Chapter 5
But I was such a coward that I watched until deep into the night. Only after I was certain Tantan was gone did I dare move.
Outside, red lanterns and paper cutouts of the double-happiness character hung everywhere.
In the courtyard, young servants swept the ground while maidservants cut paper flowers.
The moment I took one step outside, every one of them raised their head and looked at me in unison.
They had identical narrow eyes, round red cheeks, and curved smiles painted on their faces.
They were all paper figures.
Hee-hee-hee…
Those tiny, damp snickers seeped in from every direction once more.
One maidservant set down her scissors and spoke in a thin, delicate voice.
“Where are you going, Madam? The young master will be back soon.”
My palms were slick with cold sweat.
Still, I forced out a smile. “I ate too much, so I’m taking a walk to help digest it. Carry on with your work. You don’t need to mind me.”
The maidservant bowed with a beaming smile.
“Enjoy your walk, Madam.”
The moment she finished speaking, every servant lowered their head in perfect unison and resumed their tasks.
But the snickering didn’t stop.
Hee-hee-hee… hee-hee-hee…
My legs weak, I quickened my pace through the covered walkways. After turning left and right again and again, I realized the residence was absurdly large.
By pure accident, I pushed open a half-closed wooden door and entered a study.
On the wall directly opposite the entrance hung a sheet of rice paper that looked like an obituary notice—
[Ten Rules of the House]
One: Leaving the bedroom after dark is forbidden. If you hear a knock at the door, reply, “Madam is not here.” If the knocking stops, do not open the door to look outside.
Two: The young master leaves the residence during the Chen hour, between seven and nine in the morning, and returns during the You hour, between five and seven in the evening. While he is away, Madam may move freely within the residence, but she must not enter the west wing.
Three: After sunset, return by the same route. Do not look back. Do not count how many doors you pass. The number will not be the same as when you came.
Four: All servants in the residence wear red. If you see a servant in white, lower your head immediately. Do not make eye contact. Do not speak to them.
Five: All food in the residence is delivered by servants. If raw red meat appears in a dish, smile and turn it over with your chopsticks. Do not raise an alarm.
Six: There is a well in the rear courtyard. Its water is safe to drink, but do not look into the well. If you see someone waving from the bottom, that is not a person.
Seven: If you hear someone inside the residence call Madam by her given name, do not answer. No one in the residence knows Madam’s given name.
Eight: If Madam kisses the young master of her own accord, she will conceive. This is a blessing bestowed by Heaven and need not be refused.
Nine: A grand wedding is underway in the residence. The ghost bride is to be married. Do not allow the ghost bride to look into a mirror.
Ten: The young master loves Madam dearly. Madam must love the young master, too.
After reading all ten rules—
I stood in the study with waves of cold sweeping down my back.
“A grand wedding is underway in the residence. The ghost bride is to be married…”
Did “ghost bride” mean me?
And then there was, “If Madam kisses the young master of her own accord, she will conceive…”
My stomach clenched. The familiar urge to dry-heave surged up again.
At the dining table that afternoon, Tantan had held that pastry between its lips and leaned toward me…
No, no, no. Stop thinking about it.
I backed out of the study and hurried onward.
At last, my hand touched the outer wall.
All I had to do was climb over it, and I would be free!
My heart abruptly sped up. I used the old vines clinging to the wall to pull myself higher.
Only after tremendous effort did I finally sit atop the wall, panting for breath.
I looked back one last time at the brightly lit residence behind me.
Farewell, Tantan.
I turned and looked down at the other side of the wall.
Tantan stood there.
My heart almost stopped.
It stood at the foot of the wall, its head raised, watching me in silence.
The night breeze sent its loose white hair and the skirts of its wedding robes streaming together.
And the human skin on its face was sliding off.
Like damp plaster blistering away from a wall, it peeled off piece by piece, revealing charred, rotting flesh underneath.
“Wife.”
Wearing that half-human, half-ghost face, it raised one hand without expression, palm turned upward.
“Come home.”
It spoke with no ripple in its hollow black eyes.
“Punishment.”