Jiang Zhao had no idea why Jiang Changlin remained silent. Could it be that he had forgotten the Elder Madame Jiang?
That shouldn't be the case. He remembered the people from the Marquis of Ningyuan's Mansion. How could he forget the Elder Madame Jiang?
Since he didn't say a word, Jiang Zhao could only let it be.
When the time was right, Jiang Zhao whispered in the Elder Madame Jiang's ear, "Grandmother, Uncle should leave."
"Changlin... Changlin, don't go..." The Elder Madame Jiang became emotional.
Jiang Zhao said in a solemn voice, "Grandmother, if you want to force Uncle to stay here, it's not impossible. But it won't do any good to Uncle or you."
Hearing this, the Elder Madame Jiang shook her head and endured the pain with difficulty. "Let him go. Don't try to trap him."
"Okay." As Jiang Zhao waved her hand, the rice was scattered on the ground, and Jiang Changlin in the bronze mirror disappeared.
Jiang Zhao stretched her tired body. It had really taken a toll on her energy.
After taking a short rest, she picked up all the rice on the ground, put it in a red cloth, and also put the paper figure into it. She planned to take them out and burn them.
"Grandmother, it's getting late. I'll go back first. You should also rest." Before leaving, Jiang Zhao didn't forget to cover the bronze mirror and told the Elder Madame Jiang not to look into it.
Who knew who might be seen in the mirror then.
The Elder Madame Jiang understood the taboos and agreed to Jiang Zhao's words.
...
After Jiang Zhao left the Pine and Crane Hall, she had to pass by the ancestral shrine on her way back to her own courtyard.
Since Jiang Yunxi was still kneeling in punishment inside, the ancestral shrine was still lit, but there wasn't a single page boy outside.
Jiang Zhao paused for a moment and then walked straight towards the ancestral shrine.
She stopped not far from the ancestral shrine and took out the items she had brought from the Elder Madame Jiang and placed them on the ground.
She took out a fire starter and lit them right there.
The reason she chose this place was to scare Jiang Yunxi. Anyway, the ancestors of the Marquis of Ningyuan's Mansion had already left.
They were no longer in the mansion, so there were no taboos.
Inside the room, Jiang Yunxi was kneeling crookedly in front of the ancestral tablets, dozing off.
Just then, there came a rustling sound from outside.
Jiang Yunxi woke up instantly and straightened his body.
Jiang Yunxi wrinkled his nose. He seemed to smell the odor of burning paper!
Burning paper?! Who would burn paper at the ancestral shrine in the middle of the night?!
Thinking of this, Jiang Yunxi's hair stood on end. "Who! Who's out there!"
Jiang Yunxi raised his voice, as if trying to boost his courage. "Who on earth is pretending to be a ghost?!"
"Jiang Zhao, is it you?!"
As he finished speaking, the smell of ash seemed to get stronger. It was dead silent outside without any sound.
Now Jiang Yunxi was sure that it must be that little brat Jiang Zhao outside. He wasn't so scared anymore and even felt like laughing.
"Jiang Zhao, do you really think I'm scared easily? If you've got something to do, get out of here quickly. Don't wait for me to go out and beat you up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ancestral tablet on the offering table suddenly fell down with a thud.
Jiang Yunxi looked up sharply, but there was nothing there.
If Jiang Zhao was outside, then who did this?
"Rat! Yes, it must be a rat!" Just as Jiang Yunxi was trying to comfort himself, he watched in horror as the offering fruits on the table, which had been placed neatly, fell off by themselves.
It was as if they were being pushed by an invisible hand and slowly rolled towards his feet.
"Jiang... Jiang Zhao... Stop playing... " Jiang Yunxi swallowed hard, and his voice was trembling.
Whoosh!
A black figure flashed behind the pillar at an extremely fast speed. That was definitely not a speed that a rat or a human could have.
It was so fast that it seemed like an illusion.
Jiang Yunxi was silent for three seconds and then let out a shrill scream. "Aaaah!"
"There's a ghost!" Jiang Yunxi couldn't hold it in any longer. He jumped up from the cushion, but his legs were numb from kneeling for too long. He could only crawl towards the door on all fours.
To prevent Jiang Yunxi from running away halfway, the door had been locked from the outside.
Jiang Yunxi cried and howled, shaking the door panel with both hands. "Open the door! Open the door quickly!"
At this moment, Jiang Zhao had just walked out of the ancestral shrine. She wrinkled her nose. She seemed to smell a strange odor.
Before she could think it over, she heard Jiang Yunxi's wails from inside.
She turned around in confusion. It couldn't be. This Jiang Yunxi was really a coward.
All she had done was burn some things. Was it really necessary to be so scared?
"Coward." Jiang Zhao shook her head and walked away leisurely.
The servants also heard the commotion and quickly let Jiang Yunxi out.
Jiang Yunxi jumped onto a page boy and kept saying that there was a ghost in the ancestral shrine.
A few page boys went in together to take a look, but there was nothing.
The offering fruits were still in the plate, and the ancestral tablets hadn't fallen either.
When they told this to Lady Wang, Lady Wang thought that Jiang Yunxi was just trying to be lazy and gave him another beating.
Jiang Yunxi was like a dumb person eating bitter herbs. He had to suffer in silence. He had really seen it!
...
In the next few days, Jiang Zhao locked herself in her room and didn't go out. She was preparing things to find out the location of Jiang Changlin's bones.
Jiang Lanzhi had also told the steward to level the yard. As for the path in front of the door, it couldn't be blocked, so she placed a pair of bronze horses in a lucky position.
The steward originally wanted to cut down the old locust tree in the yard, but Jiang Zhao refused.
If it was cut down, Lü Yun might cause trouble again.
As for Lü Yun and her not disturbing each other, Jiang Zhao wasn't in a hurry. She knew that Lü Yun would need her help sooner or later.
In the Third Branch, there was a huge commotion. Just as Jiang Zhao had said, Jiang Yunxi had been unlucky every day in these few days.
He was even unlucky enough to choke on cold water. After a few days, he was covered in injuries of all sizes.
But none of them were fatal. Now Jiang Yunxi didn't even dare to go out.
Ever since Jiang Yuyao received the wooden plaque from Jiang Zhao, she had worn it every day. It had really worked in the first few days.
She didn't see that dark figure again, and she didn't cry at night either. She slept soundly until dawn.
But after two peaceful days, the trouble started again.
Jiang Yuyao knew that it was useless to tell Lady Wang. Her mother would only take her to see the mansion doctor and make her drink that bitter and spicy medicine soup every day.
Not only did it have no effect, but it also made her vomit every day.
Finally, Jiang Yuyao couldn't bear it anymore. She came to find Jiang Zhao crying. "Is my eldest sister at home?"
Xiaoman was busy in the yard. Seeing Jiang Yuyao wiping her tears, she quickly nodded. "Third Miss, please wait a moment. I'll go and call the eldest lady."
Jiang Zhao was a little surprised to hear that Jiang Yuyao had come. Lady Wang didn't allow Jiang Yuyao to have too much contact with her.
It seemed that this girl had come secretly on her own.
"What's wrong, Yaoyao?" Jiang Zhao wiped the tears from Jiang Yuyao's face with her sleeve.
Jiang Yuyao mysteriously pulled her into the room and tugged at the corner of her clothes. "Eldest sister, I can't sleep at night... There's a dark figure looking down at me..."
Jiang Zhao asked, "Didn't you wear the wooden plaque I gave you?"
"I did, I did. I wear it every day. It worked at first, but these days I feel that the dark figure is getting closer and closer to me..."
Jiang Zhao's eyes turned cold. She immediately sensed something was wrong and went to Jiang Yuyao's courtyard with her.
Jiang Yuyao stopped at the door. She grabbed the door frame with both hands and refused to go in no matter what.
Jiang Zhao had no choice but to give up. She went in to take a look by herself. As soon as she took a step inside, she covered her nose and backed out.