In the afternoon, having nothing to do, Bai Ci took advantage of a moment when Jinghong was attending to her. Feigning shyness and unease, she softly brought up a matter that was on her mind.
“Jinghong, I... there's something I want to do. Do you think Mother would agree?”
She lowered her eyes, looking anxious and fearful of pleasing anyone, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Jinghong stopped her embroidery. “Please, go ahead and speak, Young Madam.”
“I grew up in the countryside and don't know a single character. What's the phrase? I'm an unrefined person.”
“I've heard the maids and older servants whispering about me... and they're actually right.”
“Now that I've married into the Xu family, my husband is a highly educated scholar, yet I understand nothing. If we meet in the future, I'm afraid we won't even have anything to talk about...”
As she spoke, a mixture of cautious hope and loneliness appeared on Bai Ci's face.
“I was thinking, before my husband returns, could I learn to read a few characters?”
“I don't expect to write beautiful poetry, just to be able to converse a little. That way, when we are together in the future, we won't be left in complete silence.”
She spoke with such sincerity that tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill over.
Hearing this and seeing Bai Ci's pitiful display, Jinghong felt a surge of sympathy and didn't suspect a thing.
Jinghong was well aware of her young mistress's situation. In the Xu estate, probably even Madame Xu, who had personally arranged this marriage, believed that the Young Madam was not worthy of the eldest young master.
Jinghong herself had initially thought so too, only serving the Young Madam because of Madame Xu's orders.
But after a few days, Jinghong had come to understand Bai Ci's character.
The Young Madam was a good person—genuine, straightforward, and without any deceitful schemes. She said what she meant and never acted two-faced.
Yet even though Jinghong thought well of Bai Ci, she still felt that the Young Madam and the eldest young master should never have been paired together.
It wasn't a matter of whether she was worthy; it was simply that a square peg could not be forced into a round hole.
Upon hearing Bai Ci's request, Jinghong readily agreed, her tone warm. “It is truly rare for you to have such thoughtful intentions, Young Madam.”
“How could this be difficult? When I was young, I learned some characters from the estate's tutor. While I am by no means highly educated, it is more than enough to help you read and write.”
“From now on, during our daily free time, I will teach you how to read.”
Bai Ci looked flattered and quickly bowed her head in gratitude. “Jinghong, it's wonderful that you can teach me.”
“If I had troubled Mother, and then turned out to be a blockhead who couldn't learn a thing, wasting both money and effort, I would have felt terribly guilty.”
From then on, Bai Ci naturally began her daily routine of learning to read.
To make teaching easier, Jinghong took Bai Ci to Xu Qinghe's small study every day.
There were two studies, one large and one small, in Xu Qinghe's courtyard. Since he was not in the estate, the large study where he did his main reading and academic work was naturally kept locked.
However, the small study he rarely used was accessible. Most of the items inside were things that couldn't fit in the large study—unimportant, rarely used, but space-consuming.
Some of Xu Qinghe's poems, essays, and practice copies were also piled here.
This was precisely the goal of Bai Ci's request to learn to read.
Over the next few days, while waiting for updates from Lin Wenyu, Bai Ci went to the study to practice every single day without fail.
Her handwriting was clumsy and awkward, with crooked strokes and no structure whatsoever. She had to rely on Jinghong's patient guidance each time just to barely memorize a few simple characters.
As for the assignments Jinghong gave her, she would always stay in the study to practice on her own for a long time.
Once she produced a somewhat satisfactory copy, she would burn the practice sheets that were too hideously ugly to look at, ensuring she didn't appear completely hopeless.
Seeing her earnestness, Jinghong became even more patient in her teaching. She also thoughtfully pretended not to notice Bai Ci's attempts to hide her work, preserving the self-esteem of this young mistress from the countryside.
In truth, the papers Bai Ci burned included not only the intentionally crooked, ugly characters, but also her imitations of Xu Qinghe's handwriting.
She didn't need to write exactly like him, but she had to familiarize herself with his brush pressure and character structure.
She had already prepared an excuse for any minor differences.
Since her physical body had changed, her muscle memory, bone structure, and strength would naturally differ from before. It was only normal for her handwriting to vary slightly.
Every bit of preparation was paving the way for her to impersonate Xu Qinghe in the future.
It had to be said that deadlines were the ultimate motivator—this saying was absolutely true.
Using her reading lessons as a cover under such a tense atmosphere, it took only two or three days for her to actually capture a bit of Xu Qinghe's calligraphic style.
It was as if she were divinely assisted.
Even Bai Ci herself was surprised by this outcome.
Could she actually have a talent for forging handwriting?
As the saying goes, many people aren't untalented; they just haven't found their true calling yet.
On the very night Bai Ci initially mastered Xu Qinghe's handwriting, the familiar rustling sound returned to her room.
Along with the familiar black leather jacket.
“Bai Ci, I've got the information you wanted.”
Lin Wenyu handed over a neatly folded stack of plain paper.
Bai Ci reached out and took the papers, somewhat surprised. It had only been a few days, yet they had gathered so much information already.
It seemed that Boss of theirs really had some skills.
She began to read the contents.
First was the section regarding the resurrection ritual.
They had investigated from multiple angles. Although they couldn't fully uncover the exact method for performing the entire ritual, the subsequent stages of physical transformation and spiritual replacement had been completely laid bare.
Looking at the incredibly detailed information on the paper, Bai Ci even wondered if these details had been freshly stolen from the cult's stronghold.
The core key of the ritual was to “use a living body to nourish a deceased person's remnant soul.”
After the two bodies were pieced together and sutured, the deceased's remnant soul, which had been sewn into the body, would initially be in a dormant state.
Relying on the living person's blood and qi for nourishment, the spiritual consciousness would slowly repair and awaken.
Before the spirit fully revived, the living person had to rest quietly and replenish their blood and qi. The sutured areas also had to be carefully maintained to prevent decay, thereby providing sufficient and stable nourishment for the remnant soul.
This was the real reason Madame Xu forced Bai Ci to take medicine and apply ointments every day, meticulously caring for her body.
Once the deceased's spiritual consciousness began to revive, they would enter the most critical coexistence phase.
A single physical body would host two souls, taking turns to control the body.
During this stage, the absolute greatest taboo was for the living person to realize there was a second soul inside their body.
The living person naturally held the advantage of being the body's original owner. If they rejected or intentionally suppressed the other, the still-unstable remnant soul of the deceased would be crushed.
If the living person had a strong, proud, and unyielding personality, the deceased's remnant soul would not just be suppressed—it would be damaged, and in severe cases, the entire ritual would be ruined.
This was why the Xu estate was on high alert, cutting off all of Bai Ci's contact with the outside world. It was to keep her resting quietly and to suppress her will.
As time passed, the deceased's remnant soul would become increasingly stable under the body's nourishment, and the periods they spent awake and in control of the body would grow longer.
Meanwhile, the living person's spiritual consciousness would be gradually suppressed and continuously depleted, slowly falling into a deep sleep until it went completely silent.
Ultimately, the deceased's soul would entirely monopolize this sutured body, completing the resurrection.
At the same time the souls were being completely swapped, the cult also employed another accompanying secret technique.
Under the influence of this secret technique, the physical body would slowly transform, gradually shifting toward the deceased's original appearance until every trace of the living person was completely erased, achieving a true rebirth through a stolen vessel.
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