Chapter 72 The Unlucky Prodigal Son Who Receives Ghost Money

That person wasn't exactly a regular customer of Huayue, but he was very generous, so the two of them naturally started seeing each other more often.

I asked the neighbors, and they said that man was a spendthrift who had squandered all the wealth his parents left him on this house years ago. But somehow he's got money again these past few days; maybe he's found other assets left by his parents?

The neighbor who said this had undisguised envy in his eyes.

Manager Huang prepared a small courtyard for Huayue so that she could recuperate there.

Hua Yue remained optimistic. Although she could no longer dance for the rest of her life, she had people to serve her and no longer worried about making a living. It seemed that she was also being taken care of by the royal family, so she did not become depressed.

However, when she put away the silver notes given by Manager Huang, she found a stack of yellow paper and two paper-folded gold ingots in the money box where she kept her belongings!

Hua Yue was terrified, but fortunately the maid was sent by Manager Huang, and she immediately delivered the yellow paper to Manager Huang.

The yellow paper is neatly shaped as ghost money. Unlike the inferior ones on the mountain of broken coins, this stack has neat holes and is precisely cut. The gold ingots are three-dimensional and well-formed.

Jiang Yuzhi held the two in her hands and examined them for a moment, her lips twitching.

Surprisingly, this ghost was quite trustworthy. Although he used ghost money, it was all legitimate currency used in the underworld, and it was even of excellent quality.

"Please take good care of Huayue, Manager Huang. She has suffered an undeserved calamity." Jiang Yuzhi already had a general idea of ​​what had happened and couldn't help but feel guilty for causing Huayue to suffer unjustly.

The demon possessing her had incomplete powers and couldn't control its body, causing it to make strange movements, which resulted in its limbs being broken.

"Of course, Miss, you need not worry."

Fanlou had other matters to attend to, so Manager Huang took his leave without lingering.

Di Ting was finally cool off. With a flick of its tail, it created a soundproof barrier and stomped hard on Chi Chi's leash with its paws.

A large basin of ice had already dwindled to half its original size; if it wasn't stopped soon, even that would be gone.

Master, may I come out now?

Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Jin Xiaohua whispered in Jiang Yuzhi's mind.

Come out.

【Great!】

A little girl dressed in a golden yellow dress, with her hair tied into two small flower buds, appeared beside Jiang Yuzhi.

Her face was chubby and delicately sculpted, and she was about as tall as Jiang Yuzhi's thigh.

If there were any elders here who had watched Jiang Yuzhi grow up, they would surely be amazed at how she looked so much like her.

The remaining three or four parts even showed traces of Bai Yan's features.

"What is this?" Bai Yan's expression was solemn, and his breathing was slightly labored.

Jin Xiaohua, holding onto Jiang Yuzhi's sleeve, greeted Bai Yan with exceptional politeness, "Hello, Second Master. My name is Jin Xiaohua, a name given to me by the Master."

"Second Master?"

Jiang Yuzhi held up the gold thread on her wrist and explained somewhat awkwardly, "Well... Little Flower is the gold thread. Her appearance is related to all of us, so we call her that."

Bai Yan suddenly realized, "So that's why she looks like that?"

Jiang Yuzhi subconsciously touched her nose and nodded.

Actually, Jin Xiaohua was quite startled when she went out to eat.

The food at Fanlou completely captivated Xiaohua's attention, and Jiang Yuzhi took the opportunity to chat casually with her.

Little Flower's mouth was stuffed full of food, but she still didn't forget to answer her owner's questions.

She had long been aware of the outside world, and recently, when the time was right, she was suddenly able to speak and even regain her physical form.

Jiang Yuzhi understood that she must have accumulated enough merit.

Previously, he had been silently observing the actions of those around him.

According to their relationship, Bai Yan provided her with power, and Jiang Yuzhi served as the vessel to "nurture" her.

Jin Xiaohua was certain that her master was her mother and Bai Yan was her father. As if she had realized something, she naturally took on a physical form.

Xiaohua, who had some understanding of human ethics, felt that no parent would think that a child who suddenly appeared was their own, so she reluctantly called Jiang Yuzhi "Master" according to her own understanding.

Of her parents, she liked her mother more, so her father was the second master.

Jiang Yuzhi felt both fortunate and helpless.

If Xiaohua were to blurt out "Mom" in public, she would probably be stunned.

The title "master" is really nice.

Jiang Yuzhi said to Xiaohua with a hint of resentment, "There's no need to force yourself to follow human rules."

Xiaohua obediently agreed and promised not to tell anyone.

Bai Yan watched as she, short as she was, barely reached the edge of the table, stretching out her chubby little hands to grab the yellow paper and gold ingots in the middle of the table.

He couldn't help but chuckle, so he moved a chair with a backrest over, picked up Jin Xiaohua, and placed her on the chair.

Little Flower gave him a sweet smile, "Thank you, Second Master."

"Zhizhi—" Diting suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and drew out the last syllable, "The food you packed from Fanlou was for her?"

"Yes, Xiaohua told me she wanted to eat it, so I brought her a serving."

Di Ting looked at Xiao Hua and then at Jiang Yuzhi with a resentful expression. "Am I still your favorite little dog? You went out to play by yourself, and you left me with this stupid sheep. I also had to deal with that stupid dog, Xiao Tianquan. You didn't even think about whether I had eaten at home..."

These words came out in the tone of a wronged woman.

This wasn't the first time Jiang Yuzhi had dealt with such a listening ear.

In the past, when she petted a few cute cat ghosts outside, Di Ting would question her like this when she came back.

"Of course, Ah Ting is my favorite dog. We prepare three meals a day for you at home, and you eat with great relish, don't you? It's all thanks to Ah Ting's skill in watching over your food that I have the chance to go out and relax!"

Di Ting's drooping tail began to sway slowly, but its furry face remained serious.

"Manager Huang will bring dinner. He specially prepared a portion for A-Ting, so let's eat here at the Bai residence," Bai Yan said, following Jiang Yuzhi.

Di Ting was no longer angry, but still had to maintain his pride, so he let out a haughty "humph" through his nose.

"Brother A-Ting, next time I want to eat something, I'll definitely remember to bring you a portion." Xiao-Hua said earnestly, "Master, this paper tastes the same as that awful ghost."

The moment Di Ting heard the word "brother," all his temper vanished. He hummed and calmed the silly Chi Chi down, then lay down at Jiang Yuzhi's feet.

“Okay, let’s go to that family where someone died again. Ah Ting, please continue to look after Haochi. When we come back, I’ll bring you some snacks that Yuxiu made.”

"Go ahead, go ahead." Di Ting's face was full of pride, as if to say, "What will you do without me?"

...

The body was taken away just last night.

They entered through the back door, and after confirming that no one was around, they let Xiaohua out.

The house was a mess and smelled a lot of different things, but the ghost was really hard to eat. Xiao Hua remembered it vividly and quickly confirmed that the lingering smell came from the same source.

Looking at Xiaohua's wrinkled nose and disgusted expression, Jiang Yuzhi couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. Is it really that bad? It can't be a big evil spirit, ah, it should like to eat.

"Go to the government office again? The body is still here; it won't be thrown into the crematorium until tomorrow at the earliest." Bai Yan couldn't tell anything, but he wanted to do his best to help his wife.

Is it convenient?

"I am the Prince of Xiao. In this Great Xia Dynasty, Yu Zhi can go wherever she wants," Bai Yan said jokingly, making a nonsensical statement.

Jiang Yuzhi couldn't help but smile.

"What a grand display, Your Highness Xiao." She teased, a smile in her eyes. "Then I'll trouble Your Highness to clear the way and take me to the government office to broaden my horizons."

"Yes, ma'am." Bai Yan bowed solemnly, then naturally took Jiang Yuzhi's hand.

Jin Xiaohua immediately stretched out her little hand, "I want to hold yours too." Her little face was serious, as if she was about to carry out some important mission.

With Jin Xiaohua sandwiched between them, it really did look like a family of three.

After exiting through the back door, Xiao Hua returned to Jiang Yuzhi's body, leaving only the seemingly newlywed "young couple" holding hands.

When the yamen runners at the side gate saw Bai Yan's figure in the distance, they immediately bowed and opened the door respectfully without even asking any questions.

Bai Yan nodded slightly, his steps never faltering, the air of authority befitting a superior subtly revealed.

The morgue was located in the darkest corner deep inside the government office. Even before you got close, a faint smell of lime mixed with an indescribable stench of decay could be smelled.

The old coroner on duty was a thin old man who clearly recognized Bai Yan. He quickly put down the book recording the body's condition and stepped forward to bow.

"Your Highness." The old coroner's voice was hoarse as his gaze swept quickly over Jiang Yuzhi, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he did not ask any further questions.

"No need for formalities. My wife and I have come to see the body that was delivered to that family yesterday." Bai Yan's tone was calm, but it carried an unquestionable command. His eyes kept glancing at Jiang Yuzhi, as if observing her attitude.

Seeing that she had no other reaction, he was both happy and disappointed.

Jiang Yuzhi's mind was filled with the corpse. The morgue of the government office was not a place that just anyone could enter. She had a vague idea that one had to have some connection with the royal family in order to enter legitimately.

"Yes, yes. It's inside. I'll lead the way for Your Highness." The old coroner quickly bowed and led them to a row of mortuaries covered with white sheets in the inner room.

The innermost mortuary board, its white sheet uncovered, revealed the body of a middle-aged man. His face was ashen, his lips cyanotic, and his eyes tightly closed—it was the unfortunate, spendthrift man.

"The deceased was male, around thirty years old," the old coroner began his statement as usual. "There were no obvious fatal external injuries on the body. The preliminary judgment is... uh, sudden death. The cause of death is still under investigation. He was in this state when he was brought in yesterday."

Jiang Yuzhi stared intently at the body, then quietly brought her wrist close to the corpse.

Jin Xiaohua gave an affirmative answer.

Sure enough, everyone knew about the collaboration between Fanlou and Sangjia Wazi, and his ultimate goal must have been related to Fanlou.

It seems that the ghost was not very powerful. It first possessed this person, and then took the opportunity to get close to Huayue and hide on her body.

Possessing a living person had already consumed most of his strength, leaving him powerless to control Huayue's body.

The residual ghostly power within the man caused his sudden death, while the power within Huayue was completely consumed by Xiaohua, allowing her to survive.

I just don't know what that ghost's purpose is.

If the target was her and Bai Yan, then how did they know that they would be dining at Fanlou that night?

The remaining questions couldn't be answered by a corpse. Jiang Yuzhi nodded slightly to Bai Yan. "Don't spread what happened today." Bai Yan's tone was calm, carrying a rare air of authority from Jiang Yuzhi.

Dusk was falling outside the government office.

The evening breeze brought a touch of coolness, dispelling the gloomy atmosphere that clung to my body.