[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-51":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310436,4514,"Chapter 51","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-51",51,"\u003Cp>Lin Wanmo took out a small silver box, its shape peculiar, resembling a miniature spirit shrine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Daye handed his tobacco pipe to Mao Sishu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Sishu reluctantly took it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Daye, embarrassed and angry: “What, you’re disgusted by me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Sishu said: “Who would dare be disgusted by you? I don’t smoke—your tobacco stings and reeks in my mouth…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Sishu wiped the mouthpiece of the pipe several times with his sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wanmo opened the box, revealing dozens of shadow puppets, male and female.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Sishu lit the pipe, drew a deep breath, and exhaled toward the puppets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gray-white smoke enveloped all the puppets; after a moment, they suddenly came to life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cough, cough, cough—this weather grows colder every year…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are you calling us back again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dogwa, did you miss your father?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Girl, how did you end up like this? Oh my, you’re coming to join me soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small room erupted into chaos, dozens speaking at once, each calling out to their own descendants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One puppet, hands behind his back, stepped up to Shen Daye and reached to touch his head: “Dogwa.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Daye had to lower his head for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his father, Shen Yongji.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shadow puppets in the silver box were the ancestors of Riverwork Alley, from the first generation onward, who had died within the alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But those like Xu Yuan’s second uncle, who never inherited the alley’s legacy and left early, had no right to enter the silver box after death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This object was Riverwork Alley’s “Ancestral Shrine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Sishu’s mother kept saying how thin you’d grown, that you must not be eating properly, that even alone you shouldn’t treat yourself carelessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You don’t even mend your torn clothes—you’ll be showing your butt in another two days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bring me needle and thread, I’ll sew it for you…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was about to cry: “Leaving my child alone in the alley to suffer…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shen was also held by a pair of elderly puppet spouses, who asked after her health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her father kept muttering that he’d never arranged a marriage for his daughter in life, turning her into a true “old maid.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shen’s eyes were about to well up when Lin Wanmo softly coughed: “Grandparents, your time here is limited—let’s get to the matter at hand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Daye and the other three let out a collective sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elders all agreed: “Mo Ya speaks rightly.” Then they sat down according to seniority—another round of polite refusals, another full pipe of tobacco passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wanmo stole a glance at the Ancestral Shrine—inside still lay a tiny shadow puppet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Square face, thick brows, aged eyes, a short salt-and-pepper beard, three deep creases across his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wanmo sighed inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only puppet in the Ancestral Shrine that had not yet come alive was Xu Yuan’s father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The residents of Riverwork Alley were called “Criminals”—this was no mere social stigma from the mortal world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, she couldn’t sell artisan-made goods to outsiders at fair prices; those from the alley who acted outside it inevitably suffered “Criminal Punishment”; and worse still… after death, their souls crossed the Yellow Springs but had no place to return!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Daye had fully explained Xu Yuan’s situation to the elders, and told them of the current disagreement among the four.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dozens of elders began to discuss it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unlike Shen Daye’s group, they had no decorum—within moments, they were arguing; when the senior ones lost the debate, they struck the younger ones on the head, shouting to crush them with seniority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The juniors, too afraid to fight back, sprawled out at the elders’ feet: “Hit me! Kill me! I’m already in the grave—why are you still hitting me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, chaos erupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Daye and the other three were long accustomed to this—every time they summoned the elders, it was always like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the “tobacco strength” faded and their time ran out, they would return to the box and swiftly reach a conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Usually, it was Xu Yuan’s grandfather who spoke first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But today, for some reason, Xu Yuan’s grandfather remained silent, having only asked once at the start about Lin Wanmo’s condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about fifteen minutes, the once loud, boisterous puppets suddenly grew weary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time’s almost up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Xu, say something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan’s grandfather rolled a pair of walnuts in his hands, grunted, but didn’t speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as everyone assumed he was making his final decision, another shadow puppet rose slowly from the silver box, its voice low yet steady:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is Ah Yuan’s ‘fate’—he must choose it himself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wanmo exclaimed in delight: “Master, you’ve returned…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu HuanYang turned to look at his disciple… and his second wife; he seemed about to say something, but his body went limp, drifting softly back into the silver box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan’s grandfather cleared his throat: “HuanYang is nearly back. This matter is grave—he came briefly to voice his opinion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Xu HuanYang speaking, the other puppets all voiced their support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gradually, the tobacco’s power faded completely; the puppets on the table yawned one by one and drifted back into the silver box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the last one returned, Lin Wanmo closed the Ancestral Shrine and respectfully put it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Daye snatched his tobacco pipe back from Mao Sishu: “Enough. Go back to your places. Do as Xu Yuan’s father said.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside Shen Daye’s house, Lin Wanmo still wore a stiff expression: “Fourth Uncle, there’s another thing I need to tell you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the back courtyard of the county yamen, Song Lu was busy applying a box of women’s face powder to conceal the redness and swelling around Fu Jingyu’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu’s whole body was stiff, utterly unaccustomed to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not necessary…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Lu shot him a reproachful glare: “Sit still! Don’t fidget.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, Song Lu smoothed the powder evenly and held up a red-haired foreigner’s mercury glass mirror: “Look, can you still see it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu relaxed completely; it was finally over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fu and Song families were longtime friends; he and Song Lu had studied together since childhood under Master Ma Tianshou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His junior was two years younger than him, and since the age of five, she had loved to pout and insist on “painting” him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after twelve, she no longer felt comfortable playing such childish games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today felt like reclaiming the joy of childhood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Fu Jingyu felt strangely uneasy…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go, we have duties today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each took their saber and hung it at their waist before stepping out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s prohibitions: no burial, no approach to Linhe, no conjugal relations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Jingyu and Song Lu arrived at He Gong Alley and entered from the western entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was an illusion or not, Fu Jingyu felt the old woman running the basket shop was looking at him with unmistakable lack of “kindness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shen didn’t think the Purification Office was a good place—outside He Gong Alley, which they protected, nowhere in the world was safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two young Captains of the Purification Office returned to the alley’s depths, standing before the Xu family’s gate; this time Song Lu stepped forward and knocked, and the door opened to reveal a beautiful woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood half a head taller than Song Lu, slender and elegant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Lu had to tilt her small face upward to ask: “Where’s Xu Yuan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who knows!” The stepmother was in a foul mood today; the child was grown, had his own ideas. Even his biological mother couldn’t control him, let alone her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan had left without eating breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t say where he was going. When Lin Wanmo heard the noise and rushed out, the boy had already slapped a talisman onto each thigh, shot over the courtyard wall, and vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Requesting monthly votes!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1309,"2026-06-20T12:07:23.516Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8cc3334de2f686662a03473fe9901a6d64c6730726a42931026ab2bf71fe0e43","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-52","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-50",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]