The girl's thought process continues to surprise him, though this time it might be owed simply to her age; to not so easily make the connection between a hidden love letter and a secret affair. He'd thought that would be pretty obvious, to be honest. Lesson learned about suiting the details of his stories to his audience! In his defense, his audience most often used to consist of adults carrying varying degrees of guilt and complicity for the crimes at hand. He'll forgive himself a bad guess at this time.
Li Lianhua considers her idea for the mirror, too, and finds it quite appealing to imagine a story in which the dead are allowed to be seen and speak for themselves. He's done what he can, in that regard, but wouldn't it be good if the dead could secure their own justice? Speak out for their own peace?
"Ah, you must have heard of this before," he says with a conspiratorial smile. "It was indeed a magic mirror, and it allowed her to see the three mournful brides when she looked into it. They were a sad sight, pale and sodden with lake water. Our bride must have felt such dread at this strange reflection of a fate she nearly shared. But, do you think perhaps it was this shared fate that allowed her to understand the words they were whispering?
"All three spoke of how their matches with the young master of the manor had been arranged by the young master's father, and how the groom had seemed like a fine, gentle young man. A little distant, perhaps, but that's to be expected when you barely know each other, right? Only then they spoke of drowning, and witnessing the next bride in their line come along, and their restless souls saw what had really happened... It was the groom who took the mirror away, to tempt them to the water's edge! It was the groom who had another woman on his heart, one he was not allowed to marry. It was him who decided their lives were worth so little, compared to his own heartbreak."
Li Lianhua knows that's a pretty grim revelation on its own, and he lets it sit for a moment before prompting the girl's contribution yet again. "I wonder how you think our bride must have felt? What could she do?"
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Li Lianhua considers her idea for the mirror, too, and finds it quite appealing to imagine a story in which the dead are allowed to be seen and speak for themselves. He's done what he can, in that regard, but wouldn't it be good if the dead could secure their own justice? Speak out for their own peace?
"Ah, you must have heard of this before," he says with a conspiratorial smile. "It was indeed a magic mirror, and it allowed her to see the three mournful brides when she looked into it. They were a sad sight, pale and sodden with lake water. Our bride must have felt such dread at this strange reflection of a fate she nearly shared. But, do you think perhaps it was this shared fate that allowed her to understand the words they were whispering?
"All three spoke of how their matches with the young master of the manor had been arranged by the young master's father, and how the groom had seemed like a fine, gentle young man. A little distant, perhaps, but that's to be expected when you barely know each other, right? Only then they spoke of drowning, and witnessing the next bride in their line come along, and their restless souls saw what had really happened... It was the groom who took the mirror away, to tempt them to the water's edge! It was the groom who had another woman on his heart, one he was not allowed to marry. It was him who decided their lives were worth so little, compared to his own heartbreak."
Li Lianhua knows that's a pretty grim revelation on its own, and he lets it sit for a moment before prompting the girl's contribution yet again. "I wonder how you think our bride must have felt? What could she do?"