Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 44 Xie's Secret

"You bitch, you still want to intimidate me? I will kill you and make you disappear silently, and no one will dare to ask a question."

He wants to kill me! He wants to kill me!
He wanted to make me disappear from this world completely like he killed my father and brother, and no one would know.

Madam Guo struggled violently on the bed. Ah Shu said in panic, "What should we do? Ah Huan, Madam Guo seems to be still immersed in her own obsession and fear and can't wake up."

"Nothing!" Murong Huan said, "I'll do it!"

The white smoke turned into wisps again, striking at Mrs. Guo's inner anxiety and fear, gradually calming her mind.

"What are you afraid of? If you're so scared, why don't you leave him?"

"Why don't you leave? I've given so much to this family. To repay him for saving my life, I married into the Guo family with a dowry of ten miles to help him enter the officialdom. But I never thought it was all a scam in the end. I won't accept this! I won't accept giving everything and getting nothing in the end. My life has become so ridiculous!"

"So, what you're not reconciled to is that your efforts haven't been rewarded in the slightest. You're simply seeking compensation for yourself. But pinning your hopes on others will only lead to more losses, sinking deeper and deeper into this quagmire of failure. So, why don't you let yourself go and find another way to compensate yourself? Or, in other words, a different way of living?"

"Change the way of life?" Mrs. Guo also murmured in her dream.

"Yes, change your way of life. Since this is a failed life experience, you must cut your losses in time, walk out of this dark period, and find another sunny path for yourself.

As the Buddhists say: "Be willing to give up; this is the only way in life." Even if a wrong choice causes you to lose a lot, since you already know it's a losing bet, why not withdraw in time and seek another way to realize your own value? In fact, isn't this another way to gain?

“Break the attachment to self and then you will see the light!”

“Only by breaking the attachment to self can one see the light?”

Mrs. Guo muttered to herself several times, tears rolling down her eyes. In her dream, she gradually saw a ray of light in the darkness after trekking thousands of miles. It was as if the endless night was slowly torn apart by a pair of hands, and she was bathed in brilliant golden light. She finally reached the end of the darkness.

……

At the same time, Xiao Muchen also woke up from the dream that was both real and illusory.

Although the dream was unreal, every word Murong Huan said rang clearly in his ears.

“Only by breaking the attachment to self can one see the light?”

Xiao Muchen couldn't help but mutter it again, and suddenly returned to reality. He was still a little dazed, and he looked at Murong Huan again. He saw that Murong Huan had stopped playing the recorder at some point, but even though he stopped, the sound of the flute still seemed to ring in his ears, bringing endless nostalgia and fantasy to people.

It was like a dream in autumn. When he saw Murong Huan again, he felt as if he had known her all over again in another world.

It turns out that this is the junior sister whom he has never met but is always mentioned by the master!

Back then, he asked his master for a portrait of his junior sister, but his master wanted to test him, so he only drew a picture of her as a child and asked him to guess what she would look like when she grew up.

He actually didn't recognize it. In this regard, he was really not as good as Murong Huan.

"Hey, Xiao Zhongcheng, are you awake? How did you fall asleep just now? I called you several times, but you didn't hear me."

Ah Shu's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he suddenly realized that he was hypnotized by Murong Huan's flute. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: This junior sister's hypnosis skills are really amazing, even I was fooled without knowing it.

At this moment, Mrs. Guo took a breath of cold air and suddenly opened her eyes. When she saw the two of them, she was confused at first, and then became very alert.

"Who are you? Why are you in my yard?"

Murong Huan said, "I am the doctor who treated you just now. Madam Xie, are you feeling better now?"

Calling her Madam Xie is a way of respecting her unique personality, rather than using her husband's surname.

Xie's heart warmed slightly, as if she felt a sense of recognition. She couldn't help but carefully examine Murong Huan's appearance: "You look... like someone I once knew? But you are not her! Just now, you said to me, 'Only by breaking my attachment can I see the light?'"

When he heard the first sentence, Murong Huan was slightly startled for a moment before he replied:
"Yes! Madam, can you tell me why you are so afraid of your husband? Besides the great revenge he has for killing your family?"

"Why?"

Xie laughed bitterly at herself twice before bursting into tears again. "Because he's always wanted me dead! As his first wife, he's never considered me his wife, never trusted me! Even his concubines could become his confidantes and share his secrets, but I've always been ignored and even belittled by him. He always used my appearance and merchant status as an excuse, leaving me with no confidence or dignity in his presence. For a long time, I even doubted myself, wondering if I was truly unworthy of him, that I owed him... Until one day, I accidentally overheard his secret conversations with his retainers. Only then did I realize how many evil things he had done, and the scale of his plans. Although I escaped without being discovered, he still suspected me and even wanted to kill me."

"Secret? What secret?" Xiao Muchen couldn't help but ask.

Xie became visibly wary.

Murong Huan hurriedly grabbed Xiao Muchen's hand, signaling him not to press the issue, but instead gently advised: "Madam Xie, no one between husband and wife is unworthy of the other. The fact that he makes you feel this way only means that he is intentionally controlling you and making you a slave who submits to him and obeys his orders.

Every one of us living in this world is valuable. Madam Xie, you too have your own value, and even advantages that others cannot match. The fact that he can't see it only means that he's not suitable for you, or even worthy of you."

"Really? I have advantages that others can't match, and I'm worthy of existing in this world?"

"Yes. Madam Xie, only if you cherish yourself can others respect you. So, stop doubting yourself."

Xie finally showed a relieved smile on her face. Looking at Murong Huan's face, she felt longing as if she had seen an old friend.

"Young Master, what's your name?" she suddenly asked.

"Murong Huan."

"Murong? Your last name is Murong?"

Murong Huan was also startled and asked, "Do you also know my mother?"

When she asked this question, Xie seemed to be on guard against something and stopped talking.

Murong Huan didn't dwell on this issue any further, and simply said, "Madam Xie, I understand your current situation. I believe you should also be very aware of your situation. If you continue to keep a secret for your husband, you may not survive this night."

"So now, you have no choice but to cooperate with us. This Xiao Zhongcheng is an official from the Imperial Censorate. He will make the decision for you. You don't have to be afraid of your husband."

Xie looked at Xiao Muchen.

Xiao Muchen had no choice but to speak: "She is right. I can indeed make the decision for you, including the grievance you want to redress. However, before that, Mrs. Xie, please answer a few questions for me truthfully."

"Excuse me, Xiao Zhongcheng?"

"Guo Erlang's two new concubines were murdered at 3:30 PM yesterday. Can you guess who the murderer was?"

When Xie suddenly heard that her two concubines had been killed, her eyes showed disbelief and shock.

"What did you say? They're dead? That's impossible. How could they be dead? How did they die?"

"Then I have to ask you, why do you think they died?"

Xie's face was pale, and she seemed frozen, unable to speak for a moment. Tears immediately streamed down her face, and she covered her face and cried bitterly, with a constant ringing in her ears.

"Aunt, as a daughter of the Xie family, you must avenge this blood feud for our entire Xie clan. If you don't do it, then Aying and I will do it."

"These cruel officials have no humanity. For their own benefit, they can destroy the homes of millions of families and make their lives miserable."

“Why don’t you expose their crimes?”

"Aunt, I don't believe that after being married to him for so many years, you can't find any evidence of his guilt?"

……

Xie suddenly felt a buzzing in her head, and she couldn't help but cover her ears and sob softly.

"It's my fault! I shouldn't have let them come to Luoyang. It's me who shouldn't have let them come... I was selfish!"

After crying for a while, Xie finally looked up at Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen: "Okay, I agree to cooperate with you. What else do you want me to do?"

(End of this chapter)