Chapter 93 My sister was scared to death.
Wu Xiushan grasped her sister's hand and slowly tightened it.
The moment the sisters' hands touched, they both felt as if they were holding a block of ice.
The sky was clear and bright, but the air was as cold as iron.
Seeing their unpleasant expressions, Chu Ci couldn't help but frown.
The two sisters did not have any yin energy on them, which means that no ghosts were haunting them.
However, the area between their eyebrows was very dark, suggesting that they might face some bloodshed soon.
Chu Ci: "Have you checked your gas cylinders or gas pipes at home recently?"
Wu Xiushan lowered her pierced eyebrows and spoke in an unfriendly tone.
"Do you think the gas smell we're detecting is coming from the gas cylinder in our home?"
She stared at Chu Ci with displeasure, her lips pressed tightly together.
"You don't trust us?"
Seeing that her younger sister's tone was not good, the older sister Wu Xiuying quickly grabbed her hand.
"Ah Shan, speak properly..."
However, before she could finish her sentence, she couldn't help but cough.
"Cough cough..."
He coughed twice, then his shoulders began to tremble violently.
Wu Xiushan couldn't help but feel nervous, "Sister?"
But Wu Xiuying's cough just wouldn't stop, and her face turned bright red from coughing.
He kept gagging, but nothing came out.
Worried about getting the shop floor dirty, Wu Xiuying, the older sister, ran outside and coughed for a full five minutes before returning.
"sorry……"
She wiped her mouth.
His eyes were bloodshot and glistening with tears, and his face was swollen to the color of a liver due to violent coughing.
His voice was hoarse and carried a bloody stench.
Upon smelling the stench of blood, Chu Ci's expression turned serious.
"You vomited blood?"
Wu Xiushan panicked: "What?! Sister, you're vomiting blood?"
Wu Xiuying closed her eyes, shook her head, and comforted her sister with a smile.
"It's nothing, just a bit of a sore throat."
She looked at Chu Ci, her bloodshot eyes covered with a layer of moisture.
"Master, my mother..."
Chu Ci interrupted her, "As far as I know, your mother isn't bothering either of you."
She looked intently at Wu Xiuying's pale and haggard face.
"And there seems to be something wrong with your health. You should go to the hospital for a check-up when you have time."
Wu Xiuying nodded hesitantly, then tried to walk out shakily, but was stopped by her younger sister, Wu Xiushan.
Wu Xiushan's fiery temper exploded along with her hair.
"So, in the end, you just don't believe us, do you?"
“It’s not that I think you’re lying, but I really don’t see any signs of being possessed by a ghost on you…”
Chu Ci patiently explained, but Wu Xiushan had no patience to listen and took her sister's arm to leave.
"What 'most amazing master'? She can't even see this much, yet her people are praising her so much!"
Chu Ci: "..."
Wu Xiuying, at a loss for what to do with her younger sister's fiery temper, also sighed.
She smiled shyly at Chu Ci, and was half-pulled, half-draggled out the door by her younger sister.
As they walked, he patiently comforted his younger sister, saying, "I actually think the master is quite nice."
"We turned down these two offers that were practically handed to us. The master must not have lied to us..."
Wu Xiushan huffed, "You didn't lie to us? It's clearly because she's not skilled enough to see it!"
"Sister, don't be afraid, I know two other places. Although they're not as luxuriously decorated as this shop, they definitely have real skills..."
The two sisters supported each other as they walked away. Chu Ci shook her head as she watched their receding figures, then took the cushion and went upstairs.
Grandma touched the cushion and pushed up her reading glasses.
"Isn't this mat a bit too thin?"
Chu Ci looked at the cushion, which was as thick as Hei Dou's body.
"...It's not thin anymore, even if a black bean lies on it, the mat won't collapse."
Grandma patted Little Black Bean, who was dozing off on her lap.
Little Black Bean lay on Grandma's leg, its head and tail drooping, sleeping soundly without any guard.
"It's still too thin. I'll sew the two pads together."
Chu Ci picked up the sleeping Hei Dou and watched as Grandma sewed the two cushions together.
They were piled up to a height that required a difficult climb to reach, like a black bean.
"Grandma, isn't it a bit too high?"
"Not too high, not too high."
Grandma placed the black beans on the mat, watched the little guy lying on it, unconsciously kicking his legs, and smiled.
"The kitten grows very fast, it changes every day, and soon it will be able to jump up there."
As soon as Grandma finished speaking, Black Bean, who had just woken up, rolled off the mat.
Chu Ci thought it would struggle to climb up, but to her surprise, it pushed off with its hind legs and jumped up directly.
Grandma laughed and said, "See? I told you black beans are amazing!"
Seeing her holding the kitten with obvious affection, Chu Ci stroked the black-haired kitten's head.
Wow, that's amazing! He won Grandma's heart in such a short time.
With the appointed time for Zhuang Jingxuan fast approaching, she said goodbye to her grandmother and Hei Dou and went to the hospital to keep her appointment.
As they took the elevator downstairs, Zhuang Jingxuan's assistant was already waiting at the building entrance.
Chu Ci hadn't expected Zhuang Jingxuan to send someone to pick her up, and casually asked:
"Is your CEO Zhuang in such a hurry to see me?"
The assistant, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at Chu Ci through the rearview mirror.
The smile on his lips was somewhat forced: "Our CEO Zhuang has encountered some trouble, so he asked us to pick you up as soon as possible."
Chu Ci raised an eyebrow. "Troublesome?"
The assistant nodded and handed over two photos.
"Last night, before the Ghost Festival was even over, our boss Zhuang..."
The assistant paused, somewhat conflicted: "President Zhuang's stepfather died in prison."
Chu Ci frowned as she looked at the photos of the death scene in her hand.
She happened to be there yesterday when the old housekeeper gouged out Zhuang Jingxuan's father's eyeballs.
I thought the scene was already bloody enough, but I didn't expect that Zhuang Ma's lover would die even more tragically.
Not only was his body beaten until it was a bloody mess, but his stomach was also ripped open, with his internal organs and blood spilling all over the ground.
Chu Ci returned the two photos to his assistant, puzzled.
"What does this have to do with your boss, Mr. Zhuang?"
Assistant: "When our CEO Zhuang's... stepfather died, the prison's surveillance cameras captured a figure."
"Although the face was not clearly visible, the police investigation revealed that it was a woman."
"Currently, the only woman with a motive to kill him is our CEO Zhuang."
Surveillance was not widespread in those days; generally, only wealthy families would install it in their homes.
There are also some public areas, but they are all installed in more important places.
Clearly, prison is one such example.
However, due to technical limitations, even if something is captured, it is not clear.
Often, even if the details are unclear, it is enough to provide clues to the police.
But Zhuang Jingxuan was affected.
Chu Ci: "Wasn't your CEO Zhuang at the hospital all night?"
"Medical staff can help her provide proof of her presence!"
The assistant glanced at Chu Ci in the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with doubt.
"Master Chu, our General Manager Zhuang was not at the hospital all night last night."
"When our CEO Zhuang's stepfather was murdered in prison, CEO Zhuang was paying respects to his grandfather."
As luck would have it, it was the Ghost Festival that day, and Mr. Zhuang gave all the household servants a day off.
Therefore, when she was suspected, no one could provide her with an alibi.
That being said, when Chu Ci met Zhuang Jingxuan, she was in pretty good spirits.
When Chu Ci entered the ward, the police officer who was taking her statement had just left.
Zhuang Jingxuan, dressed in a hospital gown, sat on the hospital bed, intently watching a DVD.
Her assistant reminded her, "President Zhuang, Master Chu has arrived."
Zhuang Jingxuan quickly spat out the chicken bone from her mouth, wiped the oil off her hands, and moved to the side.
"Master, please sit!"
Chu Ci found a stool and sat down next to her bed. "What did the police say to you just now?"
"They didn't say anything, just told me to stay in Hong Kong until the investigation results came out, and not to go abroad or anything like that."
Zhuang Jingxuan waved her hand dismissively and gave a cold snort.
"You think you can put me in jail based on that blurry and messy video? Do you think my lawyers are just sitting around doing nothing?"
She shrugged, not wanting to continue the topic, and steered the conversation toward her father.
"Master, let me tell you! Last night was absolutely terrifying!"
Her eyes widened, her pupils trembling slightly.
“Around 3 a.m. yesterday, I was on the phone with my friend when I suddenly heard my dad scream…”
"Oh right, I forgot to mention, my dad is quite shameless. He was worried that my mom wouldn't die, so he insisted on being hospitalized next to hers."
After briefly recounting the background, she swallowed.
"After hearing my dad scream, a nurse and I ran as fast as we could into his room, and guess what I saw?"
She gestured with her hand to indicate the location of her eyes.
"My dad actually gouged out his own eyeballs!"
Recalling that scene, her face scrunched up, and even the chicken beside her didn't taste good anymore.
"Blood was splattered all over the floor, and the walls were covered in blood."
"Most importantly, my dad lost his tongue too!"
"He's deaf and blind now, and his mistress is crying in my dad's hospital room with her twins!"
When the topic of mistresses came up, the fear on her face disappeared, replaced by a hint of disgust.
"My assistants went out to help me with some business. I heard that many patients complained that the mistress was crying and making a scene, disturbing other people's rest."
"Now, my dad probably wishes he were deaf too!"
As she spoke, she got out of bed.
"Master, you haven't met that mistress yet, have you? I'll take you to see her!"
Chu Ci quickly stopped her, "Let's not. You're already in the hospital, so don't make things difficult for yourself."
"I'm fine."
Zhuang Jingxuan waved her hand dismissively, "I was just scared by my dad last night, and I have a slight fever, it's nothing!"
She excitedly led Chu Ci toward Zhuang's father's hospital room, and they could hear crying from afar.
The woman's cries mingled with the child's shrill screams, and the surrounding patients all looked utterly helpless.
As she approached the ward door, Zhuang Jingxuan pointed to the young woman inside.
"Master, that's the one."
He was a very young and beautiful young man, who looked even younger than Zhuang Jingxuan.
With an oval face and almond-shaped eyes, she would have looked pitiful if it weren't for the two children crying loudly beside her.
However, with her hair up and wearing dark clothes that didn't suit her age, she gave off the impression of a child wearing an adult's clothes.
Zhuang Jingxuan: "It's funny to think about it, my mom even helped her."
"She was 13 years old when her father was in a car accident, and the family was almost driven to death by poverty."
"My mom was doing charity work at the time, so she took the initiative to cover her dad's surgery fees and also helped them find jobs."
"He even kept funding her schooling."
She leaned against the wall, a forced smile on her face, and clapped her hands lightly.
"But what happened? It was clearly my mother who saved their family, but she insisted on going to my father to repay the favor."
"As she was getting pregnant, she ended up in bed with my father's child."
"Now they not only want to use my grandfather's money to raise their child, but they also plan to kick my mother out and take my place, and steal my grandfather's inheritance from me!"
As Zhuang Jingxuan was speaking, the young woman came out from inside.
Upon seeing Zhuang Jingxuan at the door, the young woman, who was also Zhuang Jingxuan's stepmother, was stunned.
A fawning smile forced onto his young, inexperienced face. "Xiao Xuan, you're here!"
She quickly made way for Zhuang Jingxuan, "Go see your dad, he keeps talking about you!"
Zhuang Jingxuan rolled her eyes.
"He doesn't even have a tongue anymore, how can he be talking about me?"
Zhuang Jingxuan's stepmother: "..."
She glanced at Zhuang Jingxuan, pursed her lips tightly, and with a blink, tears streamed down her face.
"Xiaoxuan, don't say that..."
Zhuang Jingxuan's fiery temper flared up instantly.
"My dad's blind now, so don't try that on him, he can't see!"
She looked at her stepmother's tears with disgust.
"You used this trick before to make my dad argue with my mom and me. Do you want to use it again now?"
"The audience is blind, who are you trying to impress?"
"Besides, those audience members are all useless, what do you expect them to fight for you?"
Before her stepmother could say anything, Zhuang Jingxuan grabbed Chu Ci and tried to leave.
"Let's go, Master, let's go back to my ward and talk."
But she pulled on it, and it wouldn't budge.
"master?"
Chu Ci glanced at the person behind Zhuang Jingxuan and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Attorney Bai?"
Bai Shengtian stood behind Zhuang Jingxuan's stepmother, never expecting to meet Chu Ci here.
"Master Chu?"
Zhuang Jingxuan's stepmother was at a loss when she realized that they knew each other.
"You...are friends?"
Bai Shengtian nodded. "Ms. Chu and I are friends."
Seeing that she had no relation to Zhuang Jingxuan, the stepmother was relieved.
Just as she was about to say something, Zhuang Jingxuan snorted coldly.
"Attorney Bai, is that right?"
She stared at her stepmother's embarrassed face and smiled, "Could I have a business card?"
The stepmother's face immediately darkened, and her eyes grew increasingly red.
"Zhuang Jingxuan, what are you trying to do?"
"Nothing."
Zhuang Jingxuan took Bai Shengtian's business card and waved it in front of her stepmother.
"I just want you to return all the benefits you took from my house, and then go back to where you got them from."
Her stepmother stared at her with red eyes, her fists clenched at both sides.
"Zhuang Jingxuan, I gave birth to two children for your father, so we're practically relatives now, aren't we?"
"I don't need much money, just enough to raise two children. That amount is nothing to you. Why are you trying to drive me to my death?"
"Force you to your death?" Zhuang Jingxuan sneered.
"Those two bastards you gave birth to are here to steal my family property. Why should I show mercy to the mother of those two bastards?"
"Stop threatening me with your life or death. What does it matter to me whether you live or die?"
As the two argued, patients who were taking a walk nearby gradually stopped to watch the commotion.
The stepmother was trembling with anger as these people stared at her like she was a monkey.
With a determined look on his face, he thought, "Fine, you're determined to kill me, aren't you? Fine, I'll die right here!"
After saying that, she ran two steps, suddenly opened the window, and jumped onto the windowsill.
The nurses and patients who were still watching the commotion were terrified and rushed over to stop them.
"Hey, young lady, you're still so young, why are you thinking like this? Come down here right now!"
The nurse was also anxious, "Miss, it's too dangerous here. Can we talk this out?"
If someone jumps off a building in a hospital, it will definitely make the front page of the newspapers!
The stepmother sat on the windowsill, clinging tightly to the window frame with both hands, tears streaming down her face.
"I don't want to die either, but I really can't go on living!"
She pointed at Zhuang Jingxuan while crying.
“This is my husband’s daughter. She made my husband disabled, and she won’t give my two children a single penny!”
"I know you don't like stepmothers, but my two children are your own brothers and sisters! How can you be so heartless!"
"Now even when I hire a lawyer, she tries to bribe him... I really can't go on living like this!"
Bai Shengtian frowned and hurriedly spoke:
"Mrs. Zhuang, you can't say that."
“We lawyers also have professional ethics. Since we took your case, we will do our best to help you. How can you say that?”
But the stepmother wouldn't listen and clung to the window, ready to jump out.
The onlookers quickly advised her not to jump, and some elderly people scolded Zhuang Jingxuan as her elders.
"You're such a fair-skinned girl, how can you be so insensible?"
“Your father is in trouble, so you have to take responsibility for your younger siblings! How could you drive your stepmother to her death?”
Others advised her, "My dear girl, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. Why don't you agree to your stepmother's request first and let her calm down?"
Zhuang Jingxuan rolled her eyes.
"She wanted to jump off the building herself, what does it have to do with me?"
"She's an adult, she has hands and feet, how can I control her?"
Even as she said this, she couldn't help but ask Chu Ci in a low voice.
"Master, do you think she might really jump off the building?"
Chu Ci looked at her stepmother, who was sitting on the windowsill with half her body leaning out of the window, wailing incessantly.
He shook his head. "Judging from her appearance, she'll live to be over seventy."
Zhuang Jingxuan was immediately relieved. "That's good."
She waved to her stepmother.
"You can jump if you want, don't threaten me. I have no interest in other people's lives."
After saying that, he swaggered into his hospital room.
Seeing that Zhuang Jingxuan ignored her, the stepmother, crying and sobbing, climbed down from the windowsill amidst the "persuasion" of the onlookers.
Bai Shengtian hesitated for a moment before handing over the folder in his hand.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Zhuang, our law firm cannot handle the matter of Mr. Zhuang's property division."
“We haven’t signed a contract yet, so you can use this time to look for other law firms.”
After saying that, she left before Zhuang Jingxuan's stepmother could answer, her high heels clicking as she went.
Back in the ward, Zhuang Jingxuan lay on the bed in a good mood and handed Chu Ci a banana.
"It was just flown in from overseas, would you like some?"
Chu Ci waved his hand, "No need. Tell me why you called me here."
Zhuang Jingxuan put down her hand that was about to eat the banana and suppressed the smile on her face.
"I think my dad gouged out his own eyes because he encountered a ghost."
Her eyes were serious, and her lips were tightly pressed together.
He wanted to say more, but saw Chu Ci nod lightly.
"I know."
Not only did she know, she was there at the time.
Zhuang Jingxuan's eyes widened. "He really encountered a ghost? What kind of ghost?"
Slapping her thigh, Zhuang Jingxuan's eyes were filled with pleasure.
“I knew he’d get his comeuppance for his bullying ways!”
However, before she could even be happy for two seconds, Chu Ci poured cold water on her joy.
"That ghost is none other than your housekeeper, the old lady."
Zhuang Jingxuan froze upon hearing the name of the old housekeeper.
"Grandma Housekeeper?"
Chu Ci nodded.
"Your housekeeper is worried about you and your mother. She's afraid that you, as a girl, can't fight against your father and will be bullied."
"So it was because you helped deal with your dad and the gigolo who hurt your mom that you were taken away to be reincarnated."
She patted the stunned Zhuang Jingxuan, "When your mother gets better, go and offer incense to the old lady."
The old lady was extreme in her actions, but she was wholeheartedly devoted to Zhuang Jingxuan's mother.
Regardless, her mother should go and thank the old lady.
As Chu Ci emerged from Zhuang Jingxuan's hospital room, she immediately spotted Bai Shengtian waiting outside.
"Master Chu!"
Bai Shengtian walked over with a smile and offered to take Chu Ci home.
She was beaming with joy, her whole being radiating a sense of elation.
“Master, I plan to leave the law firm and start a non-profit legal aid center.”
"You're planning to do charity work?" Chu Ci asked in surprise.
"Yes. Originally, I planned to take Mrs. Zhuang's case and then set up the aid center after a while."
"But I didn't have a good impression of Mrs. Zhuang, so I didn't want to take her case. It's good that I can resign sooner."
Bai Shengtian's smile was complicated.
“After taking on Ren Wenguang’s case, I realized that there were aspects of Hong Kong that I didn’t yet understand.”
“My family is well-off, and for many years I have been fighting economic lawsuits. I have never understood what the people at the bottom need.”
“Anyway, I have food to eat now, and my parents can also support me financially, so I plan to do something truly useful.”
When they arrived at Chu Ci's shop, Bai Shengtian pointed to a small, closed shop at the corner.
"I've rented this shop; I just signed the contract yesterday."
She pointed at the shop, her eyes sparkling with anticipation for the future.
"The economic development of Kwun Tong District is average, and the rent is not as outrageously expensive as in other districts."
"Most importantly, I feel that people here need legal aid more."
"The shop is a bit small, but I'm the only employee right now, so it should be enough."
She stopped her car in front of the small shop and took out her keys.
"Want to go in and take a look?"
Chu Ci followed her inside; the room was smaller than she had imagined.
It's about 20 square meters. There are traces of dismantled scaffolding on the walls, and a lot of dust and muddy footprints on the floor.
It might not even be as big as Bai Shengtian's bedroom.
But Bai Shengtian was quite satisfied with this.
She stretched in the empty little house, her voice languid and her tone carefree.
"Now I can finally file lawsuits according to my own wishes, and I don't have to put up with my boss's attitude anymore!"
After walking around the small house, she turned to Chu Ci and gave him a big smile.
"Master, if there are any people like Ren Wenguang's wife and children who can't afford a lawyer in the future, please be sure to recommend them to me."
"I'll represent them in court for free!"
Chu Ci looked at the small room and couldn't help but smile.
"Sure, you can call me if you get too busy in the future."
She clenched her fist and waved it in front of Bai Shengtian.
“If you run this kind of aid center all by yourself, you’re bound to encounter a lot of difficult people.”
"Call me when the time comes, and I guarantee no one will be able to touch you!"
Bai Shengtian smiled and clenched his fist, then bumped it with hers.
"Then I'll thank you in advance, Master!"
Chu Ci planned to clean the shop with her later.
On second thought, I actually remembered someone who might need legal aid.
"This afternoon, two sisters came to see me. The older sister's face was covered in bruises from being beaten by her husband. She said she wanted a divorce, but her husband kept dragging his feet..."
Bai Shengtian's eyes lit up. "My first customer has arrived so quickly?"
She pressed further, "What's that woman's name? Where does she live? What's her phone number? What does her husband do?"
She rattled off a bunch of questions, but Chu Ci couldn't answer any of them.
"I only know her name is Wu Xiuying, and that's all I know."
Bai Shengtian was slightly disappointed, but not discouraged.
"It's alright, Master. If you see her again in the future, just have her come over!"
Chu Ci nodded, "Okay."
She waited for two days in a row, hoping that Wu Xiuying and her sister would come again.
But no one came.
On the third day, she finally saw her younger sister, Wu Xiushan.
However, it was at the funeral home with Bai Shengtian that they held a funeral for the mother and son ghosts who had been haunting her.
Wu Xiushan, the younger sister, removed all her ear cartilage piercings and eyebrow piercings, and took off her makeup, revealing a bare, white face.
Her golden hair lay limply against her face, and she wore a simple black outfit.
He walked with heavy steps, looking lost and dejected.
She was also holding a black-and-white portrait of her sister, Wu Xiuying, in her arms.
With the guidance of the funeral home staff, they chose a good spot for her sister's urn.
After settling her sister in, Wu Xiushan caught a glimpse of Chu Ci, who had been watching her intently from a distance.
Upon recognizing Chu Ci, her lifeless eyes instantly focused.
She pursed her lips, glared fiercely at Chu Ci, and turned to leave.
Chu Ci frowned and quickly caught up with her, "Wait!"
She stood in front of Wu Xiushan, but before she could even touch Wu Xiushan, she was almost pushed over.
Wu Xiushan shoved her hard, her eyes instantly turning red.
"You liar! Why are you stopping me!"
The pent-up emotions of the past few days suddenly found an outlet, and she grabbed Chu Ci's collar.
Tears streamed down her face.
"You liar! You said my sister and I weren't haunted by ghosts!"
"But my sister was scared to death by a ghost! She was scared to death!"
"Are you still going to say my mom didn't pester us?!"
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