Jiang Zhao lazily blinked her eyes, as if she didn't notice He's embarrassment, and started talking on her own, "Uncle, you see, I've already said that Mother doesn't like me. It's okay to wait until tomorrow."
"You insisted on rushing back home. Now look, we're all going to be kicked out. It's been a wasted trip."
"Shut your mouth!" He was on the verge of a breakdown from fear. Her hands trembled constantly. Somehow, she felt that there seemed to be a pair of cold eyes on that empty chair, staring fixedly at her.
She wasn't sure if what this dead girl Jiang Zhao said was true or not, but it was precisely this uncertainty that made her even more flustered.
"Changlin, Changlin has been dead for so many years. His bones are long gone!"
"I never knew that your grandmother sent Old Zhang to look for his bones! Get out of here right now!"
Moreover, back then, Jiang Changlin had committed treason and was reviled by everyone. He had almost implicated the Marquis of Ningyuan's Mansion. Letting him die outside was already a mercy.
Jiang Zhao shrugged, "Since Mother doesn't want to see me so much, then I'll leave first."
"As for Uncle..." Jiang Zhao paused and continued, "This is Uncle's home. Naturally, he should stay here."
"Boom!" As soon as she finished speaking, just as Jiang Zhao stood up, deafening thunder and lightning followed immediately.
The sudden flash of lightning illuminated the room brightly.
He suddenly widened her eyes. Just now, she saw it!
On that empty grand master's chair, there sat a blurry human figure, with tattered clothes and a pale complexion.
It was slowly turning its head to look at her.
"Ahhhh!!!"
"There's a ghost!!" He's shrill scream pierced the sky, breaking the silence of the Marquis of Yong'an's Mansion.
...
Not long after, Jiang Zhao's father, the Marquis of Ningyuan, appeared in He's room.
The Marquis of Ningyuan's robe was a bit disheveled. He had spent the night with his concubine. When he heard that something had happened in his wife's room, he rushed over in a hurry.
"Making such a racket in the middle of the night. Where's your dignity!" The Marquis of Ningyuan first scolded He, who was slumped in the chair.
Then his gaze turned to the silent Jiang Zhao. Frowning, he said, "Zhao'er? Why did you come back in the rain in the middle of the night?"
Seeing the Marquis of Ningyuan, He was like a drowning man grabbing a life - saver. She tightly grabbed his sleeve and cried, "There's a ghost! It was brought by Jiang Zhao!"
"Jiang Zhao said she brought Jiang Changlin back! He's right there on the chair!"
"I saw it! I saw Changlin with my own eyes!"
"Nonsense!" Hearing this, the Marquis of Ningyuan's pupils constricted, but he showed no emotion on his face. He didn't believe a single word of what He said.
The Marquis of Ningyuan supported the limp He and calmly looked at Jiang Zhao, "Zhao'er, what did you just say to your mother?"
Jiang Zhao sat down again and said calmly, "I just told Mother that Grandmother missed Uncle's unburied bones, so she entrusted this matter to Old Zhang."
"Who knew that Old Zhang passed away before he could finish the job, so I had to take it over."
"But I'm so weak that I really can't go looking for the bones. So I just invited Uncle's soul back home first. Mother just didn't believe it, and Uncle was stubborn. He just showed himself in front of Mother."
The Marquis of Ningyuan frowned so tightly that he could pinch a mosquito. His tone was serious, "The gentleman does not speak of strange powers, chaos, or gods. You've been away from the mansion for many years. Have you even forgotten the most basic rules?"
"Even if you have grievances against your mother, you shouldn't make up such nonsense to scare her."
Jiang Zhao impatiently clicked her tongue and leaned her ear close to the grand master's chair as if listening to something.
Just as the Marquis of Ningyuan was about to say something, he saw the candle on the table go out with a puff, and the room immediately plunged into darkness.
He screamed again and struggled to climb onto the Marquis of Ningyuan.
Then, in the darkness, a familiar voice came, "Elder brother, the inkstone you gave me, I actually didn't throw it away."
"I hid it in the secret compartment under the desk in the study."
This voice was neither clearly male nor female. It was like Jiang Zhao's voice but more like Jiang Changlin's.
In the darkness, the Marquis of Ningyuan tightened his fists, and his breathing became heavier.
When he was young, he had indeed given his second younger brother an inkstone on his birthday.
Later, they had a fight. Jiang Changlin had smashed and thrown away the inkstone in front of him.
Since then, he had always been brooding about this matter, and there had always been a rift between the brothers.
The candle was relit, and the room brightened up.
The Marquis of Ningyuan pulled He off himself and stared at Jiang Zhao, "Someone, go to the second master's study and check if there's an inkstone under the secret compartment of the desk."
"Zhao'er, do you know the consequences of pretending to be a ghost?"
Jiang Zhao rubbed her temples and nodded, "I naturally know. It's nothing more than family punishment."
The servant took the order and rushed off, then rushed back.
When he came back, he was holding a wooden box in his hand. When he opened the box, there was indeed an inkstone inside.
The inkstone had been repaired, but the cracks on it couldn't be erased.
Jiang Zhao casually curled her lips, "Uncle still has a good memory."
With her words, the room fell into an eerie silence. He didn't even dare to cry out loudly.
The Marquis of Ningyuan just glanced at the inkstone and waved his hand for the servant to take it away.
His mind was in a complete mess now. Could such absurd things really exist in this world?
Jiang Zhao suddenly reached out her hand towards the Marquis of Ningyuan.
The Marquis of Ningyuan frowned, "What?"
"Of course it's for the money." Jiang Zhao raised her empty black eyes. Her red lips curled slightly, and her smile was a bit creepy. "You surely understand the principle of taking money to solve problems, Father."
"I've completed half of this task. When Old Zhang took this job, Grandmother promised a reward."
"Grandmother's wish is important, so please settle this reward, Father. I still have to burn some money for Uncle and Old Zhang."
The Marquis of Ningyuan: Are you okay?
"In this situation, you still remember that little bit of money?" The Marquis of Ningyuan looked at his daughter's self - assured appearance. A breath was stuck in his chest, unable to come up or go down.
"Wait until your grandmother gets up tomorrow and finds your uncle's bones. You'll surely get your reward."
"That won't do." Jiang Zhao's eyes darkened, and that eerie feeling came back again. "Only when the money is settled is the matter truly over."
"Well, it's okay to settle half of it first."
"Otherwise, Uncle might just stay here waiting." Jiang Zhao raised her eyebrows, "Surely the Marquis's Mansion isn't so poor that it can't even afford this little bit of money?"
Although she had predicted that the fortune of the Marquis of Ningyuan's Mansion was coming to an end,按理说, it shouldn't be so poor that it couldn't afford to pay for the burial of the dead.
The Marquis of Ningyuan felt his temples throbbing.
Seeing her like this, He quickly cried and shouted, "Give it to her! Hurry and give it to her!"
She just wanted to get rid of these two evil spirits, Jiang Zhao and Jiang Changlin, as soon as possible!
Goodness, this was killing her!
The Marquis of Ningyuan gritted his teeth and took off the money bag from his waist, throwing it to Jiang Zhao, "Take it!"
Jiang Zhao quickly caught it and weighed it in her hand.
The weight was quite good.
Then she quickly stuffed it into her bosom, "Now it's all good. We can all rest easy."
Before leaving, Jiang Zhao sized up the mansion and shook her head, "The evil aura is soaring into the sky. Doom is approaching."
"What do you mean?!" The Marquis of Ningyuan asked anxiously.
Jiang Zhao ignored him and walked away, talking to the invisible person beside her.
The Marquis of Ningyuan clenched his fists tightly and厉声 asked the servant beside him, "Did she come here like this?"
"Without an umbrella?"
The servant nodded, "When this servant saw the eldest young lady, she really wasn't holding an umbrella. And..." Yicui paused, "And, this servant noticed that there wasn't a single drop of water on the eldest young lady."
These words reached He's ears in the room. She rolled her eyes and fainted on the ground.
The Marquis of Ningyuan's Mansion was in a state of chaos.