After Fang Ruyi followed Huan Yang into the palace, she began to cause trouble with him. First, she killed all the flowers in the Imperial Garden, and then she killed half of the fish in the pond.
In the middle of the night, he even ordered Fang Ruyi to dig up a few corpses from the mass grave and dump them in Wang Ji's mansion. He also threw several bags of snakes and insects into the mansion along with them.
Wang Ji was truly at his wit's end, but he just couldn't figure out who did it, although he had good reason to suspect Zhou Yang or Pan Yang.
Wang Ji took a deep breath, listened to the discussions in the teahouse, and went inside, finding a corner to sit down.
Fang Ruyi, holding a canvas bag and sipping tea, asked the people beside him, "Young man, would you like your fortune told?"
The actor rolled his eyes and looked him up and down: "Are you perhaps a con artist?"
"I won't charge you if I can't predict the outcome, so don't worry," Fang Ruyi said immediately.
Actor #2 raised an eyebrow: "Then tell me, what exactly is going on in the palace and in Lord Wang's residence recently?"
Fang Ruyi pretended to do some calculations with her fingers, then looked troubled.
"I told you, you're just a con artist."
"No, it's just that you mustn't spread what I'm about to say." Fang Ruyi rolled her eyes and cautiously began, "A monster has appeared in the palace, and that monster is also trying to frame Lord Wang. If you ask me, if it's not dealt with promptly, I'm afraid both the Emperor and Lord Wang will be affected, and within half a year..."
He didn't continue, but the meaning was self-evident. The two actors gasped: "Are you telling the truth?"
“It must be true, and that monster has already become the Imperial Advisor. Shh, you mustn’t tell anyone else this, or you’ll be beheaded,” Fang Ruyi said again.
Upon hearing this, Wang Ji walked over, and the two actors immediately knelt on the ground, saying, "Lord Wang!"
A hint of smugness flashed in Fang Ruyi's eyes, followed by a look of panic: "My lord! I was just talking nonsense, please don't take it to heart."
"Can you get rid of that monster?" Wang Ji asked calmly. He didn't care if the man was a fraud or not. As long as he could go to the palace and pretend to perform a ritual, establish that Pan Yang was a demon, the newly appointed imperial advisor would disappear easily.
Fang Ruyi hesitated for a moment, but then, seeing Wang Ji looking at him with a threatening expression, she finally gritted her teeth and nodded: "I can give this a try."
"Come with me to the palace this afternoon," Wang Ji said.
"My lord, I need some time to prepare. Besides, I don't know much about that demon, so I must be fully prepared. Would it be alright to perform a ritual tonight?" Fang Ruyi asked cautiously.
"Tonight then, tonight it is." Wang Ji frowned, then waved his hand dismissively. It made no difference to him; he didn't believe in day or night anyway, as long as others believed it.
At night, at the entrance of the Star-Picking Pavilion, Fang Ruyi set up a table with a basin of chicken and dog blood, as well as glutinous rice, incense burner, and other miscellaneous items on it. Wang Ji stood not far away, and several guards stood to the side.
Fang Ruyi held the copper coin sword, muttered a few words in a pretentious manner, then performed a ritualistic dance, pointing the sword at the Star-Picking Pavilion, and the door opened by itself.
Pan Yang stood at the door, staring straight at the group. Wang Ji suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, then smiled faintly: "Grand Preceptor, I have heard that there are demons in the Star-Picking Pavilion, so I specially invited a Taoist priest. I hope you don't mind?"
"Of course I don't mind." Pan Yang nodded, glancing at the guards beside him. These guards were all from the palace, and not many of them belonged to Wang Ji. It seemed that Wang Ji was indeed overconfident.
"You continue," Wang Ji said to Fang Ruyi.
Fang Ruyi nodded, threw a talisman into the air, lit a few incense sticks, lit the incense burner, and began to mutter incantations.
He then suddenly opened his eyes, exchanged a glance with Pan Yang, and immediately picked up the basin of dog blood and splashed it on Wang Ji. He shouted, "Demon, how dare you possess Lord Wang! Quickly reveal your true form!"
After saying that, he picked up the basin of chicken blood again and splashed it on the surface, then grabbed his copper coin sword and struck down.
Wang Ji was stunned for a few seconds before he reacted. He was almost completely covered in blood. He was furious: "You liar, what nonsense are you spouting? Someone, pull him away! Pull him away!"
The guards exchanged glances, then looked at Fan Yang. Fan Yang nodded, and the guards rushed forward, seemingly pulling Fang Ruyi away, but secretly pressing down on Wang Ji.
"What's that sound?" A voice came from not far away.
Zhou Yang and several eunuchs and guards slowly walked over. The eunuch was startled when he saw Wang Ji's appearance. The guards and Fang Ruyi stopped when they saw this. Before Wang Ji could speak, Fang Ruyi knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Your Majesty, I am just a wandering Taoist priest. This Lord Wang insisted that the palace was haunted and asked me to come and investigate. So I had no choice but to enter the palace. But for some reason, Lord Wang suddenly went mad as if possessed, shouting and even waking up the Imperial Preceptor."
"From my humble perspective, it's clear that you, sir, are possessed by an evil spirit, which is why you had no choice but to take action against Lord Wang. It's just to exorcise the evil spirit," Fang Ruyi said respectfully.
Wang Ji, still dazed from the beating, widened his eyes upon hearing Fang Ruyi's words, then, ignoring the dog blood on his body, looked at Zhou Yang: "Your Majesty, it is clearly the Imperial Preceptor who is the evil spirit, Your Majesty..."
“Lord Wang,” Zhou Yang interrupted him, “What Lord Wang said is probably a bit…” He looked him up and down as he spoke.
Wang Ji held his breath and exclaimed, "Your Majesty!"
“Your Majesty! I believe that Lord Wang is indeed possessed by an evil spirit. Why not let him return to his residence to rest for a few days? Besides, his attire is... far too festive.” Pan Yang said in a serious tone.
"You!" Wang Ji gritted his teeth. If he didn't know that Fang Ruyi was in cahoots with them, he would be a fool. Finally, he snorted coldly, "Thank you for your concern, Grand Preceptor."
He then walked right past Zhou Yang and left. Zhou Yang couldn't hold back any longer and looked at Fan Yang with a helpless smile: "Aren't you afraid of angering him?"
"What's there to be afraid of? We can't beat him anyway." Pan Yang shrugged indifferently, then looked at Fang Ruyi: "In a few days, you can dress up as a ghost and scare him."
"Me?" Fang Ruyi's eyes widened. He went to Lord Wang's mansion to pretend to be a ghost?!
“Aren’t you a Taoist priest? You should believe in your potential. I have faith in you.” Pan Yang said with a serious expression.
Fang Ruyi gave a bitter smile; it was too late for him to regret it now.
Zhou Yang couldn't help but chuckle softly, then walked to Pan Yang's side and removed the talisman ash from Pan Yang's hair: "Let's go to sleep first, we can talk about these things tomorrow."
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