"Fuzhou, take my token and go to the yamen to request assistance." Ji Lingchuan kept his promise just now and intended to ask the yamen to thoroughly investigate this matter.
Song Nanxin felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her throat. She wanted to stop it, but didn't know how to speak. She could only watch helplessly as Fuzhou entered the room, took Ji Lingchuan's waist token, and quickly walked out.
Song Yihuan stood up and bowed deeply to Ji Lingchuan. Choking with sobs, she said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for caring about this matter and investigating it for my mother. Yihuan is extremely grateful."
Ji Lingchuan said, "Get up. Since there are doubts in this matter, it should be thoroughly investigated. Only in this way can we restore peace to the Marquis Mansion."
Supported by Feixue, Song Yihuan stood up. Then she heard Ji Lingchuan say, "You were the one who accompanied Concubine Rou the longest back then. When the officials from the yamen come, you should tell them everything you know and saw back then without hiding any details, so as not to mislead the judgment."
Song Yihuan replied, "Yes."
This matter should have ended here. All they needed to do next was to wait for the yamen to come and conduct an investigation. Song Nanxin felt extremely restless. Just as she was thinking about how to find an excuse to leave in advance, unexpectedly, Abbess Ming suddenly let out a strange cry.
"Ah!"
Everyone looked at Abbess Ming.
Abbess Ming had been helped up. Her eyes were wide open, and she looked at Song Nanxin in surprise. She pointed at the back of Song Nanxin and stammered, "This... this..."
Song Nanxin immediately got goosebumps all over her body. She nervously asked, "Abbess, what's wrong?"
"Behind the Princess, there's a, a, a vengeful spirit," Abbess Ming said with a pale face. "That vengeful spirit looks very young and is staring fixedly at the Princess!"
Very young? Could it be, could it be—
Song Nanxin felt as if someone had grabbed her throat. She turned her stiff neck and looked behind her, but there was nothing there.
Song Yihuan clutched her handkerchief and blurted out the name, "It's Xuan'er. Could it be that Xuan'er has come back to look for us?"
Nanny Chen had witnessed Abbess Ming's supernatural power just now. Seeing that Abbess Ming had made another discovery, she subconsciously put on a solemn expression.
"Abbess, are you sure? Is that vengeful spirit about four years old?"
Abbess Ming said, "The age should be about the same. And there's not a single intact piece of skin on that vengeful spirit's body. Its lips are purple, and there's blood oozing from its chest. Could it be that you recognize that vengeful spirit?"
Song Yihuan burst into tears. "Xuan'er. That's my younger brother, Song Yixuan!"
She rushed in front of Abbess Ming, grabbed the abbess's sleeve, and pleaded, "My younger brother has been missing in Xile Town for almost a month. We've searched everywhere but couldn't find any trace of him. We only found a blood - stained robe. How could he become a vengeful spirit? How could he be so badly injured?"
"Abbess, please, perform the spirit - summoning ritual again so that I can talk to him!"
The young nun behind Abbess Ming immediately said, "No. Summoning spirits consumes a great deal of yang energy and merits. The last time when we summoned that vengeful spirit, it has already damaged Master's body. She can't perform the spirit - summoning ritual again in the short term."
Ji Lingchuan stepped forward to support Song Yihuan, who was on the verge of collapsing. He said to Abbess Ming, "There's no need to perform the spirit - summoning ritual again. I just have a question for you, Abbess. Is there a reason for the appearance of a vengeful spirit?"
Abbess Ming replied, "Since it's a vengeful spirit, it must have suffered a great misfortune in its lifetime. When it died, it was filled with a strong resentment. It will be drawn by its obsession and go after its creditor to pester them."
The phrase "creditor" said it all.
Song Yixuan's death was probably related to Song Nanxin.
Song Nanxin caught the implication in Abbess Ming's words and immediately said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Song Yixuan's disappearance has nothing to do with me! You're the only one here who can see this so - called vengeful spirit. How do I know if this isn't a lie you made up?!"
Unexpectedly, Song Nanxin had hit the nail on the head. In fact, Abbess Ming couldn't see anything. Everything that had happened just now was done according to Song Yihuan's instructions.
Abbess Ming's eyes flickered. She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. After meeting Song Yihuan's gaze, remembering that she had been poisoned, she forced herself to look calm and said according to the script she had agreed with Song Yihuan before:
"Before the spirit - summoning ritual, I really couldn't see these things either. After the last spirit - summoning ritual, my body has been contaminated with ghostly qi, so I can now see the existence of vengeful spirits."
Song Yihuan didn't give Song Nanxin a chance to defend herself. She cried and said to Song Nanxin, "Sister, do you really not know where Xuan'er is? I found sister's earring at the place where I found Xuan'er's blood - stained robe. Sister, if you know where Xuan'er is, please tell me, okay?"
Song Nanxin was extremely flustered at this moment. She subconsciously searched for the figure that made her feel at ease. However, at this moment, everyone was looking at her with skeptical and condemning eyes, and Cui Muyuan wasn't even in the Marquis Mansion.
"It wasn't me. I've said it has nothing to do with me! I don't know how that earring got there. Don't make unfounded accusations against me!"
She then looked at Ji Lingchuan. "Your Highness sent so many people to search the post - house. Don't you know the situation? If I were related to Xuan'er's disappearance, why didn't anyone see me walking around in the post - house?"
"Moreover, the place where Xuan'er's blood - stained robe was found is in the mountain depression behind Xile Town. I've been staying in the post - house all the time. I don't know any martial arts. Could it be that I drilled through the ground there?"
At this time, she was quite articulate.
Ji Lingchuan turned to look at Song Nanxin, and the coldness in his eyes was like a sharp thorn. "What you said does make sense. But if you're not related to his disappearance, why did he appear beside you?"
"If you feel wronged, I'll definitely have people conduct a thorough investigation in the Xile Town post - house. As long as you've done something, there will surely be traces left behind. If you don't want others to know, you'd better not do it in the first place."
Will there really be traces left behind?!
When she was seen by Song Yixuan back then, the situation was quite chaotic. She didn't know if Cui Muyuan had properly cleaned up the scene or if there were any traces left behind.
Song Nanxin steadied her nerves and slightly raised her chin. "It should be done like this." But only Nanny Zhao, who was supporting her, knew how cold her hands were at this moment!
After finishing what Song Yihuan had told her to do, Abbess Ming didn't want to stay in this room any longer. She excused herself by saying that she wasn't feeling well and asked the young nun to support her and leave.
Ji Lingchuan, Song Yihuan, and the others also left Concubine Meng's room and moved to the main hall in the front yard of the Ding'an Marquis Mansion.
Song Yihuan had cried several times that day and was weak all over. Ji Lingchuan supported her all the way there.
After about a cup of tea's time, Fuzhou returned to the Ding'an Marquis Mansion with the people from the yamen.
Gu Yunzheng, wearing an official robe and a cap, led several yamen runners and strode into the main hall of the Ding'an Marquis Mansion following Fuzhou.
"Gu Yunzheng from the Shuntian Yamen pays respects to Your Highness and the Princess."
The moment Gu Yunzheng stepped into the main hall, Ji Lingchuan quietly glanced at Song Yihuan. Song Yihuan seemed not to notice Gu Yunzheng's arrival at all. She didn't even raise her head and just lowered it sadly to wipe the corners of her eyes.
The inexplicable desire to win was satisfied. Ji Lingchuan said:
"I sent someone to the yamen to invite Lord Gu here today because there's a case that requires the full cooperation of the yamen in the investigation. This case involves the family affairs of the Ding'an Marquis Mansion. Normally, it should be handled by the Ding'an Marquis. However, the Ding'an Marquis has been bedridden due to illness, so I'll handle it on his behalf."
"This case is about Concubine Rou, a concubine in the Ding'an Marquis Mansion, who died of difficult childbirth four years ago."