The General's Delicious Wife Chapter 029: Jumping into Shamanism
Initially, Xia Yue Chu still believes that she may be dreaming, who knows that the sound of bells ringing can be heard coming from the outside.
Having no idea how many bells are ringing at the same time, creating such a chaotic mess of noise as it disturbs one by stirring up unease in one's heart.
She exerts great effort to open her eyes and realises that Qin Zheng is not in the room. She quickly drapes her coat over herself and goes outside to see what is happening.
Pushing the door open, Xia Yue Chu is stupefied by what she sees.
There are two people dressed in red and green standing in the yard, their faces are smeared with messy paints, their clothes are shabby and deranged, sew together by different cloths in patches and pieces. It is unidentifiable what kind of style that is.
One of them holds a hand drum in his hand, the other wears a belt of dangling bells around his waist, which will sound out if he moves ever so slightly.
Shaman rituals are considerably popular in the countryside, the families who make a living from farming are not educated or cultured, thus mythology and superstition are believable to them.
And this is Xia Yue Chu's first time seeing shamans dancing their rituals away, so she finds it odd and new.
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Only to see the person with the dangling bells belt spinning in circles on the spot.
The person with the handheld drum is singing something incoherent and jumping around the person who is spinning.
Xia Yue Chu sees Qin Zheng who is standing by the side with a dark expression, so she walks over and asks in a whisper. "What is this?"
Qin Zheng's chest convulses violently for a moment, suppressing his rage and answers in a whisper. "They say that Big Brother is sick because he has caught something unclean this time, so they hired the shamans to perform a ritual."
He has tried to block them from doing so, but he has been rebuked because they have said that this is a matter of their old Xue family and it is not something that he has a say in.
Xia Yue Chu does not particularly care about this, if they want to jump around, let them jump. It does not affect them anyway, so she consoles Qin Zheng and watches the entertainment from the side line.
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Who knows that after the ritual, the person with the dangling bells takes out two black pills of which ingredients cannot be identified, and two yellow strips of paper which has something written with red ink on it, giving everything to Madam Sheng.
"Burn the talisman into ashes and mix it with a pill in water, eat a set now and eat another set at the end of the day, then all will be fine."
Madam Sheng accepts these like precious treasures hurriedly, giving her thanks again and again, and turns around to her room to grab some money for their payment.
At this moment, Xue Liang Ping who has went out in the early morning has just come back with a basket full of firewood on his back. He sees the shamans standing in the yard as he walks through the gates and cannot help but burrows his brows questioning. "What is this for?"
Xia Yue Chu does not want Xue Zhuang to be eating those pills of unknown origin and the talisman water, so she swiftly goes to Xue Liang Ping's side. Putting on an upset yet afraid to oppose poise, speaking quietly. "Father, Mother says Da Zhuang went to the cemetery and encountered something unclean, that's why he fell sick when he came back. She insisted on finding the shamans to perform a ritual at home."
Xue Liang Ping does not find anything odd in this story. His son has indeed fallen sick after coming back, he cannot say for certain but the evil spirit encounter is possible too.
Xia Yue Chu naturally has more to say, pretending to talk to herself in a mumble. "We went to pay respects to our own family ancestors, of course our ancestors will protect us. Why would there be any unclean things at our own family ancestors' tombs…"
Xue Liang Ping who is standing near to Xia Yue Chu hears everything that she has said, and he is stunned for a moment, afterwards a spark of anger ignites in his heart and bursts into flames, fueling into a massive fire.
Coincidentally, he lifts his head and sees Madam Sheng coming out from the room. Xue Liang Ping throws down the firewood, piecing up three steps into two and strides over, holding back his anger and asks. "What do you mean by this?"
Madam Sheng does not have the slightest inclination to the mood changes within Xue Liang Ping, handing the money over to the shamans and replies. "Didn't we go up the mountains yesterday, I am afraid somebody at home has brought back any unclean things, so I found someone to see to it!"
"What?" Xue Liang Ping still holds onto a benefit of the doubt when he has heard Xia Yue Chu's comments, now he simply does not dare to believe his own ears, immediately he goes up and gives her a big slap.
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Madam Sheng is stunned by the hit. Thinking through that she has not done anything wrong, Xue Liang Ping has also not drink any alcohol this time, she cradles her face for a moment and cannot understand why is she receiving this pain.
On top of that, getting slap in front of the two shamans, what if a few days later when they go into other families and other households and mentions this, where is her face going to be placed then.
"The one called Xue, have you gone crazy!" Madam Sheng is so aggrieved that she started trembling. "Everything is good and all, what did you beat me for!"
"It's exactly you I'm beating!" Xue Liang Ping draws out a firewood stick and dashes up to continue his beating.
Xue Yong and Xue Qin quickly come up to pull them apart.
Xue Yong drags Xue Liang Ping from his back, not letting him get near Madam Sheng.
Xue Qin blocks in front of Madam Sheng and tries to stop him. "Father, why are you beating Mother again!"
"You rascal, release your hands!" Xue Liang Ping flings off Xue Yong and pulls away Xue Qin, he swings the stick at Madam Sheng a few times.
Even when he is filled with anger, Xue Liang Ping keeps back his strength in his strikes. Not aiming at the face or head, only beating towards the areas thick with flesh.
The two shamans witnessing that the situation has turned bad, fearing that the incident may implicate to them, and since they have already received their fees, they hastily leave as if their feet has been lubricated with oil.
"Just finished commemorating the ancestry and you found someone to dance the shaman rituals, what do you mean by this? Do you want to say that our old Xue family's ancestor graves are unclean?" The more Xue Liang Ping says, the angrier he gets. Lastly, he holds Madam Sheng down for a beating and warns her. "Lessen your lousy ideas for me in the future!"
After confirming that the black pills and talisman have been stomped into the ground and utterly destroyed, Xia Yue Chu is finally relieved.
That evening after feeding another bowl of bitter medicine brew, Xue Zhuang's high temperature finally reduces slowly and he regains his consciousness.
Qin Zheng's tears has almost fell, plopping himself down on the side of Xue Zhuang's pillow, the corner of his mouth is upturn one moment and downturn in the next, indecisive of his own emotions if he wants to cry or if he wants to smile.
"Big Brother, you are finally awake, it is a terrible scare to me!"
Xia Yue Chu also sighs a breath of relief, it is good that his high temperature has gone down, wringing a handkerchief to wipe the perspiration off his face. "Hungry or not? There is warmed up Chinese yam porridge in the pot, I'll get you a bowl."
Hearing the news that Xue Zhuang has woken, Madam Sheng thinks that it must be due to her credit for employing the shamans.
But at this moment she is swollen and bruised, hurting everywhere, so she dares not say anymore. If Xue Liang Ping is provoked and beats her up again, her old set of bones will not be able to withstand it.
In the end, events occur coincidentally. Madam Sheng has just taken a beating a while ago and Xue Ping arrives with Feng Yong Yuan in a hired a carriage, lugging big and small packages back to her maternal home, reaching the gates just before noontime.
Entering the main hall and observing that Xue Liang Ping is absent, Madam Sheng is also absent, there is only Xue Qin who is sitting under the windowsill embroidering.
Xue Ping finds that strange and asks. "Qin, Father and Mother are not at home?"
Xue Qin in consideration of her brother-in-law's presence, is too embarrassed to tell her that the old couple has gotten into a fight again. "Mother is feeling unwell and is resting in her room, Father might have gone out to collect firewood."
Xue Ping calls her two brothers to accompany Feng Yong Yuan for tea and directs Madam Sun. "You go find where Father is, just tell him that I am back!"
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Seeing that Madam Sun has acknowledged her task and sets off on it, Xue Ping then goes into the room to visit Madam Sheng with Xue Qin.
Never has she imagined that she would see Madam Sheng laying on the bed all swollen and bruised.
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Ultimately, the hearts of a mother and daughter are linked. Xue Ping's eyes swell in redness immediately upon seeing that Madam Sheng has been beaten into such a state.
"Mother, what has happened? Father was drunk again?" Xue Ping climbs up the brick bed to survey Madam Sheng's injury. "Haven't I told you before, you need to avoid Father a little when he is intoxicated, why suffer every time just to oppose the fiery, are you not the one who still has to endure the sufferings eventually?"
Madam Zhou is beside them, and she quickly chips in after hearing that. "Big Sister, you don't know this, this time it is not that our Father has drank alcohol, it is someone instigating with ill intentions!"
Xue Ping's eyebrows shoot up and asks sternly. "Who is so daring to do that?"
"Who else!" Madam Zhou squeezes her eyes and brows and lifts her hand to point towards the west wing direction.
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Translator Notes:
Translated by Yellow. Sep 2022.