Chapter 353: In July and a half, the gate of hell opens
"Miss, you must not! You can't go to see the prince!" Mei Zhu stopped in front of Xu Xiuyi.
She is the chief maid next to Xu Xiuyi. She has also studied with Xu Xiuyi since she was a child. She is smart and can see that something is wrong today.
Everything happened so suddenly today, as if it was just to force the eldest lady to leave the house!
After much deliberation, Her Royal Highness was the only one with such a motive, although she did not have any evidence and did not dare to speak out.
Xu Xiuyi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, sheathed her dagger, then took her cloak to cover herself, and said in a deep voice: "Go and prepare the carriage!"
Seeing this, Mei Zhu knew that she could not stop her, so she could only immediately tell the other maids: "Go tell Uncle Chang and ask him to bring ten good guards to accompany the young lady to the Prince's Courtyard!"
Xu Xiuyi put on a pair of boots but did not change out of her skirt. She did not want the prince to find out that she was a martial artist.
Mei Zhu accompanied Xu Xiuyi on the carriage, and were escorted by guards all the way to the Prince's Courtyard.
Today happens to be the half of July, the Bon Festival, also commonly known as the Ghost Festival.
In July and a half, the gate of hell opens.
Hundreds of ghosts walk at night, going out to find food or visit family members. Children and the weak people stay at home and do not go out.
But the capital is not deserted. The Jinshui River passes through the city. Many people light lotus lanterns by the river to illuminate the way home for the souls of deceased relatives at home.
There are lotus lantern floats on the streets, with people dressed up as various spooky ghosts and monsters, and Taoist priests holding grand rituals, building altars and praying for the salvation of ghosts and wild ghosts.
Just the sound of chanting sutras, the faint sound of crying, the white paper money flying in the sky, the braziers burning incense and candles everywhere, and people with paper wounds can be seen everywhere on the streets...
Under the pale moonlight, the capital city was filled with a cold and ghostly atmosphere.
Women who have not left the palace are Yin, so they are detained at home by their elders and are not allowed to go out for fear of provoking unclean things.
Mei Zhu had never been out with her young lady on this day. Looking at everything on the street, she felt a little cold in her heart. She couldn't help but whisper: "Miss, this street looks weird and scary."
I don’t know why, but now I feel very strange and ghostly when looking at the bustling streets.
She remembered the private discussions among her servants. Today was the Ghost Festival. She wondered if the family members had collided with each other, which was why the masters suffered bloody disasters one after another.
Xu Xiuyi sat cross-legged, glanced out the car window lightly, and closed her eyes: "The most terrifying thing in the world is never ghosts, but the human heart."
She would rather fight ghosts than deal with evil people with ulterior motives.
Mei Zhu sat down in silence, and the carriage avoided the scary and gloomy-looking floats and ran along the Jinshui River.
The Prince's Courtyard is not far away. After crossing the bridge in front, you can reach the Prince's Courtyard by crossing another street.
Xu Xiuyi felt a little uneasy and kept thinking about what to do if she encountered various situations once she entered the Prince's Courtyard, for example, what if the Prince forcibly misbehaved with her or...
The carriage suddenly slowed down, and her thoughts were interrupted. She frowned and looked out the window: "What's wrong?"
Uncle Chang, the leader of the Xu family's nursing home, turned his horse's head, looked around for a while, and then came over and said: "There is a water and land dojo ahead. Many people are throwing coins on the lotus lanterns in the water on the bridge. Our carriages and horses have to go slowly.
"
It is said that throwing a copper coin into the lotus lantern in the river is to give the deceased ancestors money for traveling.
Xu Xiuyi had heard of this custom. Although he was very anxious, he said gently: "Our people must be careful when crossing the bridge, so as not to hit the people."
Uncle Chang nodded: "Okay."
The carriage walked up to the bridge under their escort.
The restlessness caused by the stop-and-go and the smell of incense candles all over the bridge made Xu Xiuyi very upset.
And on the bridge, there is always an old woman humming old and strange folk songs while burning paper and stabbing people——
The gate of hell is opened, and ghosts appear. The ghosts are suffering, selling tofu, rotten tofu, and spreading eggs. There is a brother sitting in the eggs.
My brother went out to visit the grave, and there was a grandmother sitting in the grave. Grandma came out to burn incense, and there was a girl sitting inside.
The girl came out to light the lamp...
If you fall into the river, you can't come back...
The girl came out to light the lamp...
If you fall into the river, you can't come back...
For some reason, she always felt upset when she heard it, as if something bad was about to happen.
She rubbed her brows and was about to recite Taoist mantras to calm her mind.
Suddenly I heard someone in front of me burst into sharp cries: "Ahhhhh-help!"
Then someone screamed: "No, someone was pushed off the bridge and fell into the water. The water ghost must be looking for a substitute. Run!"
This shout caused a panic on the entire bridge. There were already many people on the bridge, and the chaos caused by people stepping on others kept pushing people into the water.
Pedestrians were throwing copper coins and burning paper to stab people on both sides of the bridge. Carriages and horses were walking in the middle of the bridge. Suddenly there was chaos. Everyone panicked and retreated to the middle of the road.
Seeing that something was not going well, Uncle Chang immediately shouted to the guards of the Xu Mansion - "Protect the young lady and cross this bridge immediately!"
But it was already too late, and there were people everywhere. Pedestrians were making a mess, crying, crowding, and asking for help for their relatives and friends who had fallen off the bridge.
The horse was frightened and the car started to shake. Xu Xiuyi felt something was wrong and was about to open the curtain to see what was going on.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she opened the curtain, she was faced with a pale and terrifying piece of paper pricking a person's face. Next to it, there was an old lady with wrinkles on her face who showed a strange and sinister smile to her——
"Girl, do you want to buy some paper to stab someone?"
Xu Xiuyi had never seen such a face before. Her heart suddenly shrank and she instinctively stepped back in fear.
At this time, the pulling horse seemed to be frightened by the old lady, and suddenly raised its front hooves and jumped wildly.
At this time, the carriage was forced to the bridge in the chaos. The horse jerked and jumped, and the entire carriage rolled over. The frame hit the bridge and the carriage fell directly into the Jinshui River.
The entire carriage crashed into the river with a "bang!"
"Your Highness, you can go down and rescue people." The attendant stood not far from the river, watching the carriage fall into the water, and then looked at the prince in the carriage.
The Xu family probably thought that His Highness the Crown Prince would set a trap in the other courtyard, so they brought a group of guards with high martial arts skills.
But how can the Xu family be better than the prince?
"If you do it in Gu's other courtyard, you will be in a bad position, and it will be easy for others to take advantage of it. Of course, it is appropriate to do it on the road. Her old-fashioned character of Xu Xiuyi and the family tradition of the Xu family, if she is taken out of the river by me in public,
If she takes her out and talks about her anger, if she doesn't marry the orphan, then she will have no choice but to die."
His Highness said with a smile that day.
Sure enough, today, everything went as smoothly as His Royal Highness planned.
The Xu family is like little insects, how can they fly out of the spider web that His Highness has made for them?
Even if the Minister of Dali Temple has the ability to investigate the case, he may encounter a "ghost" and fall into the water during the Ghost Festival, or he may accidentally fall into the water due to the commotion.
Even if we can’t find the crown prince, who would let this be the Ghost Festival?
Shangguan Zhou got off the carriage and did not rush down to the lake. Instead, he looked at the sinking carriage not far away and took a sip from the tea cup handed by another attendant.
"Don't worry, Xu Xiuyi can't swim, just let her drown in the Jinshui River to wash her ignorant mouth. Only at this edge of life and death can she understand Gu's kindness in saving her. Gu's kindness
I don’t like disobedient women the most.”
Looking at Shangguan Zhou's expression, the attendant felt a slight chill in his heart.
Sure enough, anyone who disobeys the prince, even if it is a woman, or the woman the prince intends to marry as the current crown princess, will be severely retaliated by His Highness.
Just look at the way the current Crown Princess is being tortured by the Crown Prince, and you will know that it would be okay if this Miss Xu was just a dull and dull Crown Princess.
If she had her own thoughts, she wouldn't be stuck with the prince.
In the car, Xu Xiuyi was hit by the impact of the fall and was dizzy and her whole body ached. Although she tried her best, she relied on her warrior instincts to kick the door open and pulled Mei Zhu out to struggle out.
But she couldn't swim, so the cold river water quickly enveloped her and poured into her mouth and nose...
In the dim river, she could vaguely see the swaying lights and shadows on the river. Her soul seemed to be pulled out of her body, and the old women were humming strange songs——
My brother went out to visit the grave, and there was a grandma sitting in the grave. Grandma came out to burn incense, and there was a girl sitting in the incense.
The girl came out to light the lamp...
If you fall into the river, you can't come back...
The girl came out to light the lamp...
If you fall into the river, you can't come back...