Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen The twenty-fifth day of the first month of summer

As the family returned from the county courthouse, there was a sense of joy as the partnership papers were notarized.The only exception is undoubtedly Ibi, who was excluded from the list of partners at the last minute because of being too young.As a result, he was sullen, sullen, and deliberately absent from home. The spirited man followed Hurt's order and carried a jug of wine to the large wine rack on the porch. "You want a drink, my boy," he said, patting Yamos on the shoulder: "Forget about your bereavement for a moment. Let's have a drink for a better future."

Yinghuate, Amos, Sobek and He Rui raised their glasses together.Then word came that a cow had been stolen, and all four men hurried to see it. An hour later, when Yamos walked into the yard again, he was hot and tired.He went to the flagon still on the wine rack, scooped up a copper glass of wine, and sat on the porch, sipping it slowly.A moment later, Sobek strode over, shouting with delight. "Ah," said he, "a few more glasses of it now! Let us have a drink for the day to come that is at last settled. A day full of merriment for us, no doubt, Amos!" Amos agreed. "Yes, indeed. Life is much better that way."

"Your feelings are always so reserved, Amos." Sobek laughed loudly, scooped up a glass of wine, downed it, licked his lips and put the glass down. "Now we'll see if Dad is as dead-headed as he was before, or if I can change him to accept modern methods." "If I were you, I'd take my time," Yamos advised, "You're always in such a hurry." Sobek smiled warmly at his brother.He is in a good mood. "My old 'take your time' sir," he said mockingly. Yamushi smiled slightly, not angry at all. "That's the best way to go in the end. Besides, Dad was very good to us. We can't do things that worry him."

Sobek looked at him strangely. "You really like our father? You are a tender animal, Yamos! Now I—I don't care about anyone—that is, except Sobek, long live Sobek!" He drank another glass of wine. "Be careful," Yamos warned him, "you haven't eaten anything today. Sometimes, when drinking alone—" His lips twisted suddenly, breaking off. "What's the matter, Amos?" "It's nothing—a sudden pain—I, it's nothing..." However, he raised one hand to wipe his forehead, and his palm was dripping wet. "Your complexion is not good."

"I was fine just now." "It's not like someone poisoned the wine." Sobek laughed at himself for saying this, and stretched out his hand to the hip flask.At this moment, his arms became stiff, his body suddenly twitched, and he fell forward... "Armos," he gasped, "Armos... I—too..." Amos leaned forward, and both of them fell down.He uttered a stiff half-yelp. Sobek twisted in pain.He raised his voice. "Help, find a doctor—doctor..." Xi Ni rushed out of the house. "Is that you calling? What did you say? What's the matter?"

Her cry startled the others, and they ran over together. The brothers were groaning in pain. Amos said weakly: "Alcohol—poison—call a doctor..." Xi Ni screamed, "It's misfortune again. This house is really cursed. Hurry! Hurry! Go to the temple and find the high priest Mo Zhulai. He is an excellent doctor with rich experience." Ying Hete walked back and forth in the middle hall of the house.His fine linen robes were soiled and disheveled, and he had neither bathed nor changed clothes.His face was full of worry and fear. A muffled wail came from the inner courtyard—the women's "contribution" to the catastrophe in the house—and Sydney's wailing drowned out the others.

From a room on the side, the rising voice of the doctor and priest Mozhu rescued Amos came from the room.Renisen sneaked from the women's quarters into the atrium, attracted by their voices.She wandered to the open door and paused, feeling the soothing effect of the incantation the priest was chanting. "O Isis, great god of magic, please set me free, free me from all evil, blood, from the blows of God, from dead man or woman, from male or female enemies that may inflict My hurt..." A faint sigh escaped Amos' lips. Renisen added a prayer in her heart. "Oh Isis - oh great Isis - save him - save my brother Amos - the great god of magic..."

The priest's incantation triggered some thoughts in her, flashing through her mind. "Everything evil, bloody... that's what's wrong with this house—yes, bloody thoughts, angry thoughts—the rage of a dead woman." Her words came out with her thoughts, speaking directly to that "person" in her heart. "It wasn't Amos who hurt you, Novrey—though Satibe was his wife, you couldn't hold him accountable for her actions—he never had her control—no one could do anything to her. Hurt Your Satibe is dead. Isn't that enough? Sobek is dead too - Sobek who was only verbally hostile to you, but never actually hurt you, O Isis, don't let Yamo The knight dies too—save him from Novary's vengeful hatred."

Ying Hete, who was walking back and forth frantically, raised his head and saw his daughter, his face relaxed with warmth. "Come here, Renisen, dear boy." She ran to him, and he put his arms around her. "Oh, father, what did they say?" Yinghot said heavily: "They say there is hope for Amos. Sobek—you know?" "Yes, yes. Don't you hear us crying?" "He died at dawn," said Inhot, "Sobek, my strong and handsome son." His voice trembled and cracked. "Oh, it's wicked and cruel—isn't there anything to do about it?"

"Everything that can be done has been done. All kinds of potions to make him vomit. Medicine made from herbal juice. Amulets have also been used. I have also recited mantras. None of them worked. Mo Zhu is an excellent doctor .If he can't save my son—then it's God's will not to save him." The voice of the priest and doctor rose, and after reciting the last incantation, he walked out of the room and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "How is it?" Ying Hete asked him eagerly. The doctor said gravely: "Thanks to Isis' grace, your son will live. He is still weak, but the danger period has passed. The evil power is declining."

He continued, his tone changing a little, becoming more routine. "Fortunately, Yamosh drank much less poisoned wine. He sipped it slowly, and your son Sobek seemed to finish it in one gulp." Ying Hete let out a low growl. "You can see the difference between them here. Yamos is timid and cautious, and takes his time in everything, even eating and drinking. Sobek, always rushing, big and big, unrestrained-- Ah! recklessness." Then he suddenly added: "Then the jug of wine was indeed poisoned?" "There is no doubt about it, Yinghut. My young assistant tested the rest of the wine - and the animals who drank it died quickly." "And I, who drank the same jug of wine less than an hour before them, didn't feel any difference." "There was no doubt that the wine had not been poisoned then—it was later." Ying Huote clenched a fist with one hand and slammed the palm of the other. "No one," he said, "no one alive will poison my son under my roof! Such a thing is impossible. No one alive will dare, I say!" Mo Zhu lowered his head slightly.His expression became unpredictable: "This, Ying Hete, you should be the clearest." Ying Hete stood there, scratching the back of his ears nervously. "There's something I want you to hear," he said abruptly. He clapped his hands, and a servant came running in. He shouted, "Bring that shepherd boy in." He turned to Mo Zhu and said: "This is a little boy with a bad mind. He can't understand what people say to him, and his senses are not very good. However, his eyesight is very good. Mosh is loyal, because Amosh treats him well and sympathizes with his flaws." The servant came back with a skinny little boy in a drawstring suit, with a pair of slightly slanted eyes and a frightened, demented face. "Say," said Yinghot sharply, "tell me again what you just told me." The little boy lowered his head and rubbed the clothes around his waist with his fingers. "Say!" Ying Huate yelled. Isa staggered in, leaning on a cane, and opened a pair of hazy old eyes. "You frightened the little boy. Come, Renisen, give him this date. Come, boy, tell us what you see." The little boy stared at them one by one. Isa urged him. "Yesterday, when you went through that gate in the yard—you saw—what did you see?" The little boy shook his head and looked aside.He murmured, "Where is Amosh, my master?" The priest said, half majestic and half kindly: "It was the will of your master Amos that you tell us what you saw. No one will hurt you, so don't be afraid." A ray of light flashed across the little boy's face. "My master Amos has treated me well. I will do as he wishes." He paused.Ying Hete seemed to be about to lose his temper, but the doctor's eyes stopped him. Suddenly the little boy spoke, speaking nervously and indistinctly, looking around as if he was afraid that some invisible person might overhear him. "It's the little donkey--the one Shet's in charge of, the one that's always been the troublemaker. I run after him with my stick. He runs past the yard gate, and I look in through the iron gate. No one's on the porch , but there was a wine rack there. Then a woman, a lady of the house, came out on the porch from the house. She walked up to the flagon, and she reached for it, and—then—she walked back Go to the house, I think so. I don't know, because I heard footsteps, and I turned my head, and saw my master Amos come back from the field at a distance. So I went on to find the little donkey, and my master Yamos walked into the yard." "And you didn't warn him," Ying Huote yelled angrily, "You didn't say anything." The little boy cried out, "I don't know what's wrong. I just saw the lady throw her hand into the flagon and stand there smiling at it...I didn't see anything..." "Who is that lady you speak of, child?" asked the priest. The little boy shook his head with a blank expression. "I don't know. She must be one of the ladies in the house. I don't know them. I'm pasturing cows in the fields yonder. She's wearing a dyed linen dress." Renisen was startled. "Maybe it's a servant?" the priest suggested, looking at the little boy. The little boy shook his head firmly. "She's not a servant... She has a wig on her head, and she wears jewels—servants don't wear jewels." "Jewelry?" Ying Hete asked, "What kind of jewelry?" The little boy answered eagerly and confidently, as if he had finally overcome his fear and was quite sure of what he said. "Three strings of beads, each with a golden lion hanging in front..." Isa's cane slammed against the ground, and Yinghuo Te uttered a stiff cry. Moju said threateningly, "If you lie, boy—" "It's true, I swear it's true." The little boy's voice was clear and piercing. Yamos yelled weakly from the side room: "What's going on?" The little boy dashed in, curled up beside the bench where Yamos was lying. "Master, they will torture me." "No, no." Amos turned his head from the curved wooden headrest with difficulty: "Don't let the kid get hurt. He's not bright but he's honest. Promise me." "Of course, of course," said Yinghot, "it's not necessary. Apparently the boy has told all he knows--and I don't think he made it up. You go, boy, but don't go back to the Go to the field far away. Stay near this house, and we will come to you if we need it." The little boy stood up.He reluctantly looked down at Amos. "Are you ill, master?" Yamos smiled weakly: "Don't be afraid. I won't die. Go—and do as they tell you." The little boy smiled happily, turned and left.The priest examined Ahmosh's eyes and took his pulse.Then tell him to sleep, and go back to the atrium with the others. He said to Holt, "You recognize the man the little boy described?" Ying He nodded.His bronzed, sunken cheeks took on a sickly plum hue. Renisen said, "Dyed linen is the only thing Norfrey wears. It's a new style she brought over from the northern cities. But they've been buried with her." Yinghot said: "And I gave her the three strings of beads with the golden lion's head. No one else in the house has that kind of jewelry. It's expensive and not common. All her jewelry, except for a cheap string have been buried with her in her tomb, except for the onyx beads." He spread his hands. "What persecution--what revenge! I treated her so well as a mistress, I gave her all the favors, buried her according to the custom, and spared no expense. I ate and drank with her--this It's for all to see. She has nothing to complain about - I've been really good to her. I'm going to pass on the inheritance of my own flesh and blood to her. So, why does she come back from the kingdom of the dead to persecute me and my family?" Mo Zhu said solemnly: "It seems that the dead woman didn't come for you personally. The jug of wine is harmless when you drink it. Has anyone in your family hurt your dead mistress?" "A dead woman," Ying Huote replied briefly. "I understand. You mean the wife of your son Amosh?" "Yes." Yinghot paused, and then said suddenly: "But what can be done, venerable priest? How can we fight against this evil? Oh, it was evil the day I brought that woman into my house one day!" "A wicked day indeed," said Kait in a low voice, coming forward from the door leading to the inner courtyard. Her eyes were full of tears, and the strength and determination of her plain face made her face all the more striking.Her voice was low, rough, shaking with anger. "It was an evil day that you brought Novri, Inhot, to ruin your wisest and handsomest son! She brought death to Satipe, and death to my Sobek, and Aya Mosh just narrowly escaped death. Who will it be next? Will she spare the children—the one who wounded my little Encore? Something must be done, Yinghot!" "Action must be taken," Ying Huote responded to her words, looking at the priest with pleading eyes. The priest nodded calmly. "There are ways and means, Yinghut. Once we have established the facts, we can proceed. I think of your deceased wife Ashait. She came from a family of influence. She can appeal to some powerful people in the kingdom of the dead. If someone comes forward to intervene for you, Novori can't do anything to these people. We must discuss it together." Kait chuckled shortly. "Don't wait too long, men are always the same—yes, even the priests! Everything has to be done according to legal precedent. But I say, hurry up—or someone else will die in this house." She turned and left. "An excellent woman," Ying Huote murmured, "a mother who sacrifices her children and a responsible wife—but her attitude, sometimes, really shouldn't be like that to the head of the family. Of course, at this moment I Forgive her. We are all heartbroken. We barely know what we are doing." He put his head in his hands. "Some of us did not know what we were doing," Isha commented. Ying Huote suddenly gave her a confused look.As the doctor was about to leave, Inholt went out with him on the porch to receive instructions on how to care for the patient. Renisen, who remained in the atrium, looked at her grandmother inquiringly. Isa was sitting motionless.She frowned, with a very strange expression on her face, and Renee asked timidly, "What are you thinking, grandma?" "You're right when you say 'yes', Renisen. These queer things going on in this house call for some thought." "Those things are terrible," said Renisen, trembling. "They terrify me." "They scare me too," says Isha, "but maybe for a different reason." Her old habit came again, pushing the wig on her head askew. "Armos won't die now, though," Renisen said. "He'll live." Isa nodded. "Yes, the Great Physician arrived in time to save him. Obviously at another time, he might not be so lucky." "Do you think—that something like this will ever happen again?" "I think Amosh and you and Ibby—and maybe Kait as well, had better be very careful about what you eat and drink. Remember to have the slave taste it every time." "What about you, grandmother?" Isa flashed her mocking smile. "I, Renisen, am an old woman, and I can only love life like any other old man, savoring every hour and every minute that is left. I have a better chance of surviving than any of you—because I Will be more careful than any of you." "What about my father? Of course Novri doesn't want any disaster for my father, does he?" "Your father? I don't know . She paused, frowning.Then, with a sigh, she stood up, limped slowly back to her room, leaning on her crutches. Renisen went into his brother's room.He was sleeping, and she came out again quietly.After a moment of hesitation, she walked to Kait's room.She stood silently in the doorway, watching Kait humming a song to lull one of her babies to sleep.Kait's face returned to calm and composure—she looked as usual, and for a moment Renisen felt that the tragedy of the past twenty-four hours was as unreal as a dream. She turned slowly and went back to her own room.On one table, among her vanity case and bottles, was a small jewelry box that belonged to Novary. Renisen picked it up and stood looking at the small jewel box in his palm.Novary touched it, took it - it was hers. Renisen felt pity again, accompanied by a strange sense of understanding.Novary has been unhappy.Perhaps she deliberately forced that unhappiness into resentment as she held the little jewel box in her hand...and even now that resentment hasn't subsided...still seeking revenge...oh no, of course not-of course no! Renisen unscrewed the snap button almost mechanically and lifted the lid.There's that string of agate beads, that cracked amulet, and something else... Her heart was beating violently, and Renisen pulled out a necklace of gold beads with a golden lion tied at the front...