The so - called "summoning the spirit to possess the body" means borrowing a living person's body to let a wronged soul possess it, so as to understand the unfulfilled wishes of the wronged soul.
Most of the common people in the State of Yu believed in ghosts and gods. On the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, they would go to the temples or the City God's Temple near the capital to pay their respects. Therefore, the saying of "summoning the spirit to possess the body" was not unfamiliar to those present.
Ji Lingchuan was a god of war who had seen much blood on the battlefield. In fact, he didn't really believe in such things. However, since the Princess of Ningqin was a devout Buddhist, he wasn't averse to it. He said,
"This matter concerns the lives of the Marquis and the Marchioness of Ding'an. Please do your best, Reverend."
Although Song Nanxin hesitated, thinking of Meng's current state, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
After all three of them had spoken, Reverend Mingfa began to make preparations.
First, she asked the young nun to dip a willow branch in some holy water and sprinkle it on her body. Then she took out a prayer wheel and started walking around the room while chanting scriptures.
The young nun followed behind her, knocking on the wooden fish in her hand.
The sound of "tap, tap, tap" mixed with the chanting. Whether it was an illusion or not, Song Nanxin felt a chill creeping over her, making her skin crawl. She subconsciously rubbed her arms.
When she reached the door, Reverend Mingfa suddenly stopped. Her body began to twitch, and her eyes rolled up, looking extremely terrifying.
Song Nanxin was so frightened that she let out a scream and tightly grabbed Granny Zhao's hand beside her.
Song Yihuan also looked scared and hid behind Ji Lingchuan. Ji Lingchuan glanced at her and quietly held out his hand for her to grasp.
Reverend Mingfa's twitching didn't last long. It stopped soon. She stood still quietly, then suddenly raised her eyes and looked at Meng, who was lying unconscious on the couch, laughing.
"Meng Yulan, I never thought you'd end up like this."
Hearing Reverend Mingfa call out Meng's name, Song Nanxin's heart was pounding in her throat. Was there really a ghost in this room?!
Ji Lingchuan asked in a deep voice, "Which wandering soul is causing trouble in the Marquis Ding'an's Mansion and scaring the people here?"
Reverend Mingfa rolled her rigid eyes and looked at Ji Lingchuan. "Who am I? I'm the poor soul who was killed by them! They insulted me, scolded me, and treated me harshly. I was always careful and tried to compromise in everything, but they still wouldn't let me go. They wanted to kill me and my unborn child, which led to my difficult labor and separation from my children! Wuwuwu..."
At the end, Reverend Mingfa began to cry.
Song Nanxin dug her nails deeply into Granny Zhao's flesh.
With tears in her eyes, Song Yihuan called out in disbelief, "Mother, is that you? Have you come back?"
Reverend Mingfa looked at her, seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then replied tremblingly, "Yihuan, my dear Yihuan."
Song Yihuan was about to step forward and hug Reverend Mingfa, but Granny Chen stopped her in time. She gave Song Yihuan a meaningful look and said, "Fourth Miss, you're pregnant now. Don't get too close to the ghost, or you might harm the fetus."
Song Yihuan cried sadly, "Mother, Yihuan misses you so much. Over the years, why have you never come back to see Yihuan and Xuan'er?"
The scene of the "mother - daughter" reunion seemed touching, but it also gave people the creeps.
Song Nanxin had a hunch that something was wrong, but she couldn't figure it out.
Among them, Ji Lingchuan was the calmest. He remembered that Reverend Mingfa had said the words "kill me and my unborn child" just now. He asked,
"Just now you said that your difficult labor was caused by someone. What's going on?"
Reverend Mingfa's crying expression instantly turned cold. She raised her stiff finger and pointed in the direction of Song Nanxin, but her eyes were fixed on Meng.
"Back then, when I was pregnant, I was extremely cautious in the Marquis's Mansion to protect the child in my belly. I never dared to argue with anyone and always carefully inspected the food I ate. The child in my belly was very obedient and never caused any trouble."
"According to the due date, the child should have been born at full - term. However, when I was eight months pregnant, I became thinner and thinner, while the fetus in my belly grew bigger and bigger. On the day of Lesser Fullness in the ninth month, the fetus came prematurely..."
At this point, Reverend Mingfa covered her face and cried.
"But I tried and tried, but I just couldn't give birth. It hurt so much, really hurt so much..."
Suddenly, she raised her head again and looked at Meng behind her. Her eyes were filled with hatred. "Someone must have harmed me. Someone wanted to kill me and my unborn child!"
Song Nanxin clenched her sleeves and tried to calm herself down. She retorted,
"You're talking nonsense. My mother was also pregnant at that time. How could she have harmed you? Besides, giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell for a woman. It was just your bad luck. How can you blame my mother?"
The reason why she dared to speak at this time was that no one knew what had really happened back then, and Concubine Rou had been dead for so many years. There was no way to prove anything.
After hearing her words, Reverend Mingfa let out a shrill laugh. "Not her? If it wasn't her, why has she become like this? She's clearly - conscience - stricken!"
Just as Song Nanxin was about to retort again, Ji Lingchuan said, "Since there are doubts about what happened back then, we should investigate it clearly. I'm the heir of the Prince of Ningqin. I'll make a deal with you in the name of the heir. You leave the Marquis's Mansion and stop causing trouble here. I'll investigate what happened back then and give you the truth."
Song Nanxin tightened her grip on the armrest and blurted out, "Your Highness, this is inappropriate."
Ji Lingchuan looked at her and said calmly, "This is the only way to bring peace to the Marquis's Mansion and save the Marquis and the Marchioness. Even if you put aside your identity as the Princess of the Heir of the Prince of Ningqin, as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, you should show filial piety to your parents."
Song Nanxin was left speechless by his words.
Song Yihuan looked up slightly at Ji Lingchuan's profile. His face was cold and serious, his eyes were dark and steady, and his figure was imposing. He always gave people a strong sense of security.
She knew that with his words, her mother's death back then wouldn't be ignored. He would definitely make sure to find out the whole truth.
Reverend Mingfa laughed twice and said, "A man should keep his word. I'm waiting for the day when my grievances will be washed away."
After saying that, she closed her eyes. Her body began to twitch violently again and she fell straight down. The young nun behind her quickly stepped forward to support her falling body and shook her,
"Master, are you okay?"
Reverend Mingfa opened her eyes. Her body trembled again. Finally, she seemed to have returned to normal, but her face was much paler than before, as if all her strength had been drained.
"I - I'm okay."
Ji Lingchuan's eyes lightly swept over her. He called out to the outside, "Fuzhou, take my token and go to the yamen to ask someone to come. Investigate the reason why Concubine Rou in the Marquis's Mansion died of difficult labor four years ago."