Beside the Princess's mansion, there was a house. The leaves were so thick that they blocked out all the sunlight that could get in. When the servants went to clean it, even on the hottest summer day, they could feel a bone-chilling cold.
At that moment, Xu Nian was sitting among them.
Liu Yun stood timidly behind her, his eyes darting around nervously. He dared not actually turn his head to look at her; if it weren't for the thought of protecting his mistress, he probably would have fainted by now.
There's no other reason than that Xu Nian's current demeanor is simply too frightening.
She had no idea that the Princess's mansion, a place no one wanted to approach, was actually a gathering place for so many evil spirits.
Moreover, they are all powerful ghosts that have been here for thousands of years. In Xu Nian's words, they are earthbound spirits trapped here, unable to reincarnate or fight each other.
Xu Nian, who already possessed spiritual awareness and the ability to see ghosts, and Liu Yun, whose third eye had been opened by her, stood here, looking around at all the lonely ghosts and spirits who had died in various ways.
Her scarlet eyes stared intently at them, or rather, at Liu Yun, the stranger behind her.
Their greed and evil were indescribable. If Xu Nian hadn't been here, all the servants in the backyard of the princess's mansion would have fallen victim to their wickedness!
"Alright," Xu Nian said, "Instead of thinking about possessing bodies and committing murder, it would be more convenient for me to release you from your confinement and let you reincarnate directly. What do you say?"
The ghosts reluctantly withdrew their gazes. Due to the confinement, many of these were Yin spirits with exceptional abilities cultivated to such an extent.
Four days ago, Xu Nian approached them and asked these ghosts to take turns doing things for them.
The benefit is that once it's done, she can lift the confinement here and release them to be reincarnated in the underworld.
At first, they didn't believe it, but after this little girl's actions—almost shattering the souls they had painstakingly formed—they finally believed in her abilities.
Each day, one person is temporarily released from confinement and taken to the home of a high-ranking official with some belongings.
“I overheard it yesterday in that high-ranking official’s study,” said a hanged ghost. “He seemed to have found an old woman from someone and asked her some questions.”
"Later, I followed him to that place. The old woman said that she was the one who switched the child from back then because she was threatened. If she didn't do it, her whole family would be killed, so she had no choice but to do it."
Xu Nian propped her head up, pondering what the ghost was saying.
If the Crown Prince had been replaced by someone with ulterior motives back then, and the Empress was unaware of it, then apart from him suffering some hardship later on, Anqing and the others would not have faced much trouble.
However, at that time, besides the Empress, the Emperor's residence only housed Consort Xian and Consort Shu.
A maidservant who could threaten the Empress couldn't possibly be just an ordinary maidservant. Of course, it's also possible that the Emperor's own brother is a treacherous individual.
This was also a point of doubt for Liu Ruan.
But he quickly dismissed the idea. As a man, it wouldn't matter if the Empress's brother brought back a child from outside and claimed it as his own.
At most, it will just get out, and the Duke of Cheng's mansion will become the subject of gossip for a few days.
But it was quickly overshadowed by the affairs of other princes and nobles in the capital, since people generally felt that it was nothing wrong for men to be a little flirtatious.
Whether it's the child of a mistress or a concubine, they are all one's own.
It doesn't matter how you raise them, there's really no need to let your own sister take your own nephew to a distant place just because you're afraid.
"who?!"
As she was pondering, the candlelight in the study flickered suddenly. A dark figure flashed past the door, and when Liu Ru'an pushed it open, apart from a letter on the floor, she could see no one else.
Your daughter has married the wrong person. If you wish to save her, you must do as I instruct.
The ambiguous sentence was followed by a lengthy account of how Liu Qingmei was humiliated and beaten in the Third Prince's residence.
Liu Ruan read the letter carefully, almost unable to hold it in her hand.
He twitched his lips twice, then, unable to bear it any longer, threw the things aside. But he still had his senses; even though his chest felt like it was on fire, he managed to keep his composure.
Hearing is unreliable, seeing is believing.
After a long pause, he spoke, "Wang Er, go and tell the Third Prince that I have something to ask him."
[Hey streamer, is this ghost even real?]
Why do I feel like there's a ghostly, lecherous eye staring at me?
Where? Where? Which ghost is so audacious as to risk its life?
[...]
Following the guidance of the comments, Xu Nian looked over. The male ghost must have been no more than thirty years old when he died; he looked quite young and had a good appearance.
She did some quick calculations with her fingers and gave a cold smile.
The spirits in the room were so frightened that they all moved away, but she did nothing. Instead, she gave them a warning look and left.
Liu Ru'an will inevitably be forced to join forces with the Fifth Prince sooner or later, and Jiang Yuanqing is still injured. Since she knows so much, she should tell Gu Zhan.
So that in the future, after she is gone, this guy won't be unaware that he has offended the new emperor.
Upon hearing that his father-in-law was coming to the Third Prince's residence, Jiang Yuanlang showed no joy whatsoever; instead, he appeared impatient.
However, he is no longer the all-powerful Third Prince. The only advisor who remains by his side advises him to reassure Minister Liu, who might even speak well of him in court on behalf of his daughter.
Jiang Yuanlang then instructed the people in his household to begin preparations, especially Liu Qingmei, to whom he sent several skilled female attendants.
This was to cover up the bruises and scabbed wounds on her body.
"I must warn you, you'd better speak well of your father, otherwise, after he's gone, I'm not sure if you'll die suddenly for some reason."
He's gone mad!
Liu Qingmei shrank back, hiding in the shadows and watching Jiang Yuanlang warily, whose eyes were filled with ruthlessness and malice.
From around the day of her wedding, she noticed the stark difference in treatment between herself and the Crown Prince. She also saw herself becoming increasingly constrained and unable to command any faction within the court.
Jiang Yuanlang began to sense that something was amiss.
At first, he enjoyed torturing her during sex, and although she was afraid, she thought it was just a quirk of the Third Prince. She could only endure it and dared not say anything more.
What's more, the man would always come back with gifts to apologize afterwards.
All sorts of strange and precious jewelry and trinkets were there. They almost filled her small storeroom. Liu Qingmei felt that although this person seemed carefree, he was actually good to her.
They tacitly approved of some of his actions, but things seemed to be getting worse.
The fourth and fifth princes returned to the capital one after another.
The Fifth Prince didn't return to Anyang; instead, he replaced the Third Prince in court. Every day, after court, looking at Jiang Yuanche's timid face, he wanted nothing more than to tear it to pieces!
However, he couldn't vent his anger in public, otherwise, if the Crown Prince's men saw it, they would use it as an excuse to make trouble!
So he could only vent all his anger on Liu Qingmei!
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