The Blue Stone Slab path was slick with night dew. Just as Ye Fan stepped through the vermilion gates of the Ye Family estate, a figure in a green cloth skirt collided with his chest. Xiaocui's hair was still flecked with grass clippings, clearly having run all the way from the back courtyard. Her fingers gripped his sleeve, trembling uncontrollably. "Young Master, you're finally back! That blue smoke from the ancestral hall just now looked utterly sinister. Second Master is in the side parlor banging his fists with a few guests from outside the clan, demanding to open the ancestral hall to take some sort of 'family heirloom.' They've got the Family Head coughing fit to burst..."
"Xiaocui." Ye Fan pressed a hand to her shoulder, feeling the frantic beat of her heart against his palm. In his past life memories, this girl had been sold into the household at age twelve, always washing his old clothes until they turned pale white and folding them with absolute precision. Right now, her eye rims were red like they were soaked in blood, and even her eyelashes were quivering. He softened his voice. "Go to the front courtyard and fetch my box of dark iron talisman paper, and have the kitchen boil a bowl of ginger tea—make sure you add red dates."
"Understood!" Xiaocui sniffled, and as she turned to run off, she looked back at him. The moonlight made the tears at the corners of her eyes sparkle brightly. "Young Master, please be careful."
Chapter 19