Chapter 207: Possessed by an Evil Spirit
Early morning.
Birds chirped and flowers bloomed.
Wu the Third and his group went to the city gate for work again.
Xiao Jia was off today.
They were not official employees of the Imperial Court; they only had two days of rest per month.
However, Wu the Third knew that Xiao Jia seemed to have performed another meritorious deed.
There would surely be a reward again.
Sigh, Xiao Jia had borrowed money to buy a small courtyard in the north of the city; with a few more rewards, he would be able to pay off his debt.
The others were envious and secretly encouraged themselves.
It was fine; as long as they kept their eyes peeled and watched those entering the city, they would always be able to spot suspicious characters.
For example, those applying for travel permits within the city who acted nervous and cowered.
During their training, they had been told which types of people were the most suspicious and needed special attention.
Wu the Third had actually encountered a group of people who looked a bit suspicious.
However, the other side had strength in numbers, so he didn’t dare to act rashly and just quietly reported it.
If there was truly a problem, he would receive a reward too.
It was quite embarrassing to say, but although he looked presentable and was not young anymore, he had never married and had been fooling around with Widow Liu, who sold tofu in the city.
Widow Liu only treated him as a stinking hooligan, but ever since he became a guide for the yamen and received a proper monthly salary, Widow Liu had softened and seemed willing to settle down with him.
If he could get a few more rewards, he also wanted to start a family.
…
Jiang Wan opened her eyes and looked at the scene before her; it was not the inn.
She looked down at herself; her clothes were intact.
Although she was cautious and had planned for a long time, she ultimately lacked experience living away from home.
In reality, while she felt her life had been full of ups and downs, she had always lived in luxury, surrounded by wealth and comfort.
Waking up in a strange place, Jiang Wan did not panic and scream; she remained relatively calm.
She observed her surroundings and listened for any sounds; it was very quiet.
She was no longer at the inn; she could not hear the hawking of vendors or any voices—it was very still.
This must be a private residence.
The air was stuffy, feeling as if she had been locked deep underground.
She had woken up on a bed; the bedding was clean but not expensive.
She got up.
There was no water in the room; if there were, she would have been cautious enough not to drink it this time.
She got up and walked around a few times, then tried to push the door, but it was locked.
Surprisingly, there were books in the room.
She found a book, sat down, and began to flip through it.
Although her heart was in turmoil, she still forced herself to remain calm.
Panic would not solve the problem.
In truth, she was already very panicked.
She held the book, forcing herself to read.
This was a casual book about ghosts and strange tales, and it seemed well-written.
Being in a strange place, with no friends or family in sight, she had actually started reading.
Just for this composure alone, it was something ordinary people would find hard to possess.
Censor He also played the role of a peeping tom for once.
He was curious; this Jiang the Second was unscrupulous in his methods.
Magistrate Huang had come to say that Old Madam Jiang was complaining that he had kidnapped her niece.
Jiang the Second had captured the person that very night.
He would not suffer any wrongful accusations at all.
The young lady did not look like she had been kidnapped, but rather like she was eloping with someone; she had even obtained a new travel permit, and had done something to her face—a stunningly beautiful woman made to look very plain.
However, when she was captured and brought back, she was the only one.
Censor He thought to himself that this Jiang the Second was truly an interesting character.
When others saw him, Old He, they would dodge him as quickly as possible.
Jiang the Second was different; when he saw him coming, he would pull him to drink tea, and not only pushed his own daughter to be his student, but even dragged him into his misdeeds.
Could Jiang the Second be a fool, not knowing what he, Old He, had built his career on?
Censor He felt a mix of amusement and frustration.
At first, he thought the young girl had run off to elope.
Reflecting on the whole affair, Magistrate Huang had said that Jiang the Second had captured the person that very night, which made him feel that Jiang the Second’s control over Jingzhou was terrifyingly strong.
He likely knew as soon as he entered the city, and had even tricked him into staying at the Censors Suite without offering reimbursement.
Commander Jiang: “Think what you want, it was just a coincidence.”
As a dignified Commander, did he really have that much free time to watch people every day? Naturally, he just instructed his subordinates to do it.
Commander Jiang had captured this young lady and actually called him to come and see.
Even if he hadn’t called, he would have come anyway.
But Jiang the Second did not play by the rules.
When others did things, they would do their best to hide them, but here, he was actively inviting him to participate.
He was a bit unaccustomed to it.
He had originally thought it was a family matter.
However, when Censor He saw this young lady, every move she made, he indeed felt something was off.
Could an ordinary young girl, having been suddenly captured, be this calm and steady?
She could even read books.
This composure—even he, an old man, could not achieve it.
But even if she had extraordinary composure, you shouldn’t have kidnapped her.
Kidnapping a young girl who was eloping, and being so secretive about it.
Jiang Changtian took a letter and handed it to Censor He.
Censor He saw what was written on it: “First day of the ninth month, The Former Crown Prince dies suddenly… Twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, the Seventh Prince ascends the throne… Sixteenth day of the first month of the Xing Year, Chu Xi is named Crown Prince…”
Censor He’s pupils constricted.
He only felt that the person who wrote this letter was simply insane, treasonous, and a lunatic.
Jiang Changtian calmly pointed to the girl in the room and said, “She wrote it. Look again, isn’t it much more interesting?”
The Master does not speak of strange phenomena or supernatural forces.
But in this world, there are indeed many strange things.
Jiang Changtian spoke up: “I suspect my niece is no longer my niece; I fear she has been possessed by an evil spirit.”
“Previously, when we raided Shangqiu Temple, we seized a book on how to identify evil spirits and how to make them tell the truth. I intend to try it.”
Censor He was speechless for a moment.
Perhaps the content on the letter was too shocking.
He actually did not object.
After all, how could a normal person say such treasonous things?
No matter how many mistakes The Former Crown Prince had made, one could not curse him to death.
This place was the basement of Jiang Mansion.
It was quite hidden.
One had to go down a dozen flights of stairs.
In his heart, Censor He did not know if this Jiang the Second trusted him too much or was brainless.
He had actually shown him such a secret chamber.
He did not know that this was just one of the small secret chambers in the Jiang Mansion.
One should be honest, of course, being honest with you about a part of it was already quite good.
Jiang Wan read the book and waited for someone.
Then she waited for Jiang Changtian, and her eyes were filled with terror.
She had actually guessed whether it might be her cousin’s men, but she had not expected it to be Jiang Changtian.
Seeing the old man beside Jiang Changtian, a glimmer of hope rose in her heart.
Although Censor He would often wipe out people’s nine generations, he was absolutely a gentleman and would not stand by and watch someone die.
Jiang Changtian threw the letter to her and asked, “Speak up, what is going on? How do you know these things?”
Jiang Wan looked at the content of the letter; it was exactly the same as her own notes, but she would absolutely never write this down.
Was she stupid?
Even if she wanted to win Chu Xi’s trust, she would not leave such a thing behind; at most, she would say it in person.
Moreover, the dates on it were wrong; they were written blindly.
But how could anyone else know these things?
Could she have written it while she was drugged?
She was somewhat terrified; seeing Jiang Changtian reminded her of the state of her own death, especially in this enclosed space when he was so close.
She retreated in terror, and the book in her hand fell to the floor.
“No, this is not what I wrote. No, it definitely wasn’t me; the dates don’t match, they don’t match, heh…”
She looked at the letter and touched her nose, suddenly feeling blood flowing out from it.
She wiped it with a handkerchief—it was not blood, but just clear yellow water.
Where did the water come from?
Jiang Changtian laughed.
Censor He:…
Looking at the uncle and niece in the room, for a moment he could not tell which one was the treasonous lunatic.
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