Chapter 32.3
Moments later, they came to one of the rooms on the first floor.
Although there were candlesticks in the room, the light wasnât bright enough. Xiao Tangqiu took out his flashlight and lit up room.
Lu Siâer walked to the bedside table, opened the drawer, took out a yellowed newspaper and handed it to Xiao Tangqiu.
Xiao Tangqiu looked down and saw that it was indeed a newspaper with unfamiliar words. He frowned slightly, âIs this German? What does it say?â
Lu Siâer took the newspaper back again and began to translate its contents. After all, she was still a student so her translation wasnât very good. Some parts were b.u.mpy, but she understood the overall meaning of the article â this was a marriage solicitation letter published in the newspaper.
The man who wrote the letter was Lippin.o.bert, the Master of the castle.
ââ¦â¦Is there a date on the newspaper?â Xiao Tangqiu frowned and asked. Since the newspaper had turned yellow, it should have been a long time ago.
Lu Siâer turned it over, then stared in surprise, âYes, butâ¦â¦ butâ¦â¦. this is impossible!â
Tang Mianmian merely shrugged his shoulders, âWhy is it impossible? In this world, anything can happen.â
Xiao Tangqiu asked, âWhatâs the date?â
Lu Siâer replied in a daze, ââ¦â¦April 1922.â
â1922?â Xiao Tangqiu paused, but wasnât surprised. âAre there any other clues in the newspaper?â
Tang Mianmian was even more calm, âItâs completely normal. Sit down and continue translating the rest of the newspaper.â
Lu Siâer silently digested this amazing fact, and then began to give Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian a summary of the other articles in the newspaper. They were basically current affair news. Of course, they were outdated news and had no important information or clues.
While Lu Siâer was reading the newspaper, Xiao Tangqiu looked around the room with his flashlight. Generally speaking, the room wasnât much different from their room. The portrait of Lily Marlene had also been hung on one wall. After searching the four corners of the room, he suddenly discovered a puppet in one corner.
He froze; when did the puppet appear? He remembered that it wasnât there earlierâ¦â¦.
It was a wooden puppet that resembled a person. Its appearance wasnât very good. Even from a distance, he could see that the puppetâs hand wasnât well made and its small skirt was simple and crude. Its facial features were skewed and twisted, like it had been abruptly pieced together.
Compared with the other puppets that Xiao Tangqiu had seen in the display window before, this puppetâs workmans.h.i.+p was terrible, just like that of a child.
In the dark room, the puppet appeared even more horrifying. Its twisted facial features were very strange. Clearly, the painting technique used was ugly and crude, but it gave him the feeling that it would come to life at any moment. Even its eyes, which seem to have been casually glued with two stones, looked rather lifelike the more he stared at itâ¦â¦â¦
Xiao Tangqiu kept his gaze fixed onto the puppet until Tang Mianmianâs cry came from behind him, âLook what I found! Eh? Qiuqiu, why did you turn off the flashlight?â
Xiao Tangqiuâs footsteps came to a stop â he had been unconsciously walking towards the puppet in the corner and had turned off the flashlight when he wasnât aware!
He immediately turned the flashlight back on but was surprised to find that the puppet was missing!
He felt a s.h.i.+ver run down his spine and quickly shone his flashlight at the other corners of the room but couldnât find any traces of the puppet. He wanted to tell the other two about it at once. However, as soon as he turned around, he saw Tang Mianmian squatting down to pull something out from under the bed. Xiao Tangqiu looked confused.
âWhat are you doing?â
âSearching under the bed!â Tang Mianmian made an indubitable expression as he quickly got up from the floor, âIf weâre looking for clues, of course we have to search every inch of this room! I just discovered that thereâs s.p.a.ce underneath the bed, so I went down to take a look. I canât believe that I actually found something!â
Xiao Tangqiu looked at the item in Tang Mianmianâs hand and found that it was a delicate, small wooden box. After shaking it a few times, he realized there was obviously something inside. He tried and actually managed to open it.
âIt seems to be unlocked,â he opened the wooden box and examined its contents. There were some jewelry such as rings, earrings, brooches, and several letters that had turned yellow. ââ¦â¦..Letters! Lu Siâer, come and look at them!â
Lu Siâer immediately put down the newspapers and took the letters. The envelope was open like it already had been read by someone. She looked at the contents of the letter and was a little surprised, ââ¦â¦This is a letter from Lippin.o.bert.â
âLippin.o.bert?â Xiao Tangqiu frowned slightly. âTo whom?â
ââ¦â¦This is a letter from Lippin.o.bert to a woman named Maria. It seems to be in reply of another letter.â After skimming through the letter, Lu Siâer summarized it to Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian. âI think that the woman named Maria wrote a letter to Lippin.o.bert after reading his marriage solicitation letter in the newspaper, and then Lippin.o.bert wrote back to Maria. He roughly introduced himself and then asked her some questions, such as her appearance and family circ.u.mstances, and asked Maria to attach a photo with the letter next time.â
Tang Mianmian appeared interested in gossip, âIs this the online love of that era? Pen pal love connections? Even wanting photos of herâ¦â¦ I really didnât expect this Lippin.o.bert to be so superficial ah~ Then, is there a photo of Maria?â
Lu Siâer shook her head, âNo, these letters are all from Lippin.o.bert, not Mariaâ
âThis wooden box is obviously Mariaâs. There are so many small ornaments inside. Maria must have collected letters from Lippin.o.bert. As for Mariaâs letters, they should be with him,â Xiao Tangqiu calmly a.n.a.lyzed.
Tang Mianmian suddenly looked disappointed, âI thought that I could see the photo of a beautyâ¦â¦..â
Lu Siâer took up the second letter. ââ¦â¦Lippin.o.bert wrote that he liked Maria very much and wanted to marry Maria as his wife. He hoped that she could move into his castle as soon as possibleâ¦â¦.â
âWow! Living together so soon! Foreigners are so open, even from over a hundred years ago! Tsk, tsk!â Tang Mianmian grinned widely.
âThe third letter is almost the same as the previous one. Perhaps Maria also thought their progress was too fast and temporarily rejected his proposal. Lippin.o.bert said that he was willing to wait for Maria, but he still hoped that she could move into his castle and become his wife as soon as possible.â
Very quickly, Lu Siâer took out the last letter, and after going through it, she said, âIt seems Maria finally agreed. Lippin.o.bert said in this letter that everyone in the castle was very happy to have her move in and become the Mistress of the castle, and that he had everything prepared for herâ¦â¦â
Xiao Tangqiu wasnât surprised. If Maria hadnât agreed to Lippin.o.bert, this wooden box of hers wouldnât be here. It seemed that Maria ended up marrying Lippin.o.bertâ¦â¦.
âItâs strange though, if Maria is one of Lippin.o.bertâs three wives, how could her room be just like any other ordinary room? Itâs not at all like what the Masterâs room should look like. Moreover, sheâs the Mistress of the castleâ¦..â Lu Siâer mused with a slight frown, influenced by a womanâs sensitive intuition. âApart from the small jewelry in this wooden box, there arenât any other womenâs articles or traces of a woman living here, but this wooden box is clearly Mariaâs. How can this be? No dressing mirror, no wardrobe, no clothes, no portrait of herâ¦â¦.. â
âWomenâs articles? Do puppets count?â Xiao Tangqiu suddenly remembered the puppet earlier and immediately narrated that strange incident. ââ¦â¦If Tang Mianmian hadnât stopped me just now, G.o.d knows what wouldâve happened.â It wouldnât be anything good anyways.
After Xiao Tangqiu finished speaking, he found Tang Mianmian and Lu Si âer standing opposite him, ashen with horror. He couldnât help wonderingâ¦â¦.
Was his story so terrifying? Why did these two have horrified expressions, as if they had seen it with their own eyes?
â¦â¦â¦.Wait a minute, with their own eyes?
He didnât know why, but he suddenly had a bad feeling.
Tang Mianmianâs voice trembled like a leaf, âIsâ¦. isâ¦. is the puppet youâre talking aboutâ¦â¦..â
He swallowed down his saliva with difficulty, his expression petrified as though he would faint in the next second, ââ¦â¦â¦the one on your back now?â