Yuanxin Matchmaking Agency (30)

The long-distance bus traveled for nearly three hours before finally arriving at the entrance of Baijiacun.

A stone monument engraved with the three large characters of "Baijiacun" stood at the village entrance, and a row of tall poplars lined both sides of the road. When the wind blew through the leaves, it made a rustling sound.

Her maternal grandmother was already waiting at the entrance. She was in her seventies, with graying hair and a slightly hunched figure, but she still appeared spirited.

Seeing Bai Ci and Mother Bai step off the bus, she immediately walked over to greet them.

Having already learned the details of the situation over the phone, the grandmother's eyes couldn't help but redden as she saw her ill-fated granddaughter standing before her.

“My daughter, my dear granddaughter, you've arrived.”

“Mom, we're here.” Mother Bai stepped forward to support her mother, her voice choking up slightly.

She rarely returned to her maternal home, partly because of the inconvenient journey, but mostly because she was constantly troubled by the Bai family curse. This was the primary reason—her fear of this land far outweighed any nostalgia.

Her grandmother patted Mother Bai's hand, then took Bai Ci's hand, looking her up and down closely with tears in her eyes.

“Xiao Ci has grown so big, and she's getting prettier and prettier. Quick, come home with Grandma. I've already prepared a meal.”

Following her grandmother into the village, Bai Ci saw that most of the houses in Baijiacun were old-fashioned blue-brick houses with tiled roofs, neatly arranged on both sides of the road.

They encountered many villagers along the way, all of whom smiled and greeted her grandmother, casting curious glances at Bai Ci and Mother Bai.

Her grandmother responded to each with a smile, occasionally offering a brief introduction: “This is my daughter and granddaughter, back for a visit.”

Her grandmother's home was a small blue-brick courtyard. A lush, leafy old locust tree grew in the yard, with a stone table and several stone benches beneath it. In the corner of the courtyard, some green vegetables and Chinese roses were planted, making the place feel both lived-in and cozy.

Her grandmother poured water for Bai Ci and Mother Bai, then brought out some home-dried fruits and placed them on the stone table. After bustling about for a while, she finally sat down across from them.

As soon as she sat down, before she could even speak, her tears began to flow.

“I don't know much, but listen and see if any of it is useful.”

Dabbing her tears with a wrinkled, washed handkerchief, her grandmother began to recount what she knew.

“Since I was a child, I heard the elders in the family say that the Bai family was once a prominent clan in this area. Our ancestors were a family of scholars with a wealthy estate, and we held great prestige in the village.”

“Around my mother's generation, a degenerate son emerged in the family, indulging in every vice imaginable—drinking, gambling, whoring, and opium smoking.”

“The times were turbulent back then, and the men who could run the household died one after another. That degenerate son put on a good act at first, so the leadership of the family fell to him. In the end, he squandered the entire family fortune.”

“As for that... blessing.” Her grandmother choked up.

It was hard for her grandmother to call it a blessing when it had taken her daughter's life and was now threatening to take her granddaughter's.

“I also heard it from my mother. She said the women of our Bai family must marry before thirty, or they will lose their lives.”

“I asked where this curse came from, but she only said it was forbidden to speak of it, and told me to just obey.”

Her grandmother paused, then added, “However, I do have something that might help you.”

With that, her grandmother stood up and went into the inner room.

Bai Ci pondered her grandmother's words. From the beginning, she had felt that the age limit of thirty was very strange; it didn't seem like a curse passed down through countless generations.

And her grandmother's mother saying it was "forbidden to speak of" only heightened this possibility.

If it were a curse passed down from ancient ancestors, and one that was so easily avoided, it would have been handed down safely for too many generations. Later descendants would easily lose their reverence for it, so why would it be forbidden to speak of?

"Forbidden to speak of" was almost certainly an implication that the curse had started not too long ago. Out of fear of offending whatever power was behind it, they dared not speak of it.

Therefore, the event must have occurred during the generation of her grandmother's mother, or perhaps the generation before that, which her mother could have witnessed.

Considering how early people married and had children in those days, the generation two steps back was also a strong possibility.

Before long, her grandmother walked out holding a thick, yellowed book.

It was the genealogy book.

The corners were worn, and it was obvious that it had been stored away for many years.

“This is our Bai family genealogy book. It records the names, birth and death dates, and some brief histories of all our ancestors since the Bai family first settled here.”

Her grandmother handed the genealogy book to Bai Ci. “I'm old and my eyes are failing, so I've never looked closely at the contents. You two take a look. Maybe you can find some clues in there.”

Bai Ci took the genealogy book and opened it. The handwriting inside was printed, so it was relatively easy to read.

“Also,” her grandmother spoke again, “our Bai family has an ancestral hall on the east side of the village, which houses the memorial tablets of the Bai family ancestors.”

“Hardly anyone goes to the ancestral hall on regular days. Only during holidays do the Bai clan members in the village go to pay their respects. Here is the key. You can go take a look at the ancestral hall too; maybe you'll find some information.”

Bai Ci took the key but didn't set off immediately. Instead, she took things one step at a time and began by flipping through the genealogy book.

Since she already had a rough estimate of when the curse began, she quickly narrowed down the relevant pages and slowly flipped through them.

Before long, two generations above her grandmother—namely, her grandmother's grandfather's generation—Bai Ci discovered an anomaly.

In the records of this generation, right next to her grandmother's grandfather, someone had added a name in black ink amidst the otherwise neat, printed characters: Bai Zhen'er, with "younger sister" noted beside it.

In other words, this Bai Zhen'er was her grandmother's grand-aunt.

The Bai family genealogy was not restricted by gender; both men and women were recorded. Why was this Bai Zhen'er added later in black ink, rather than being part of the original printing?

What caught Bai Ci's attention even more was the note after Bai Zhen'er's birth and death dates: “Unmarried, died of sudden illness at the age of thirty.”

Thirty years old. This age was far too specific to be a coincidence.

Using this Bai Zhen'er as a focal point, Bai Ci examined the other Bai family women who came before and after her.

In the generations before Bai Zhen'er, only one had died at thirty, and the record stated she had died of a difficult labor while giving birth.

But after Bai Zhen'er, several women had passed away at the age of thirty, all listed as dying of sudden illnesses, and all of them were unmarried.

This comparison of before and after made it absolutely clear that Bai Zhen'er's situation was not simple.

Now, Bai Ci had a target for using the Dream-Inducing Incense.

But how was she going to find an object associated with her?

Bai Ci paid a visit to the ancestral hall. Unsurprisingly, there was no memorial tablet for Bai Zhen'er inside.

“Grandma, do you know someone named Bai Zhen'er?”

“According to the genealogy book, she was your grand-aunt and died of sudden illness at thirty. But there is no tablet for her in the ancestral hall, and the record in the genealogy book is very brief.”

Bai Ci asked, hoping her grandmother might still have some old family heirlooms left. Perhaps one of them was related to this Bai Zhen'er.

Her grandmother thought deeply for a long time, then slowly shook her head. “I have never heard that name before.”