Chapter 10: Entering the Mansion

Approaching the carriage, several people who looked like servants seemed to have a switch flipped; almost simultaneously, they turned around and looked at Yang Xiao and the others.

The leader among them sized the group up with a strange look, then said in a dull, rigid tone, "Lucky Guests, please board the carriages. The Master has been waiting for a long time."

There were two carriages; Yang Xiao, Kuang Hongyi, Xu Su, and Su Tingting boarded the first one, while Shi Dali and the other two took the second one.

The space inside the carriage cabin was not small, more than enough for four people, but what made one uncomfortable was that behind the curtain on both sides of the cabin, a gourd the size of a palm hung on the left, and a rusted pair of scissors hung by a red thread on the right.

Following a shout from the coachman, the carriage began to move with a sway, and the gourds and scissors on the left and right sides also began to sway incessantly. Only then did everyone notice that the bottom of the gourd had actually been sawed off and replaced with an Eight-Trigram Copper Mirror.

Noticing Su Tingting leaning close to the bottom of the gourd, Kuang Hongyi warned with an unpleasant expression, "Don't mess around; these are all things to ward off evil."

Hearing this, Su Tingting immediately shrank her body and pressed tightly against Yang Xiao's side.

Lifting a slit in the curtain behind the window, one could see the storefronts on both sides of the street: restaurants, inns, teahouses, antique shops, rouge shops—all sorts of things. Of course, there were even more small-scale rice shops, cloth stores, and general stores, the kinds of places indispensable to the lives of ordinary people.

Besides these, there were also peddlers carrying baskets or shoulder poles, walking the streets and alleys to hawk their wares.

Few people on the street were dressed in bright, clean clothes; most were sallow and thin, as if they hadn't eaten a full meal in a long time, and the clothes they wore were patch upon patch, sometimes even worse than the tattered clothes they themselves were wearing.

At the street corners, groups of beggars sat or lay about, both old and young, dressed in rags. When they saw people coming, a group of little beggars would hold out broken bowls and swarm over. Pedestrians would cover their noses and mouths and hurry away.

If Yang Xiao had to define the entire town, it would be that beneath a facade of false prosperity, a sense of deathly, twilight gloom permeated the air.

After walking for about 20 minutes, the sound of horse hooves gradually slowed. Xu Su, who had been looking out the window, turned around and lowered her voice, "We're here."

At this moment, the street outside suddenly opened up. They had arrived in front of a large residence. The dark red painted gate was tightly shut, and the stone steps in front of the gate were made of large, solid slabs of bluestone, clean and orderly, filled with a sense of majesty.

More importantly, Yang Xiao and the others recognized it: this mansion was the very one on the cover of the Invitation in the Script Box—Fengmen Town, Feng Family Mansion!

On both sides of the gate hung a large white lantern. The lanterns swayed slightly in the wind, and a thick, dark character for "Mourning" was written on them with a coarse brush.

The gate would only be opened on important days or when welcoming honored guests. Clearly, Yang Xiao and the others did not have such treatment; the gate did not open, and the carriage did not stop.

Following the high perimeter wall, the carriage moved forward for another few dozen meters before turning a corner into an alley; this must have been the side entrance leading into the mansion.

The walls on both sides of the alley were surprisingly high, squeezing the sky into a mere slit. Yang Xiao calculated that the time in this world was probably a little past 4:00 PM, yet there was almost no sunlight in this side passage.

Except for the sound of horse hooves and the wheels pressing against the stone slabs, the surroundings were unusually quiet. Kuang Hongyi and Xu Su did not say a word, and the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Before long, the carriage finally stopped. The person outside lifted the curtain, and the group stepped out one by one. In front of them was a black double-leaf wooden door, and someone was already waiting there.

It was an elderly woman holding an embroidered handkerchief.

The old woman stared at them coldly without a word. Her thick rouge paired with a pair of upturned eyes was as strange as could be.

Her gaze swept over Yang Xiao and the others one by one, as if confirming something. After a long while, the old woman finally spoke, "Lucky Guests, my Master has gone out of the mansion on business. Please follow me to the side hall to wait."

After speaking, the old woman didn't dawdle; she turned and walked away, pushing the wooden door open.

Lucky Guests...

The servants from before had addressed them that way too. It seemed this was their current identity.

Yang Xiao recalled the Invitation from the original Script; the Invitation had not mentioned the identity of "Lucky Guest," only saying that the Feng family was holding a ceremony and inviting those who received the Invitation to attend. It did not mention the specifics, but it promised a generous reward upon completion.

Following behind the woman, the group finally walked into the Feng Family Mansion. It had to be said that it was truly magnificent inside. Along the way, the scenery constantly changed—pavilions, waterside structures, flower gardens, and corridors—truly an eye-opener.

After walking for about 10 minutes, the group arrived at a quiet, large room. The old woman pointed to a shelf filled with compartments and instructed, "The Master is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see people suffer in poverty. Go inside, take the clothes, and change out of these old rags."

Just as everyone was about to comply, the old woman slanted her eyes and changed her mind, "Wait a moment."

"You, go take the one on the very top." The old woman raised her hand and pointed very disrespectfully at Shi Dali, the oldest among them.

Shi Dali, suddenly pointed at, was stunned and subconsciously asked back, "Why me? Is... is there some reason for this?"

"This Lucky Guest, once you enter the Feng Mansion, you must follow the rules here. The Master likes people who follow the rules." The old woman kept that same dead expression, and the words she spoke were devoid of any emotion, as if everyone owed her something.

Shi Dali didn't say anything more and walked over obediently to take a folded set of clothes from the top layer of the shelf. There was no need to choose, because only one compartment on the top layer had clothes in it; the rest were empty.

Next was Kuang Hongyi, who took from the second layer; likewise, only one compartment on this layer had clothes.

Then the old woman pointed out Yang Xiao, Ke Long, and Shi Guanming in succession. They were on the third layer, which happened to have three sets of clothes. Judging by the old woman's intent, it seemed it didn't matter which set the three of them took.

Finally, it was Xu Su and Su Tingting, who took from the last layer, which also happened to have exactly two sets of clothes.

Seeing that everyone had received their clothes, the old woman's expression looked slightly better. "Change your clothes now. The Master has gone to prepare paper offerings to be sent down for the Second Young Master; I'm afraid he won't be able to see you tonight. Wait for another stick of incense's time. If the Master still hasn't returned, then go to the entrance and find the servants on night patrol; they will take you to where you will be staying."

After speaking, the old woman turned and left. Yang Xiao and the others stared at the clothes in their hands. The clothes were made of silk, felt very good to the touch, and the workmanship and stitching were exquisite. At a glance, they were things worn by wealthy families, far better than what the old woman had been wearing earlier.

"Hmm?" Shi Dali shook out his clothes, his expression suddenly becoming strange. "Why are the two sleeves of this garment different lengths?"

"A corner of my skirt has been cut off." Xu Su pinched the hem of her skirt and lifted it so everyone could see more clearly.

Yang Xiao stood stunned for a long time without speaking, because he saw that on the hem of his own garment, a person's Birth Date and Time had been crookedly sewn on with red thread.