Chapter 184 – Yan Bowen Did Not Die of Illness
“Very good, very good.” After Murong Qinjian repeated the phrase twice and noticed that Long Yu had no reaction, he said to Long Yu, “The night is long and quite dull. Listening to a pipa tune after the banquet before sleeping wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Long Yu brushed off some spilled wine from his sleeve and suddenly stood up, walking away from the banquet. He neither opposed nor agreed to Murong Qinjian’s suggestion.
Murong Qinjian watched his retreating figure, smiled, and called out loudly, “General Long, if you don’t speak up, I’ll take it as your consent.”
“Murong Little Scoundrel, it’s you who wants to listen to music. Don’t involve me. Remember, don’t disturb me.”
Long Yu’s voice floated back from a distance. Murong Qinjian’s smile grew even brighter.
“Magistrate Yao, the General has agreed.”
With the main guest gone, the banquet naturally came to a hasty end.
After everyone had left, only Yao Jin and Yan Shujing remained in the garden.
Yao Jin, looking sternly at Yan Shujing, said, “Tonight is a rare opportunity. You must not disappoint your adoptive father. If you win the General’s favor tonight, not only will your father, Yan Bozhang, be saved, but your entire Yan family will rise to prominence.”
Yan Shujing stood before Yao Jin, obediently bowing her head. “I give thanks to adoptive father for creating this opportunity. If I win the General’s favor, I will certainly not forget you.”
Yao Jin pursed his lips in satisfaction. “Go then. Bathe and change, dress up nicely, and then go serve in the east wing.”
“Yes, your daughter will take her leave.”
…
The scene shifts to the Four Sisters Mountain, inside a cave on Big Sister Peak.
With the crescent moon rising, Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuqin were tidying up dishes inside the cave, while Yan Xiaosi and Yan Shuxue were outside collecting the books they had dried in the morning.
The sisters closed each book one by one and repacked them into a burlap bag.
All other books were already packed, except for one in Yan Xiaosi’s hands. It was a romance novel, full of engrossing stories. Yan Xiaosi had discovered it in the morning and had been hooked ever since, finding it hard to put down.
She was surprised that someone like her coincidental father, Yan Bowen, a scholar, would also enjoy collecting such romance novels. After reading many formal texts, reading a romance novel was refreshing for the mind, and keeping it was indeed a good idea.
Yan Shuxue saw her holding the book, engrossed and oblivious to her surroundings, and sighed helplessly.
“Xiaosi, the light is so dim, stop reading or you’ll ruin your eyes.”
Only then did Xiaosi stop, but she didn’t intend to put the book back into the burlap bag.
“Second sister, let’s bring the books inside first.”
The bag of books was somewhat heavy, and the sisters huffed and puffed as they carried it into the cave.
The cave was lit by an oil lamp, providing much better lighting than outside.
At night, with nothing to do and Ms. Zhong and the others not yet asleep, Yan Xiaosi couldn’t retreat into her portable space to cultivate. After washing up, she sat on the grass bed and continued reading the book.
While flipping the pages, she suddenly noticed that the yellowed pages were faintly glowing.
New rice paper might reflect light under illumination, but the book in Xiaosi’s hands was decades old, its pages yellowed with age. Even under strong light, it shouldn’t reflect light. But Xiaosi was sure she wasn’t seeing things.
“Big sister, please put out the oil lamp.”
Yan Shuqin, who was sitting beside the oil lamp sewing shoe soles, asked in confusion, “Xiaosi, aren’t you reading?”
“Big sister, there’s something wrong with this book. Please put out the lamp quickly.”
Yan Shuqin then blew out the lamp in one breath. The cave instantly plunged into darkness.
In the pitch-black cave, the book in Yan Xiaosi’s hands glowed even more distinctly, its luminescent specks twinkling like fireflies.
Seeing this, Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin, and Yan Shuxue were all stunned.
“How can this be? Why would the books left by father glow?” Shuqin asked anxiously.
Yan Xiaosi flipped through the yellowed pages in the dark, finding that each page glowed faintly.
She didn’t immediately answer Shuqin’s question but closed the book and said to Yan Shuxue, “Second sister, go with big sister and bring out all the books from the burlap bag.”
The bag of books was placed against a stone wall. Following Xiaosi’s instruction, the sisters brought the bag to Yan Xiaosi in the dark.
Shuxue couldn’t help but ask, “Xiaosi, why are these old books left by father glowing?”
Yan Xiaosi frowned and said, “I’ll tell you later. Big sister, second sister, first take the books out of the bag.”
Once they emptied the bag, Yan Xiaosi checked each book, finding that every page glowed in the dark.
She knew why these old books were glowing.
“Big sister, you can relight the lamp now.”
Yan Shuqin lit the oil lamp with a match. The dim light cast upon Yan Xiaosi’s face revealed a very serious expression that somewhat frightened Ms. Zhong.
“Xiaosi, what’s wrong? What’s the issue with these books left by your father? Tell us quickly.”
Yan Xiaosi took a deep breath and said to Ms. Zhong, “Mom, the old books left by father have been smeared with a luminescent powder that is a poisonous substance.”
Hearing this, Ms. Zhong’s face turned pale, and her body trembled slightly.
“What did you just say, Xiaosi?”
Ms. Zhong’s reaction made Xiaosi suspect the cause of her coincidental father Yan Bowen’s death. It was probably not a natural death but murder.
“Mom, I said that the books my father left behind were smeared with a luminescent powder, and it’s poisonous. If someone is in frequent contact with it, the toxins would accumulate in his body and eventually cause sudden death.”
Ms. Zhong’s body swayed, almost losing her balance. Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue quickly supported her.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” the sisters asked in unison.
Ms. Zhong just cried inconsolably, unable to utter a word.
Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue turned their gaze to Xiaosi.
“Xiaosi, what’s wrong with mom?”
Yan Xiaosi, who actually didn’t want to tell Ms. Zhong such a cruel truth, needed to make her see the true colors of the Yan family, so she wouldn’t keep thinking of them as family because of her coincidental father.
“Mom, when father was alive, did he have a habit of licking his fingers to turn the pages?”
Ms. Zhong, unable to stop crying, nodded, “Yes.”
