After saying that, Jiang Yuwei stepped into the courtyard. Although Xia Yue was a little scared, she had no choice but to follow.
The two walked around the yard and saw that the whole yard was dilapidated and there were even traces of dried blood.
Jiang Yuwei was shocked just looking at it. Hundreds of people died in the courtyard overnight. What wrong had they done?
"Alas, this courtyard is truly dilapidated. If you want to move in, it really needs to be repaired properly. I see that the roof tiles are all broken beyond recognition."
Xia Yue sighed helplessly.
Jiang Yuwei nodded.
"Well, there's no rush to move in right now. The layout of the house needs to be changed. I'll go back and draw up a plan to study it carefully. Let's go back first and come back tonight."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei led a bewildered Xia Yue out of the courtyard. As soon as they were outside, Xia Yue quickly locked the gate, then turned back to follow Jiang Yuwei and asked, puzzled:
"Madam, didn't that old woman just say our courtyard is haunted? Why did she come over at night?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and turned to look at her.
"It's because it's haunted that I have to come here at night. If I want to live in this courtyard, I have to catch the ghost first."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei took Xia Yue to the place where Aunt Zhou and the others had set up their stall.
“Liu, I see you’re really getting into the swing of things with this money-collecting job.”
Liu, who was busy keeping accounts, looked up and saw that it was Jiang Yuwei. She immediately stood up happily.
"Madam, what brings you here today?"
Jiang Yuwei nodded with a smile.
"You sit down and do your work. I'll come over to check on you guys whenever I have time. Do you have enough manpower right now?"
"Right now I'm busy collecting money here, so we're a bit short-handed for setting up the stalls over there."
Jiang Yuwei looked around and saw that there were indeed many people queuing up, and it was not enough to have only Ning Wu and Uncle Cai in charge of running the waiters and controlling the order of the queue.
Jiang Yuwei thought that if she had the chance, she would hire a few more people to help with the stall, since the income from the stall was quite considerable for her at the moment.
Seeing that everyone was extremely busy, Jiang Yuwei instructed Liu Shi:
"After I finish setting up my stall tonight, I'll have Ningwu, Uncle Youcai, and Gou Dan from the Prince's Mansion come to me. I have something for them to do."
Liu nodded in agreement, and Jiang Yuwei then took Xia Yue back to the Jingwang Mansion. Right now, it wasn't enough for just the few of them to catch the ghost, since the courtyard was too big. If they missed any corner and the ghost escaped, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei went to find Ning Zixuan.
"Your Highness, I'm currently facing a difficult situation and would like to ask for your help."
Ning Zixuan put down the book in his hand and looked up at Jiang Yuwei.
"Just tell me what it is."
Jiang Yuwei didn't stand on ceremony; she walked straight to the table and sat down without any hesitation.
"The Emperor granted us a courtyard, and I thought it wouldn't do to leave it to waste like this, so I decided to renovate it."
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she picked up the teapot beside her and poured Ning Zixuan a glass of water, then poured one for herself.
"But when I went there today, I found out that the courtyard used to be inhabited by a family surnamed Sun. I heard from the neighbors that they had committed some kind of mistake, and overnight, all of their hundreds of family members died in that courtyard."
Jiang Yuwei paused in her hand holding the cup, then continued:
"The neighbor said that the house is haunted every night, so I thought I'd call a few strong men tonight to go and catch the ghost in the yard."
Upon hearing this, Ning Zixuan frowned and said:
"Haunted? You can catch ghosts?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled faintly.
"No, but who knows if it's a ghost or a person? I was thinking of borrowing a few skilled people from you. I can't let Aunt Zhou and the others move in without getting rid of the ghost in this courtyard."
Ning Zixuan nodded.
"I'll have Yunqing bring a dozen or so people over to help you later."
Ning Zixuan took a sip of tea and recalled:
"The Sun family mansion you mentioned should be the home of Sun Yu, the Minister of Personnel, more than ten years ago. At that time, someone anonymously reported that he was selling official positions, and later the emperor sent people to seal up the Sun mansion."
Ning Zixuan put down his teacup and continued:
"After their entire family was wiped out that night, no one in the capital dared to talk about it anymore. I was young at the time and had only heard about it, but I didn't know the details."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei frowned.
"You said that Sun Yu was the previous Minister of Personnel? Could this matter be related to the Lin family?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Zixuan gave Jiang Yuwei a complicated look.
"This matter has not been verified yet, and I can't say for sure, but it is true that Lin Qingfeng became the Minister of Personnel after Sun Yu's incident."
Jiang Yuwei nodded.
"Yes, this matter is indeed a bit strange, but right now we need to catch the ghost in that courtyard first."
After saying this, Jiang Yuwei got up and bid farewell to Ning Zixuan, returning to her own courtyard to continue making the gift for the princess.
That evening, Jiang Yuwei called Ning Huaizhi and a group of people and they walked towards the house together.
Everyone was carrying tools, and they heard that they were going to catch ghosts in the house tonight. Although they were all big and burly men, they couldn't help but have some doubts in their hearts.
Soon, the group arrived at the gate of the house in a grand procession. Jiang Yuwei opened the gate, pushed it open, went inside, and then closed it again, handing each person a lantern.
"I'm sorry to trouble you all tonight. Although we are here to catch ghosts, we are upright and have nothing to fear. You are all young men full of yang energy, and it is the ghosts who will be afraid of you."
Jiang Yuwei raised her whistle and continued speaking to everyone:
"If any problems arise, just blow the whistles hanging around your necks, and we'll all come to you. Stay in pairs and don't separate. Go search the courtyard for ghosts, and remember to look carefully in every nook and cranny."
The few people who were initially a little scared found Jiang Yuwei's words to be quite reasonable; ghosts should be afraid of people with strong yang energy.
With so many people in the yard right now, and with whistles in hand, if anything really happens, everyone will come as soon as the whistle blows, so there's no need to be afraid.
With that thought in mind, the group scattered and carefully searched for the ghost's figure.
Jiang Yuwei was paired with Ning Huaizhi. Ning Huaizhi led the way with a lantern, while Jiang Yuwei followed behind him, nervously listening to the sounds around them.
Soon she heard what sounded like low sobbing coming from inside a walled area, so Jiang Yuwei reached out and tugged at Ning Huaizhi in front of her, whispering:
“Huaizhi, I noticed no one has gone into this courtyard. Let’s go in and take a look. I think I hear some noises inside.”
Ning Huaizhi frowned upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, glanced at the small courtyard, and nodded, saying:
"Okay, let's go in and take a look. You follow behind me and be careful."
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