A Ghost Haunting
Marquis Kang paused for a long time.
Then, he said, "Actually, that pair of shoes belonged to my child."
"Marquis's child?"
Marquis Kang nodded, frowning and distressed as he said, "Speaking of which, it's strange. I married my first wife, and after three years of marriage, she gave birth to my first child. However, when the child was two, he suddenly drowned in the pond, and my wife also died of illness. After that, I married a few more wives in succession, but they all died within a year. Others said that it was the work of a ghost, so I invited a Daoist priest to perform a ritual. The Daoist priest said that it was the work of my first child's ghost, so he asked me to take out something related to my child and enshrine it in the ancestral hall. I enshrined my child's pair of little shoes, but unexpectedly, just a month ago, that pair of shoes suddenly disappeared. I searched everywhere in the estate, but the maids and servants all said that they had never seen it before. I ordered people to search outside the estate, but there was still no result. I thought that it would be fine if it disappeared, but …"
At this point, Marquis Kang paused for a moment.
Ji Yunshu seemed to understand the meaning behind his words. Seeing him supporting his forehead with a frown, she continued, "But ever since that pair of shoes disappeared, strange things have been happening in the estate, right?"
Marquis Kang abruptly raised his head to look at her, nodding repeatedly. "That's right, that's right! It's very strange!"
"So, the blood-red child's handprint I saw on the plaque when I entered the estate yesterday was also one of these strange things?"
"That's right. The day after that pair of shoes went missing, the child's handprint appeared on the plaque. Teacher, you should have seen the trees in the courtyard on your way in, right? The trees that were perfectly fine are now tangled together. And the rockery over there, for some reason, all of them fell down overnight. There are many other strange things that Teacher didn't expect. Now, everyone in the residence is worried. "
So that's why!
It seemed that the rockery that fell down last night was also the work of the so-called "ghosts"?
Ji Yunshu asked, "Then why didn't Marquis Kang clean it up?"
"I didn't dare to clean it up. If I accidentally touched something, then …" He didn't dare to continue.
Ji Yunshu thought for a moment. "Did anyone die in the manor?"
"No one died, but … more than a dozen of them fell ill. They're all bedridden now and can't get out of bed. They say that they're in pain all over, but when the doctor came to check on them, they didn't show any symptoms. This is strange. Say, it's fine if it's just one person, but now more than a dozen of them are sick. Coupled with all these strange happenings, I'm worried that it might be my child's ghost causing trouble." Marquis Kang shuddered as he spoke.
He was even afraid of his own child!
You're such a father!
Ji Yunshu had never believed in ghosts.
After Jing Rong finished listening, he asked, "Since so many strange things have happened, did the Marquis not send anyone to investigate?"
"Investigate? How to investigate? If it's a ghost, how do we investigate? "
It also made people speechless.
Jing Rong suddenly said, "Marquis, there are no such things as ghosts in this world."
Marquis Kang said, "How could there not be? If not, then how do you explain the strange things that have happened? "
He spread out his hands!
Ji Yunshu said, "Since the Marquis believes that ghosts are causing trouble, why did you ask me to investigate? I'm looking for criminals and people, not some Maoshan Taoist priest who catches ghosts. "
Marquis Kang was speechless.
"This shows that in the Marquis' heart, you also believe that these strange things are man-made."
Marquis Kang sighed and waved his sleeves. He slapped his thigh and said, "So what if I think that it's man-made? But what happened is indeed strange. "
She said, "Marquis, there are no ghosts in this world. Even if there are, they're disguised by people."
"People?" Marquis Kang asked, "Why does Teacher say so? If they're human, how could they do these things without anyone noticing? "
"This one doesn't know for now, but please believe me, the Marquis. These things are definitely not the work of ghosts."
Although she said so, Marquis Kang's heart was still cold and his expression was not good.
After a pause, he said, "Teacher Ji, I know that you're good at solving cases. Help me catch the ghost. This Marquis will definitely not treat you unfairly."
Catch the ghost!
Ji Yunshu was speechless.
After saying so much, why is this Marquis Kang so stubborn?
She was thinking that they were about to reach the capital and Wei Yi was still waiting for her. But in this situation, Marquis Kang clearly wanted to keep her here to catch the ghost.
She glanced at Jing Rong beside her and tried to ask for his opinion.
Jing Rong's face was calm. After meeting her gaze, he said to Marquis Kang, "Marquis Kang, this Prince still has important matters to attend to. I won't be staying here for long."
"I know. You're going back to the capital. The Emperor has summoned you."
Ah!
Jing Rong was shocked.
"How did the Marquis know?"
He thought that this Marquis Kang, who spent his days eating plain rice and hugging his countless treasures, was oblivious to the outside world. He didn't expect that he even knew about this kind of thing.
Marquis Kang didn't want to keep Jing Rong in suspense any longer. He said directly, "Actually, I already knew when the court officials nominated Prince Yi as the Crown Prince. What does the Emperor hate the most? He hates people who force him. Even if he originally wanted to give you this thing, the more you force him, the more he won't give it to you. Based on my understanding of the Emperor, he will definitely start to change his mind at that time. He hopes that you can quickly return to the capital and contend with Prince Yi's power. That's why I already knew when you arrived in Jingzhou. "
This guy is really something!
He continued, "The group of people you met in the forest are actually barbarians. They killed people and the county magistrate imprisoned them. Who knew that they would escape? I sent out the estate troops to capture them. I also sent people to wait for Your Highness on the road to the capital. I didn't expect that the two matters would run into each other. Fortunately, Your Highness managed to get through the daunting experience without any mishaps and still managed to invite you here."
Yes, he used the word 'invite'!
Jing Rong smiled. "Since the Marquis already knows, then all the more you shouldn't delay this Prince's journey. You should leave this case to someone else."
"But Your Highness, can you return to the capital?" Marquis Kang said, "Right now, that War Secretary Ji in the capital has already deployed troops outside the city. You can't return to the capital. The Emperor also won't publicly issue a secret edict to slap his own face. You have to think of a way to return to the capital yourself."
His tone was heavy.
Jing Rong frowned slightly. "If the Marquis has something to say, why don't you just say it directly?"
He went straight to the point. "As long as Teacher Ji helps me solve this matter, I will help you return to the capital. Firstly, the Emperor's secret edict won't be made public. Secondly, Your Highness can stay in the capital legitimately and won't have to return to Yufu."
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