying someone from a lowly family or a humble merchant. Ah Huan, I'm not as lucky as you, to have met the youngest, most handsome, and learned young men from aristocratic families in Luoyang City at the same time. One of them wants to marry you, and the other wants to take you as a concubine. Even the two young men from the Lu family have a crush on you, right?"

"I'm unwilling to marry into a poor family. If you really think about it, I'm the eldest daughter of the Su family, right? Since you can marry Xiao Zhongcheng, why can't I marry into the Cui family?"

"I know that wealth and honor come with risk, so I just want to take a gamble." At this point, she actually knelt down in front of Murong Huan. "Ah Huan, I'm sorry. I was selfish and overreached yesterday, but I know that with your intelligence, you can escape this disaster. Please help me again, okay? You and I are sisters by blood, aren't we?"

"How do you want me to help you?"

"Cui Jiulang said that as long as you agree to his request, he will pay the betrothal gift and take me as his concubine."

Murong Huan immediately became angry. She thought that this was a trap set by Cui Jiulang specifically for her. When the plan failed, he used Su Sanniang to threaten her.

"Su Sanniang, as a concubine of a noble family, you may not be able to live safely there when he gets married one day. Even so, are you still determined to marry into the Cui family?"

"Yes, I do!" Su Sanniang continued in a firm and sincere tone, "Ah Huan, if you help me this time, I will repay you no matter what you ask me to do in the future."

After saying that, she kowtowed to Murong Huan several times.

Murong Huan clenched his fists, not knowing how to answer for a moment. After leaving Su Sanniang's boudoir, he returned to the Xiao family with Xiao Muchen.

Murong Huan was silent along the way. When Xiao Muchen asked her the reason, she simply told him about Su Sanniang's situation.

After hearing this, Xiao Muchen fell silent. Besides not understanding what these girls were thinking, he didn't really have any good ideas. "What exactly does Cui Shi want to do?" Murong Huan suddenly asked.

Xiao Muchen pondered for a moment and replied, "He's been determined since he was young to become a prime minister and hold all the power in the world. He must be looking for a quick way to achieve success."

"Oh."

"Ah Huan, you still want to help this Su Sanniang, right?"

"After all, she is my uncle's only daughter. If possible, I hope she can marry someone who truly loves her, even if he is from a poor family. But it's a pity that she can't see this clearly now."

"Let me take you to meet Cui Shi!" Xiao Muchen suddenly said.

……

When I saw Cui Shi again, he was reciting poems and composing essays with a group of young ladies in the Bailiang Poetry Society. He was like the moon surrounded by stars, and was cheered all around.

But when they saw Xiao Muchen coming, these girls from aristocratic families couldn't help but turn their eyes to Xiao Muchen.

"He actually came to our Bailiang Poetry Society. Madam Cui invited him many times before, but he always declined due to being busy with official duties."

"Yeah, it's a pity that he already has a girl by his side."

Xiao Muchen ignored the gazes of these young ladies, but took Murong Huan directly to sit opposite Cui Shi who was playing the piano.

"What wind could have brought Xiao Zhongcheng here? In ancient times, there was Boya and Zhong Ziqi, and in the Jin Dynasty, there was Ji Shuye and Shan Juyuan. They all said that the ancient gentlemen would not say ugly words when breaking off a friendship. How long has it been since Zicheng and I last interacted? When we were little, we used to play Cuju together!"

"As a gentleman, why do you use such despicable tricks on young ladies?"

"Didn't it fail? Instead, it accomplished a good thing, didn't it?" Cui Shi glanced at Murong Huan and smiled meaningfully.

Xiao Muchen suddenly changed the subject and said, "If you wish to enter the imperial court, I can recommend you to the Sage and start as the Left Assistant Censor. Right now, the Sage has ordered Zhang Changzong to compile the 'Three Religions Pearls' and they're short of manpower. Zhang Changzong is currently a favorite of His Majesty, as you should know."

"Just a male concubine, are you insulting me?"

"Then what do you want to do?"

The sound of the zither suddenly stopped, and Cui Shi placed his hands on the strings.

"At least he should be a secretary, right?"

Xiao Muchen pondered for a moment and replied, "Okay, I can help you, but from now on, don't have any ideas about the Su family anymore."

"Xiao Muchen, what you said is wrong. The fact that I can look up to the young ladies of the Su family is a blessing they have cultivated for many lifetimes. Don't you know how many young ladies in Luoyang City want to marry into my Cui family?"

He finished his words with a playful smile. Xiao Muchen didn't want to continue on this topic, so he took Murong Huan's hand and was about to leave. But at this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the poetry club. A woman screamed, "Hey, what is this? Who put it here?"

Murong Huan suddenly felt something was wrong, and he and Xiao Muchen followed the sound. They saw a puppet doll in red clothes placed on a dressing table. It looked very delicate and beautiful, but what was terrifying was that the puppet doll had blood in its eyes, and even its red clothes were stained with blood.

"Who is it! Who put these things here with me?" A young lady from the Zheng family shouted anxiously.

Immediately afterwards, the young ladies who had gathered together scattered in fear, but Murong Huan picked up the puppet doll and examined it carefully. Finally, he said to Xiao Muchen in surprise: "The appearance of this puppet should be red string!"

At this moment, Lu Shiyilang and a group of detectives rushed into the poetry club. Seeing Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen there, he breathed a sigh of relief, then said with a guilty look on his face, "Young lady, I'm sorry. I didn't protect Hong Xian well. This morning, I wanted to bring her to trial, but I found out that she had committed suicide in prison."

"Committed suicide? How did he commit suicide?"

"It seems he took poison and died of bleeding from all seven orifices."

As Lu Shiyilang spoke, he caught sight of the puppet in Murong Huan's hand and suddenly screamed, "Yes, it's just like this puppet! Why... does it look so much like Hong Xian?"

(End of this chapter)