Chapter 495 Suicide by Love
The next day, the Taoist priest that Granny Quan had found arrived at Prince Ning's residence.
The one who came was the highly renowned Taoist Master Jiyan from the capital. Besides him, there were ten other younger Taoists, all of whom were his disciples.
When Ji Yan arrived, he said that there was indeed an evil spirit in Xiao Qingyuan's courtyard in the Ning Prince's mansion that refused to leave, and that a ritual needed to be performed to exorcise it.
Princess Ning looked solemn and personally led Ji Yan to Xinghe Courtyard.
Set up an altar, place offerings, light incense and candles...
Xiao Qingyuan watched the Taoist priests busy at work, and saw the incense and candles emitting wisps of smoke that rose faintly in the air, vaguely forming the shape of a woman.
A flicker of expression returned to his numb face as he asked Ji Yan, "After a person dies, does their soul really linger in the mortal realm, unwilling to enter the cycle of reincarnation?"
Ji Yan's hair and beard were all white, but his voice was like a booming bell, with a power that shook people's hearts: "Everyone has desires, which turn into obsessions when they die. The deeper the obsession, the harder it is to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Some souls can even wander in the mortal world for years. Over time, they will forget who they are and only remember their obsessions. They will become evil spirits and bring disaster to the world."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Xiao Qingyuan's eyes: "Then, is my Nan Shi still here? Has she not entered reincarnation either? Is she still by my side, unwilling to leave me?"
This time, Ji Yan did not answer him. He sat cross-legged in front of the altar, with ten disciples sitting in a circle around him. Then they beat drums and chanted incantations together.
With chanting, the incense burned out quickly, and they got up to scatter paper money. Then they replaced the incense with fresh incense and continued chanting.
The exorcism ritual continued until evening, and the entire Prince Ning's mansion was filled with the smell of incense and candles, with paper money scattered everywhere.
Shen Wantang stood in her courtyard, watching another piece of paper money float in from outside and land in front of her. She thought, it's almost time.
In past and present lives, certain things overlap with astonishing similarities.
In her previous life, after Chu Yanluo died, Princess Ning also hired a Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits for Xiao Qingyuan, and the priest she hired was Ji Yan.
After Ji Yan exorcised the evil spirit from Xiao Qingyuan, his reputation plummeted, and no one ever asked him to perform rituals again.
Because Xiao Qingyuan died.
As the last rays of the setting sun disappeared, the earth fell into darkness.
Qin Xin returned from outside. She walked to Shen Wantang's side and whispered, "Princess Consort, the Taoist priests have left. They said that the evil spirits in the Prince's mansion have been eliminated and peace has been restored."
Shen Wantang nodded expressionlessly: "Okay."
"Master Jiyan also gave the young master some talisman water. After drinking it, the young master's pale complexion improved a lot, and he was even willing to eat. The princess thanked him repeatedly and gave the master a very generous red envelope!"
Shen Wantang smiled without any real emotion: "The young master is finally better. Thank goodness. Daoist Jiyan is indeed very capable."
"Yes, that's what everyone says!"
Qin Xin was oblivious to the coldness in Shen Wantang's smile and continued, "I suppose the young master won't be able to hold onto Miss Liu for long. When he was in love with Consort Chu before, he was head over heels in love, but not long after, he stopped liking her. It will definitely be the same this time! The young master will surely discover how good the young master's wife is in the future and will live a good life with you!"
"Um."
Shen Wantang responded lightly, then said, "Go and close the door. Don't go out tonight. Get some rest."
Qin Xin was indeed exhausted these past few days: "Yes, the Princess Consort really cares for me! Now that things are finally peaceful in the manor, I'll get a good night's sleep tonight!"
"Go and rest. You don't need to serve us here. Just leave Dujuan alone."
"yes!"
Qin Xin responded crisply and walked briskly towards the side room.
Du Juan walked up to Shen Wantang with a lantern. She had been by Shen Wantang's side since she was a child and was particularly sensitive to her emotional changes. Qin Xin did not notice Shen Wantang's abnormality, but Du Juan did.
"Princess Consort, what happened?"
"No."
“But I feel that you have something on your mind.”
"It's nothing, it'll be fine in the future."
Du Juan felt that if it were really just a small matter, her master wouldn't have sent all the servants away and left only her by his side.
This gave her a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
As she was thinking, she saw Shen Wantang reach out and grasp her wrist: "Don't go anywhere tonight, just stay by my side."
For the first time, Du Juan felt her master's trust and reliance so strongly. She placed her hand on the back of Shen Wantang's hand and said, "Don't worry, I won't go anywhere."
Shen Wantang nodded and led her back into the house.
That day, she went to bed exceptionally early, and the entire Ning Prince's Mansion also went to bed earlier than usual.
Everything looked peaceful and serene.
The next morning, a guard rushed in from outside with news that Xiao Qingyuan had jumped into the river and committed suicide.
Princess Ning fainted on the spot upon hearing the news.
Prince Ning felt a sharp pain in his chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood, but he still forced himself to leave the palace so as to see his son with his own eyes.
An hour later, he returned with Xiao Qingyuan's body.
Princess Ning, who had just been revived by Shen Wantang, fainted again.
Xiao Qingxi stared blankly at the body covered by a white sheet: "No, it can't be! This can't be my brother! How could my brother commit suicide?! I don't believe it, I don't believe it!!"
She said she didn't believe it, but she didn't dare to lift the white cloth to take a look.
With a face full of grief, Prince Ning ordered Shen Wantang in a hoarse voice, "Send someone to inform the palace of the death!"
"yes."
"Go and fetch Lü Qiying from the Ministry of Justice. My son couldn't have committed suicide; someone must have killed him! I will get to the bottom of this and avenge my son!"
"yes."
Shen Wantang agreed to everything, then turned and left.
She handled everything methodically, from announcing the death to setting up the mourning hall.
White lanterns were quickly hung throughout the entire mansion, and white banners were hung in front of the gate. The servants in the mansion also changed into mourning clothes, and everyone hurried along, not daring to speak loudly.
Looking at the white expanse before her eyes, Shen Wantang felt as if she had returned to her past life.
In her previous life, after Xiao Qingyuan died, she and Liao Youhe came to pay their respects. The Ning Prince's Mansion was much the same as it is now—gloomy and deathly silent.
Shen Wantang's mood was similar to that of her previous life; she felt neither sadness nor joy, nor much emotion.
For a fleeting moment, she felt that everything in this life and the previous life seemed no different; those who died in the previous life were dying one after another in this life, following the same trajectory.
Although she had actually played a part in this, the striking similarity in their fates still made Shen Wantang feel vaguely uneasy.
Servants kept coming to give instructions, and Shen Wantang needed to make decisions on everything, big or small. She quickly lost the time to think about anything else and was so busy that she barely had time to rest.
The news that Xiao Qingyuan had committed suicide by jumping into the river for love with Liu Nanshi spread like wildfire and quickly reached the entire capital.
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