Chapter 15 A Match Made in Heaven
A handsome face came into Shen Shu's view.
The person before him wore a wide, jet-black robe, with slightly upturned eyes, exuding a cool and languid air. He had red lips, a straight nose, and a cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye, giving him a touch of bewitching charm.
Shen Shu was gagged and couldn't say a word; she knew that.
This person was none other than Lin Wei.
Suddenly, everything that had happened before came together.
No wonder the fat old woman said that Shen Lian was punished by Lord Lin, and no wonder that no one chased after her after she ran far away.
Presumably, it was because of that child who suddenly appeared that he reined in his horse on the road, forcing Lin Wei and the others to stop.
But Chen Lian's half-baked riding skills meant he couldn't stop.
That's why they clashed with them.
Lin Wei unintentionally... vented her anger.
Those hands ripped the cloth covering Shen Shu's mouth, and air rushed into her throat, causing her to cough involuntarily, her eyes even reddening.
"Untie her."
Shi Feng obeyed and quickly untied Shen Shu's ropes.
Grandpa Fu is a shrewd man who has been around for a thousand years and a fox for ten thousand.
Lord Lin was a talented young man, admired by many young ladies from prominent families in the capital.
Even though Lin Wei said he would never marry, many girls still rushed to show their faces in front of him, hoping to catch his eye for a single night.
But when have we ever seen a marquis take the initiative to help any woman?
Eunuch Fu gave a wink to a young eunuch following him, signaling him to take the lantern to the palace first.
Guo Yun was filled with apprehension by the eerie atmosphere. "This woman is possessed by an evil spirit. Your Excellency is of noble birth and must not get close to her."
"Possessed by evil spirits?"
Lin Wei looked coldly at Guo Yun: "The Imperial Observatory's duty is to observe celestial phenomena at night, pray for blessings, and perform divination for His Majesty. I wonder when it started to be able to exorcise ghosts for people?"
Seeing that Lin Wei seemed to be getting angry, Guo Yun was at a loss for words.
The Imperial Observatory didn't have many duties to begin with, and it had become an unwritten rule for its disciples and officials to perform rituals and exorcise evil spirits for others.
As long as it's not brought to the forefront, those in power will turn a blind eye.
But Eunuch Fu, who is by His Majesty's side, is still here. How is he supposed to answer?
Guo Yun broke out in a cold sweat: "It was a warning from the Black Crow. My magic artifacts also sensed it. It was indeed a sign of possession. Even though exorcising ghosts is not my duty, I cannot ignore such a thing happening in the Lord's mansion. That's why I brought the person back. I will send the person back after the exorcism is completed."
Shen Shu's hair was disheveled. She watched as Guo Yun lied to Lin Wei's face and let out a cold laugh.
"Wasn't it because the Deputy Envoy accepted a bribe from my mother that he claimed I was possessed by an evil spirit?"
"You evil spirit, how dare you spread such heresies? When did the Lady of the Uncle bribe me? Guards, gag her!"
Guo Yun naturally couldn't admit it; his immediate priority was to insist that Shen Shu was indeed possessed.
Otherwise, if people find out that he colluded with his uncle's wife to slander others, he would lose his official position!
"Is Lord Guo so afraid of me speaking?" Shen Shu pretended to be flustered when she saw that Guo Yun still wanted to shut her up.
Her gaze, however, drifted to Lin Wei. Since she had helped her once, could she help her again?
Lin Wei stood up, looked down at the disheveled Shen Shu on the ground, his expression unreadable.
He was not a fool. Since Guo Yun had already put it this way, he had no choice but to investigate.
"Please, Imperial Advisor, cast a divination for her. If she is indeed possessed by a ghost, then we must exorcise the evil spirit. But if not..."
"That Lord Guo is slandering us. According to the laws of our dynasty, those who use ghost stories to slander others and incite people's hearts are punishable by death."
Guo Yun's face turned pale: "How can such a trivial matter trouble the Imperial Advisor? Wouldn't that be extremely disrespectful?"
For some reason, he seemed to see his own death through Lin Wei's face, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
"No." The Imperial Advisor stepped forward, fanning himself with a banana leaf fan.
"I'll do a divination for this girl today and get to the bottom of things."
Guo Yun was speechless.
The Imperial Preceptor sat upright, raising and lowering his hand.
When the hexagram of the Six Lines is drawn, the wind rises and the clouds gather!
After a long while, the imperial advisor stared blankly at the divination result before him.
The Imperial Advisor was both overjoyed and astonished. He murmured to himself, "The union of Yin and Yang reverses the universe, auspicious omens descend from heaven, and the worst of times is over!"
He stood up and looked at the full moon in the sky. "A halo around the moon is an extremely auspicious sign!"
Meanwhile, Eunuch Fu had been watching the commotion for a while. Seeing how excited the Imperial Preceptor was, he couldn't help but want to know the outcome.
However, judging from the Imperial Advisor's excited expression, it must be an excellent divination result.
Eunuch Fu looked at Guo Yun, thinking, "This Lord Guo is going to be in big trouble!"
The Imperial Advisor was overjoyed and quickly pulled Lin Wei aside, urging him to throw the coin again.
Lin Wei looked at the overjoyed, almost delirious, national advisor with a puzzled expression, but still obeyed.
Three copper coins were thrown out.
The Imperial Advisor was stunned when he saw the pattern of the falling copper coins.
Then he burst into laughter: "Truly, a match made in heaven!"
Unaware of the riddle he was playing, Eunuch Fu offered a hint, "If the Imperial Advisor knew the result, he could say it and settle the matter."
The Imperial Advisor then turned away from his joy and whispered something to Eunuch Fu.
As soon as he finished listening, Eunuch Fu's eyes widened. He then got up to take his leave, saying he needed to return to the palace first.
After seeing off Eunuch Fu, the Imperial Advisor turned around and, seeing Guo Yun's face, his joy vanished.
He picked up the banana leaf fan and hit Guo Yun on the head several times.
"You fool, if you can't handle your duties at the Imperial Observatory, you'd better get home right now. You almost killed the lucky star, and you're even possessed by evil spirits. I'm afraid I've possessed you, huh?"
Guo Yun's vision went black, and he hurriedly knelt down.
"Perhaps the evil spirits saw the Imperial Preceptor and have already left. I dare not lie. Everyone in the Bo Gong Mansion saw it clearly. There really was a black crow warning and the magic artifact went out of control."
"Is that so?" Shi Feng saw that he still wanted to argue, so he whistled a few times into the air.
Several black crows flew in from the sky and landed steadily on Shi Feng's arm.
"My lord, weren't these birds trained by the Imperial Observatory long ago? They do whatever they're told. How can that be used as evidence of evil spirit possession?"
Shen Shu didn't know what the Imperial Advisor had divined, but seeing that the situation was now entirely on her side, she felt much more at ease.
"I request that the Grand Preceptor search Lord Guo's sleeves. My mother gave him quite a lot. Even if he really came to exorcise the ghost, he couldn't have given so much. Lord Guo must have accepted a bribe to slander me."
"Search him."
Before long, a thick stack of silver notes was found on Guo Yun.
Guo Yun felt utterly hopeless upon seeing the irrefutable evidence.
He had just returned from the Earl's mansion and hadn't had time to go back home yet, so the silver notes were still on him.
"You have some nerve."
"Guo Yun, the deputy commissioner of the Imperial Observatory, accepted bribes and slandered a noblewoman. The evidence is conclusive," Lin Wei said coldly.
"He was thrown into prison and exiled three thousand miles to Lingnan after the autumn harvest."
The guards dragged Guo Yun, whose face was ashen, away.
But this matter is not over yet.
Lin Wei looked at Shen Shu and said, "Second Miss, can you explain why your mother did this? Guo Yun deserves to die, but if you slander your relatives, your crime is not small either."
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