"She was very young, only seventeen or eighteen years old when she married my father. At that time, I was the eldest son in the family, and I had two younger brothers and sisters, all of whom were from the same mother as me. Her family background was older than that of her mother. Well, my grandmother valued her very much. I thought about it later, what my grandmother and father valued was just her family background. She was like a child and would play with us sometimes. Grandma and father also indulged her and did not require her to be like a child. She took care of the family affairs just like her mother. She didn't have any thoughts about her mother. Just because of her personality, she couldn't stop talking, and people couldn't stop. I don't know which maid told her about her mother, and she just I want to visit my mother’s former residence. In her last year, my mother did not live in the main courtyard, but moved to the side courtyard. After her death, the place was also sealed. Her memorial tablet is in the side courtyard, and is left by the servants. Take care of it. My paintings are hung there. Grandma and father don't allow us to go near there. Even to worship my mother, we just burn some paper money in the courtyard, and there is not even a memorial tablet to kowtow.
"My stepmother sneaked into that side courtyard. When she came back, she was very angry. Because her grandmother and father didn't care, the servants in charge of taking care of the place started to be lazy. She had a naive sense of justice and asked her grandmother and father My father complained. When she turned around, she praised my painting again and wanted me to paint one for her. She forgot about it. That same day, my grandmother ordered the replacement of the original servant. As soon as I saw I knew that she didn't take this matter to heart, and she didn't even mention punishment. She also left the matter to the people below. My stepmother didn't understand this at all. She happily asked me for the painting. Although I I’m sad, but I don’t mean to blame them.”
Ye Zheng continued expressionlessly: "I was already eleven years old at that time, and I still often recalled my mother, but my memory was a little blurry. What I remember most clearly was her crazy look before she died. That was not normal. That doesn't look like being sick at all.
"But after my mother passed away, nothing happened at home. I don't know why my mother became like that. Even the painting was collected by my father after my mother was buried and placed in a side courtyard. I never saw it again.
"My stepmother... something was wrong the night she came back from the side hospital. During the day, she was still pestering me to make a painting. At night, I was still painting for her... I really like her. . She is more like an elder sister than a mother." Ye Zhengyi showed a bit of sadness, "That night, there was a big noise in the main courtyard. I heard screams at that time. I remember that my hand She was shaking, leaving an ink mark on her neck. The noise lasted all night. My father called the doctor overnight, and my grandmother also went to see her. I arrived later. When my boy asked about the situation, he only said There was a thief in the house, which alerted the maid. When the stepmother heard about it, she was frightened and felt a little uncomfortable. But it had been going on for such a long time... When I went over, I only saw my stepmother tied to the vagina and struggling wildly. She looked like that, Almost exactly the same as before my mother died.
"I was scolded by my father and sent back. I didn't want to leave. My grandmother took me away and sent me to my room. She also gave an order to my servants not to allow me to step out of the room. I remember I asked my grandmother how my mother died... Her face was already ugly, but when she heard my question, her face became even more ugly. She looked at me as if she wanted to eat me. I didn't dare to ask anymore. ... She was restless and couldn't paint. The next day, she didn't see her stepmother. For the next few days, she didn't hear any noise or see anyone. Her grandmother and father only said that she was frightened and needed to rest. Father's paragraph I almost never lived at home, and only slept in the study when I came home. My stepmother must have heard the news, her sister-in-law came to visit, and later, her brother and father also came in person. I didn’t see anyone. .More than a month after that day, the side yard where my mother lived caught fire. I don’t know what I was thinking at the time. I rushed into the yard and saw a fire in the yard, but the house was still fine. I entered the house... My painting, my mother's painting, was hanging there. The memorial tablet was also there. They were all covered with dust. It was dark at that time, but with the firelight outside, I could see my painting clearly. … Mother… "
Ye Zhengyi suddenly choked up, "My mother's appearance... I clearly painted her as a loving woman, with a smile, as if she was looking at me... But in the painting, my mother's face was ferocious and frightened. She was not looking at me. She turned her head. , as if looking at something behind me. The fire outside the house flickered, flickering and flickering. The painting also twisted and changed. I saw a strange black shadow appear in the blank space of the painting. The black shadow turned into even It gradually covered the mother's appearance, as if she had been swallowed up. What was left in the painting was a female ghost... There were scars on her face, like burns from fire or trauma. The left eye was missing and her lips were cut. Half of it fell. She seemed to be jumping out of the painting and grabbing me. I just ran away. Just ran away... The fire was not that big.
"Later, my grandmother personally interrogated... She was furious, as angry as when my stepmother was asked about the cause of her mother's death on the day of the accident. I hid outside the house and eavesdropped. The servant guarding the side courtyard was in the house just after my mother was buried. He saw a ghost in his house. He heard ghost cries, ghost laughter, and other noises, and later he didn’t dare to enter the house at all. The servants all know about this. It’s just our family, and we The servants close to her had never heard of this incident. My grandmother couldn’t breathe at that time and almost passed away. There was a big chaos, and those people told everything they knew. The fire was not an accident, but my grandmother’s. He ordered the side yard to be burned down. But the servants did not dare to enter the house, so they only set fire in the yard and did not dare to get too close to the house. The fire did not stop. My father was furious and personally led people to burn down the yard. . Burn together with my paintings and my mother’s tablet.”
Ye Zhengyi was silent for a while and said blankly: "I... didn't stop it. I didn't stop it. At that time, I thought that my mother was a ghost. She was killed by a ghost, and the ghost refused to let go and haunted her stepmother again. . But at that time, I had a vague feeling... After the yard burned down, my stepmother didn't recover. My grandmother also fell ill. I... I didn't hold a pen for a long time. My father was very worried because of this incident. My maternal grandfather's family was not They were not in the local area, so they probably didn’t know the whole story. But the stepmother’s father and brother were both in the local area, and they loved her stepmother, so naturally they would not let it go. They then picked her up and took her to pray to God. Later, her stepmother still died. ... The moment I heard the news of his death, I picked up the paintbrush again. I drew the appearance of my stepmother. As soon as the painting was completed, I saw the disfigured female ghost. I was... so blessed that my soul was so happy. Haha... "
Ye Zheng smiled and seemed to be crying.