Chapter 25 Pretending to be a Ghost "You've made me suffer so much." "Give me back my life..."

The warmth from his palm traveled to her slightly cool hands, a current flowing up her meridians and reaching her chest, making her heart pound. Wang Yan looked up, and Shen Minghuai saw all her slight bewilderment. But he was still smiling, a pure and radiant smile.

Shen Minghuai gently took her hand and said softly, "The magistrate will definitely bring the real culprit to justice and give Lady He justice."

Immediately afterward, the wooden ladle fell to the ground with a thud, and the maid hurriedly picked it up and left.

"Wait!" Wang Yan called out.

Shen Minghuai reminded her, "There's no one else here now, so you don't need to be so nervous."

Wang Yan stopped two steps away. "You also know that Sister Li did not hang herself, don't you?"

The maid still clutched her clothes tightly, shaking her head like a rattle-drum.

Shen Minghuai interrogated him like a criminal, asking sternly, "Why are you so nervous?"

Wang Yan tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Don't be nervous. We're not from the local government, nor are we going to court. I've heard that Sister Li treats the servants in her household poorly—"

"No way!" Xiaole turned around, angrily refuting Wang Yan's words, then, realizing her rudeness, lowered her head. "My wife... treats us very well."

Wang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to Shen Minghuai, "I knew it! How could Sister Li be that kind of person? It's all Qingfang's nonsense."

Xiaole became indignant again, "Did Qingfang tell you? She's the eldest mistress's woman, clearly the eldest mistress's—" Suddenly realizing she had let something slip, she ran away quickly this time.

Shen Minghuai thought he had overlooked an important clue and asked in confusion, "Qingfang, who is she?"

Wang Yan pulled him back, saying, "Just now in the connecting corridor, I heard someone call her name."

"Your hearing is truly ten times better than others."

Wang Yan nodded slightly and took off the jade pendant from her waist. "You just realized? It's her."

The maid was called to a stop by Shen Minghuai and walked towards the two of them. Wang Yan handed her the jade pendant, saying that he had just picked it up from the ground and asked a servant, who said it belonged to Qingfang. He wanted Qingfang to come here to identify it, and if it wasn't, the two of them would hand it over to the master. After the maid left, Wang Yan carefully selected a place with bright candlelight.

"Are you going to impersonate He Li to test her?"

Wang Yan twirled around, lifting her skirt, suddenly seized by a playful impulse, "Just keep an eye on things, I guarantee you'll find out something."

Shen Minghuai stared at the jade pendant in her hand and said leisurely, "He Li is not wearing a jade pendant at her waist."

"you--"

Shen Minghuai preemptively interrupted her question, "There is a portrait of Meng Shu in her room."

Wang Yan smiled and placed the jade pendant in his hand, saying, "Returning it to its rightful owner."

Shen Minghuai composed himself and replied, "For now, we'll keep it safe."

"It will have to be repaid one day." Wang Yan's gaze seemed to fall somewhere else, and before Shen Minghuai could respond, she pushed him away, saying, "The people are here."

It was a child's voice, though it was innocent and childlike.

"Are you here to catch the real culprit for my sister?"

He Yue, unafraid of strangers, approached closer, carrying a book in his arms. Shen Minghuai emerged from the shadows, the jade pendant in his hand instantly drawing He Yue's attention.

"What a beautiful jade pendant! It's even more beautiful than my mother's."

Shen Minghuai leaned down and asked, "Does your mother usually wear a jade pendant?"

“Yes. I have one made of jade, and I wear it every day.” He Yue then pinched Shen Minghuai’s sleeve. “If there’s anything else you want to know, just ask me.”

Wang Yan had been very curious about the book he had taken from He Li's room. He Yue handed it to her with great care; it was a record of lacquerware making techniques by He Li, along with advice on running his family's lacquerware shop.

By the candlelight, Shen Minghuai also flipped through the pages. "You want to carry on your sister's legacy and run the lacquerware shop well?"

“Yes!” He Yue nodded solemnly, “When I’m a little older, I’ll try to persuade my father.”

Since the beginning, the child had been talking about his sister, but hadn't mentioned a word about his recently deceased mother. Wang Yan asked curiously, "Aren't you going to ask about the progress of your mother's case?"

He Yue replied, "Father is concerned about Mother's affairs, but right now, I'm the only one who still cares about my sister."

The winds were starting to blow. Wang Yan urged, "We're preparing to apprehend the real culprit who killed your sister. Could you please leave now?"

He Yue wanted to say something, but swallowed it back, and then quickly left with Shen Minghuai.

Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the candlelight flickered in the wind. Qingfang walked along the corridor when suddenly a figure appeared before her, its skirt stained with deep red blood, the candlelight itself seeming to aid the ghost. Qingfang was terrified; retreating would only lead to certain death.

"You've caused me so much suffering."

"It wasn't me...it wasn't me..."

"Give me back my child's life!"

"It wasn't me! It wasn't me... Don't come any closer..."

Qingfang tried to run away, but her feet tripped and she fell to the ground.

"Give me back my life..."

Qingfang curled up on the ground, her hands tightly covering her ears. "It wasn't me... it was Madam! She told me to put the medicine in your bowl... Don't look for me..."

Why did you want to kill me?

"The eldest mistress already despised you, and knowing that you were pregnant with the male prostitute's child but kept it a secret, she wanted to get rid of this bastard... It was all the eldest mistress's doing! I was forced..." In her panic, Qingfang recklessly revealed the truth.

Why did you kill me?!

“I didn’t know that the dosage of the medicine was enough to kill you… It was all your doing, it really has nothing to do with me…” Qingfang still bent over with her eyes closed, her whole body trembling.

Where is Zhihe?

The casual question seemed to have absolved her of all guilt. Qingfang steadied herself, then exclaimed in astonishment, "She left the He residence long ago, and I knew nothing about it—"

“Leave! She won’t even stay with me…” Wang Yan’s tone became increasingly resentful.

Qingfang stopped trembling, as if she had realized something. "It was also Madam's idea to tell her to leave Yangzhou and never come back."

Wang Yan shouted sternly, "If you can't find her, then you can stay here with me!"

The evening wind raged, and the candlelight frantically darted about.

Qingfang covered her head tightly, "Don't look for me! Don't look for me... Qi Chu, go find him! He must know where Zhihe is!"

"neat and smart?"

"Yes, Qi Chu! At this hour... he must be in the lacquerware shop!"

If you are lying to me...

The sharp laughter faded into the distance, and the blood-stained skirt that had been so close was gone. Qingfang hurriedly ran back to the inner courtyard. As soon as Qingfang left, before Wang Yan could even speak, Shen Minghuai immediately bent down and fastened her jade pendants.

"There's no reason to take back what I've given away. What suits you best is the best. It fits you perfectly."

"I'm wearing it, and it fits perfectly?" Wang Yan's gaze kept rising as she looked up at him.

"You think it's inappropriate?" Shen Minghuai asked her in return.

Wang Yan avoided his slightly burning gaze, "...I almost gave myself away just now."

"How could that be?" Shen Minghuai thought with a lingering sense of satisfaction, "It's clearly incredibly lifelike."

"You're making fun of me."

Wang Yan walked ahead angrily, and Shen Minghuai chuckled and quickly followed. After the four left the He residence, Shen Minghuai and Wang Yan secretly explored the He family's lacquerware shop at night.

"What would you like to buy, esteemed guest? This is a newly arrived carved lacquer box depicting birds from the Southern Mountains. Not only does it possess the elegance of Tao Yuanming's reclusive life in the Southern Mountains, but the rhinoceros hide with its auspicious cloud pattern alone—"

Seeing Shen Minghuai's gaze linger on the mother-of-pearl incense burner, the short servant enthusiastically introduced it: "This mother-of-pearl incense burner features the 'Xiao Xiang Tu' painting inlaid with luminous mother-of-pearl—"

“Mother-of-pearl inlay adds three points to its beauty.” Shen Minghuai stroked the patterns on the incense burner and walked toward Wang Yan, who was also overwhelmed by enthusiasm, the moment the servant spoke.

"This silver makeup box contains a hidden Big Dipper array, which can ensure marital harmony and promote longevity." The tall servant glanced at Shen Minghuai.

Wang Yan picked up the makeup box and examined it carefully, but couldn't figure out what it was, so she put it down again. "Is this something that's needed as collateral when a couple is not getting along?"

“Look at what he’s saying! He’s new here, please be lenient with him. You two look like a loving couple,” the short servant pushed the tall one away and whispered in Wang Yan’s ear, “But this box can replenish your energy and preserve your youth, wouldn’t that be a way to ensure your marital harmony forever?”

Wang Yan found it amusing that these people could exaggerate the value of their goods.

"How much does it cost?" Shen Minghuai appeared behind her again at some point.

"Fifty strings of cash."

"Fifty strings of cash?!" Wang Yan put the makeup box back in its place and then touched the lacquerware next to it. "An ordinary silver-inlaid lacquer box costs no more than ten strings of cash. I ordered a set of fine mother-of-pearl inlaid mirror boxes in the capital for fifty strings of cash. And you're selling this silver-inlaid lacquer box for this price?!"

The short servant boy objected, "This silver foil alone is worth ten strings of cash, and besides, the design—"

The tall servant held him down, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "I don't think they're really here to cause trouble; they're not genuinely interested in buying lacquerware!"

Shen Minghuai nimbly grabbed the hand that was reaching for Wang Yan. The short servant tried to reach out again, but in the instant Wang Yan dodged to the side, his feet didn't move in time, and the short servant fell down onto the red inkstone. The small inkstone couldn't bear the weight and jumped to the ground.

"Guards! Get them out of here!" the short servant shouted angrily.

In the blink of an eye, two guards wielding knives appeared and forced the two men to the shop entrance.

"Get out of here! Who came here to pretend to be rich just because you're dressed in fine silks and satins? If you don't have money, then get out!"

Wang Yan took Shen Minghuai's arm and pointed at one of the guards, saying, "Look closely, this is a noble young master from the capital. You have no taste!"

Shen Minghuai waited calmly for her to continue.

"If it weren't for the endless praise from that Zhihe, I wouldn't have come here to buy lacquerware!"

Wang Yan, who seemed about to rush forward at any moment, was pulled back by Shen Minghuai, who patted her on the back and said, "Alright, alright, it's my fault for not warning you, you were misled by a villain."

After the performance, the two found a teahouse and sat down, waiting for the shop to close. As soon as Qi Chu left the He family lacquerware shop, Wang Yanxuan followed closely behind.

Upon returning to Wanchun Courtyard, Shen Minghuai was pulled into a room by Li Changling to play chess. Although he won one game, he was scolded by Li Changling for losing the next.

“She’ll come back when she’s supposed to. What’s there to worry about with my junior sister’s skills?” Li Changling picked up a white chess piece with two fingers, but his gaze fell on Shen Minghuai. “As for you, what are you thinking now?”