Chapter 1008: The Dead Come Back to Life

  Wang Qifang took over the jewelry box and carefully examined it. The jewelry box was painted with bright red lacquer, and there were several deep or shallow scratches at the seam of the lid, where the red lacquer had fallen off, making it look a bit old. The box was not large, square and regular, about six inches in length and width, very hard in texture, but through the ** surface, the material inside did not seem to be wood either. She curled up her fingers and gently tapped on it, the sound was dull, probably because it was full of things inside.

  "Huh? Why isn't there a buckle?"

  Wang Qifang searched up and down, turning the entire box upside down, except for a hollow lotus-shaped copper decoration on the lid, there were no lock eyes or locks anywhere.

  "Hehe, this is actually made by the famous 'Ghost Axe Old Man' himself, and the biggest highlight is that there's no lock!"

  Aunt Zhao wasn't seeing the box for the first time, when the mistress was dying, she personally handed over the jewelry box to her and told her in detail about its origin and purpose.

  "'Ghost Axe Old Man'? Who is that?" Wang Qifang searched her mental database and didn't find any information on this person, realizing it wasn't someone she was familiar with. Her face filled with confusion, she asked uncertainly: "No lock? Then how do we open it?"

  She just tried it too, and she used force to pry the gap between the box cover, but it couldn't be opened at all. As for the scratches on the box, was it because it couldn't be opened, so they used a knife to hack at it?!

  "Qīniáng doesn't know Guǐ Fǔ Lǎorén, does she?" Zhao Māma was very familiar with Wáng Qífāng and saw that she furrowed her brow, so she smiled and explained, "Actually, this Guǐ Fǔ Lǎorén is a relative of Qīniáng's!"

  It is said that Gui Fu Changgui, the grandfather of Wang Qifang's paternal grandmother, was a famous mechanical engineer in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The imperial mausoleum of Taizu Emperor was designed and supervised by him personally. There are rumors among the people that the tomb is full of mechanisms, and the arrangement of the mechanisms is incredibly ingenious.

  It's now the world of Great Zhou, and no tomb raider dares to dig up the imperial mausoleum of Taizu. Even if a new dynasty replaces Great Zhou, I reckon that even if tomb raiders enter the imperial mausoleum, they will have life when entering but no life when exiting.

  "In those days, after the old man with a ghostly axe received the imperial edict to design the royal mausoleum, he was worried that he would not return home and began to make arrangements for his family. This story was still told by Wang Qifang's mother to Zhao Aiyi, and now it was her turn to tell Wang Qifang. The old man with a ghostly axe had no son, only a daughter, and he was worried that if something happened to him, the young girl would be bullied by their relatives and his accumulated family property would be taken away. After thinking for half a day, he finally came up with the idea of making this jewelry box."

  Mrs. Zhao sat beside Wang Qifang, stroking the ancient and exquisite box with her hand, saying with a hint of emotion: "The old man didn't sleep for three days and three nights, personally crafting ten large and small jewelry boxes made of special copper materials. The largest is one foot square, and the smallest is only two inches square. Each one is exquisitely crafted and uniquely shaped. And most importantly, these boxes are all lockless puzzle boxes!"

  "None of them? Then how do I open it?"

  Wang Qifang listened to Ayi's story while re-examining the box in her hand, trying to find the secret.

  "Hehe, this is indeed the cleverness of Gui Xiu Lao Ren!" Zhao Ayi couldn't help but praise her as she brought up this point. She still can't believe that a box without a lock would be so sturdy, and even more astonishing was the method to open the box. "The old man said that those ten boxes were left for his daughter's dowry, only his daughter or someone with blood ties to his daughter could personally open them!"

  "Oh," Wang Qifang's tone slightly rose, apparently not quite believing this explanation.

  "Doesn't Seventh Young Lady believe?" Not to mention Wang Qifang didn't believe, even Zhao's mother wasn't too convinced. However, this was something the mistress had said personally, so she shouldn't be deceiving her. After some thought, Zhao's mother recounted every word she had heard at the time to Wang Qifang. "Actually, Guizhen Laoren's daughter, who is your great-great-grandmother, didn't believe either. Later on, Guizhen Laoren went to repair the imperial mausoleum and ten years passed without any news. After that, the court sent a notification of Guizhen Laoren's death, along with an award from the imperial family. At this time, the wealthy family members pointed out that Guizhen Laoren had no successor and proposed adopting a son from within the clan..."

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Zhao's face flashed with a hint of disdain, and she snorted softly, "Hmph, what inheritance? It's clear that they just valued the wealth under Gui Fu Lao Ren's name. And Gui Fu Lao Ren's daughter, Fu Yun Niang, had always remembered her father's last words, and didn't put up much resistance to the clan's blatant actions. She simply took the dowry her mother had brought and the ten makeup boxes her father had left her and married into a distant land!

  "Did she open those boxes?"

  Compared with legendary stories that have nothing to do with herself, Wang Qifang is more concerned about the way to open the box, after all, it concerns her future life.

  "Of course, it's open," Zhao Ayi naturally understood Wang Qifang's little mind. She affectionately poked her forehead with her finger and said with a smile: "Actually, I don't know how she opened it either. According to the design of Gui Zhen Lao Ren back then, as long as Fu Yun Niang wanted to open it, she would have a way to open it. After opening it, Fu Yun Niang found that there were ten makeup boxes filled with precious jewels and deeds, which added up to almost seven or eight tenths of Gui Zhen Lao Ren's total savings, making Fu Yun Niang's life in her husband's family well secured... With personal experience and experience, from then on, these jewelry boxes became one of the essential dowries that Fu Yun Niang left for her daughters. Inside were the most precious possessions, and the daughters who received the box didn't know how to open it either. Anyway, as long as they had a direct blood relationship with Fu Yun Niang's daughter or granddaughter, they could open it. Fu Yun Niang's daughters also personally experienced the benefits of this box after opening it: first, except for themselves and their close daughters, outsiders couldn't open it at all, and the material of the box was also strange, and knives and axes couldn't damage it; secondly, the box didn't attract attention, and it wouldn't be noticed when mixed with the dowry."

  Then the subsequent daughters all learned from their mothers, passing the box to their own daughters, and so on, generation after generation, until only one box was left when it reached the lady's hands!

  Alas, Aunt Zhao has been talking for half a day and still hasn't gotten to the point. Maybe she doesn't know either.

  Wang Qifang furrowed her brow, entangled in thought. Hmm, if what Zhao Ayi said was true, then her mother should have opened the box before, and as her successor, she should be able to open it too, right?

  As she thought of this, Wang Qifang's gaze was like a searchlight, carefully examining the box inch by inch. Hmm? This place is quite strange, her searching gaze swept over a circular dark pattern on the top of the lid, and a hint of doubt flashed in her mind, subconsciously pressing it with her finger. Suddenly, there was a "click" sound, and the treasure box opened, revealing a full box of pearls and red and blue gemstones.