Chapter 14 Today is the Ghost Festival (July 15th of the lunar calendar)
Shen Xiao's face turned pale. Seeing that Shen Shu meant to hit someone again, she was so frightened that she hid behind Wen Lanting.
Seeing Shen Shu's arrogance, Wen Lanting was both angry and anxious.
She stepped forward, forcing herself to remain calm, and pointed at Shen Shu, saying, "Shu'er, what kind of behavior is this! Even if you're usually unruly, you should at least restrain yourself in front of so many people. How can you treat your sister so fiercely!"
Shen Shu sneered, slowly lowered her sleeves, and glanced contemptuously at Wen Lanting and Shen Xiao.
"I just had an itchy arm and casually touched my sleeve. How did it become a fierce demon in my mother's mouth?"
Seeing that Shen Shu's fiery temper was about to flare up again, Shen Qiushan was afraid that she would cause trouble and become a laughing stock in front of outsiders, so he quickly scolded her.
"Shut up, all of you! Today is a day for prayer, not a time for you to make a scene."
Seeing that Shen Qiushan was angry, Wen Lanting and Shen Xiao both shut their mouths.
He thought to himself that the main point today was not to bicker with Shen Shu, but to completely frame her and send her to the Imperial Observatory.
We can't let small things cause us to lose big!
Wen Lanting smiled awkwardly and pulled Shen Xiao to the back.
Meanwhile, he gave the deputy envoy of the Imperial Observatory a look that the ceremony could begin.
Several young Taoist priests filed in, carrying several sky lanterns, and placed them in the hands of the Shen family members one by one.
Guo Yun, the deputy commissioner of the Imperial Observatory, stood in the center of the field, dressed in a Taoist robe and holding a peach wood sword, looking every bit the otherworldly immortal.
Seeing that everything was in place, Guo Yun cleared his throat and began reciting the lengthy scriptures.
It was supposed to be a scene of prayer and blessing, but it inexplicably felt somewhat eerie.
Guo Yun, having received Wen Lanting's order to give Shen Shu'an an ominous title, naturally had to carry it out.
So some other things were mixed into the scripture.
A short while later, a strange sound came from around the prayer area, which sounded like the cawing of crows.
Everyone was startled by the sound and looked around.
Several black crows suddenly swooped down from the sky and circled around Shen Shu's head.
Shen Qiushan was startled by this sudden turn of events and quickly took several steps back.
Wen Lanting and Shen Xiao were secretly delighted, thinking that their plan was starting to work.
The deputy astronomical commissioner feigned composure and said, "This is the work of a demon. It seems that Miss Shen has been possessed by some evil spirit, which is why the crows issued a warning."
As he spoke, he took the peach wood sword and walked towards Shen Shu.
Shen Shu sat in the chair, watching the crows circling overhead, her eyes darting around.
"What should we do in this situation? Lord Guo came here today to pray for blessings, so he probably didn't bring any exorcism items. Could you please take me to the Imperial Observatory quickly and remove the evil spirits from my body?"
She had already planned what to do next. As long as she was allowed into the Imperial Observatory tonight, she would have a chance to meet the Imperial Preceptor.
Guo Yun and Wen Lanting were in cahoots, engaging in corruption and bribery. She could not tolerate such people getting away with it.
With the help of the Imperial Advisor, we might be able to bring down Guo Yun, and perhaps even turn the tables on Wen Lanting, giving them a severe setback!
Wen Lanting and Shen Xiao were overjoyed to see this. They had been worried that Shen Shu would refuse to go, fearing a fierce battle might ensue. However, they did not expect that Shen Shu would be so frightened by the talk of evil spirits that she volunteered to go before they could even speak.
Once she entered the Imperial Observatory, she would be nothing more than fish on a chopping board.
At that time, Wen Lanting will have Guo Yun use the excuse of evil spirits to burn Shen Shu to death!
Thinking of this, Wen Lanting feigned concern and said, "For the sake of the safety of the Bo Gong Mansion, we can only ask Shu'er to go with Vice Envoy Guo."
Before leaving, Wen Lanting took out a thick stack of silver notes and stuffed them into Guo Yun's hand: "Sir, you've worked hard tonight. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please don't refuse it."
Guo Yun's eyes gleamed with greed as he replied while stuffing the silver notes into his sleeve.
"Madam, you are too kind. This is what I should do. Isn't this the mission of the Imperial Observatory?"
Shen Shu watched this scene from inside the carriage without saying a word.
Once the carriage left the street where the Earl's mansion was located, Guo Yun's attitude immediately changed.
"Tie her up and gag her!"
...
Imperial Observatory.
Marquis Dingyuan, Lin Wei, was at the Imperial Preceptor's place at that time.
Today is the Ghost Festival, and the chief eunuch of His Majesty, Eunuch Fu, came to the Imperial Advisor to get lanterns for blessings.
Grandpa Fu carefully took the box back and respectfully looked at Lin Wei beside him.
"My lord, please come to the palace with me. His Majesty is grateful for the Princess who died young while saving him, and since she was your mother, it is only right that you come to the palace to pray for blessings together."
Lin Wei nodded.
The Imperial Advisor followed, intending to see them off.
The night was long and quiet, and for some reason he had a premonition, as if something was about to happen.
"In that case, I'll see Young Master Lin and Father-in-law off."
But as soon as he stepped outside, he bumped into Guo Yun, the deputy commissioner of the Imperial Observatory, who was directing a group of disciples to carry people off a carriage.
Fu Gonggong was surprised, as it was the first time he had encountered the Imperial Observatory on official business, and he couldn't help but feel curious, so he slowed down his pace.
Shen Shu was tied up tightly, and no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't budge an inch. Her mouth was also sealed shut.
She struggled violently, making whimpering sounds.
One of the disciples lost his footing and threw Shen Shu to the ground.
Guo Yun angrily said, "Didn't you eat? You can't even lift a girl."
The disciple panicked: "She struggled too hard; the evil spirit possessing her must be too powerful."
Evil spirits?
The Imperial Advisor stopped in his tracks.
Seeing this, Lin Wei gave Chao Shifeng a wink.
Shi Feng almost didn't realize what was going on until he saw Lin Wei's expression and understood that he was being asked to go over there and ask.
He was puzzled. What was wrong with their lord today?
She already dealt with the eldest son of the Bo Gong family this morning, why is she meddling in other people's business now?
Are they just bored?
Shi Feng didn't understand, but he still did as instructed.
"What's all the commotion about? What happened?"
Shi Feng stopped Guo Yun.
Guo Yun then noticed Lin Wei and the others, and hurriedly stepped forward: "This humble official greets Your Excellency, the Marquis, the Imperial Preceptor, and Eunuch Fu. I was truly preoccupied with important matters and did not have time to pay my respects to you all. Please forgive me."
Lin Wei spoke slowly, "You just said that this girl is possessed by an evil spirit?"
Guo Yun was taken aback. Lord Lin never interfered in these matters before, so why was he doing this today?
"It was the Bo Gong Mansion that invited me to perform a blessing ceremony. Halfway through the ceremony, I unexpectedly discovered that their second young lady was possessed by an evil spirit, so I brought her back to the Imperial Observatory to exorcise the evil spirit."
The Earl's Mansion?
Shi Feng seemed to understand something. He quickly pushed aside the huddled disciples of the Imperial Observatory and exclaimed, "My lord! It's that girl from this morning!"
Shen Shu was also stunned. Wasn't this the little guard she almost bumped into when she was being chased by Chen Lian?
Lin Wei walked slowly, and the disciples around him knelt in a circle.
They all knelt down to clear a path for Lin Wei.
The Imperial Observatory was brightly lit with candles, and the Qingxin Bell rang out with a clear, mesmerizing sound, creating an indescribably eerie and beautiful atmosphere on the night of the Ghost Festival.
Shen Shu looked ahead with difficulty and saw a pair of long boots stopped in front of her.
The next second, she felt a pair of cold hands lift her chin, forcing her to raise her head.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com