Reign of the Phoenix

Chapter 93 – The Ghost Appears
Murong Zhining nervously grasped Chiyun Yuexuan’s hand. The latter softly chuckled. “Ning’er is also a ghost now, why are you so afraid of ghosts? My Little Tabby is such a scaredy-cat.”

Murong Zhining poutily pinched his palm with her nails. “You’re so hateful. Stop scaring me, I’m already very nervous.”

Chiyun Yuexuan tried to refrain himself from laughing. “My wife has the guts of a chicken and still insists on following people to catch ghosts. I’m looking forward to see how scared you’ll get when the ghost appears. It’s almost time actually, put out the torches and we’ll see it.”

Du Youtian and the other soldier put out the torches. The four concealed themselves in the darkness.

Before long, a metallic rumble echoed from above the basement stairs. Murong Zhining knew that someone had activated the switch in the study. Right after, there was a slight sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Both scared and curious, Murong Zhining looked over and saw a torch that looked like a hovering will-o’-wisp eerily wafting towards her direction. While she was wondering how the torch could do that, two white-clad ghosts slowly appeared under the torchlight.

The ghost walking in front wore a ferocious mask, was very tall, and had a crippled leg. Raising his torch, he plodded with one foot deep and one foot shallow, making the torch look like it jump up and down when viewed from afar. Upon making sense of the situation, Murong Zhining covered her mouth, almost laughing out loud.

The short ghostly figure behind the tall one had her long hair hanging loose, her face pale with blood trickling down her eyes. Since they couldn’t have expected there were other people hiding in the basement, they went straight to moving the gold.

Chiyun Yuexuan poured a mouthful of wine into his mouth and sprayed it at the torch in the hand of the tall ghost. The fire erupted with a whoosh. Startled, the tall ghost dropped the gold ingots in his arms which hit him on the feet. The tall ghost let out a cry from both pain and fear. The female ghost behind him was also shocked, she threw away the gold and hugged her head, screaming shrilly.

Du Youtian took out a knife and forced the two ghosts into a corner. Chiyun Yuexuan picked up the torch and illuminated their faces.

The female ghost pleaded, “Please have mercy and let us go. We only wanted to steal some gold for living expenses, we never have any bad intentions.”

Chiyun Yuexuan shouted angrily, “You two killed two of my soldiers last night. How dare you say you never did bad things? Tie them up and bring back for interrogation!”

The female ghost knelt to the ground. “Please have mercy, we didn’t kill those two guards. One of them scared himself to death and the other felt to his death chasing after my husband. We knew it was trouble, so we simply made it look like they were bitten to death by ghosts. We really didn’t kill anyone.”

Du Youtian found a rope and tied them up, then pushed them out of the basement. The two ‘ghosts’ were taken back to the General Estate and locked up in the dungeon.

Chiyun Yuexuan smiled evilly and pinched Murong Zhining’s face. “Were you scared? I told you, there is no ghost in this world. Go back to your room and have a good rest, we’ll question the ‘ghosts’ tomorrow.”

Murong Zhining nodded. “Ning’er feels that those two ghosts seem quite innocent, though.”

Chiyun Yuexuan gently kissed her forehead. “Even if it wasn’t intentional, they still need to be punished. Two soldiers under me unjustly died due to them, and they certainly will be held responsible for this. Let me take you back to your room.” The two walked hand in hand through the corridor into the west room of the east courtyard.

Cai Sang sleepily rubbed her eyes as she helped Murong Zhining change clothes. “You guys got back so late. Did the general really catch the ghost?”

Murong Zhining nodded. “Mhm, a man and a woman dressed themselves up as ghosts to scare people and steal the gold ingots in the basement of the Zhuang Estate. General will personally interrogate them tomorrow.”

Cai Sang excitedly said, “I want to see how he’ll judge ghosts.”

The next morning, Murong Zhining and Cai Sang watied in the assembly room to watch the interrogation. Chiyun Yuexuan added a chair next to him at the desk. “My wife is really a curious one.”

Murong Zhining grinned. “Ning’er also took part in the ghost-catching, how can I miss the ghost-interrogation?”

Du Youtian took the two people captured last night to the hall. The man’s mask was stripped, his face looked honest and not at all the thievy type. The woman prostrated on the ground, not daring to look up.

Chiyun Yuexuan heavily smacked the desk. “You’re really ghosts, aren’t you, all wilted during the day. How did you know about the basement in Zhuang Estate? How many gold ingots did you steal? How did you kill my soldiers?”

The woman trembled in fear. “My name is Feng Yingfan, a concubine of Zhuang Cheng. Mister He and I were childhood friends betrothed since we were little. That year, Zhuang Cheng set his eyes on me when we went sight-seeing in the capital. He had me captured and taken to a secluded house where he sullied me for a long time. Mister He went to the Zhuang Estate to ask for justice, but Madam Zhuang ordered her servants to break his leg.”

The man called Mister He said, “This peasant is He Anjie. I admit to all of the crimes. General please have mercy. I have an old, bedridden mother who has nobody to take care of her. Please be so kind and deliver her something to eat.” He kept kowtowing.

Chiyun Yuexuan growled, “If you know you have an old mother to support, why would you commit such a crime?”

Feng Yingfan raised her head, her face was full of tears. “Please forgive him, General. It was me who forced him. He has a bedridden mother. If he is convicted, his mother will surely starve to death at home.”

Seeing Feng Yingfan’s face, Cai Sang cried out, “So it’s you, you once saved me. Where is Mister He’s house? I’ll send food for his old mother.”

Feng Yingfan doubtfully looked at Cai Sang and then Murong Zhining. “I can’t remember Miss Cai Sang, but I remember Miss Murong clearly. Considering our past relationship, Miss Murong, please help ask General to release Mister He. I’m willing to accept all the charges.”

Cai Sang said, “Miss Murong is now the princess of Shangxia. She’s lost her memory and can’t remember the past. But, I do remember that Princess was once punished by Madam Zhuang to be locked in a dark room without food, and when I snuck to visit her, I saw you secretly stuffed a steamed bun into the room. One time when I was wrongly accused and punished to be hung off the tree, it was also you who fed me a ladle of water. I’ve always remembered your favor in my heart, thank you.”Read more chapter on v ipnovel.com

Feng Yingfan kowtowed to Murong Zhining. “Me helping others was just a matter of lifting a finger that took no effort. I’ve never thought of asking for payment from it. I’m grateful to Princess and Miss Cai Sang for your kindness.”

Chiyun Yuexuan retracted the frost on his face. “Since you’ve helped Princess, stand up to speak and make clear what you two did. I may, at my discretion, consider giving a lighter punishment. Du Youtian, tell Luo Siyao to deliver some food for Mister He’s mother.”

He Anjie repeatedly banged his head on the floor. “Thank you, General. I’m willing to plead guilty and be punished by the law. When my leg was broken by the Zhuangs and I lost my fiancee, I also lost all confidence in life and drown myself in alcohol to forget the sorrow. My mother fell ill worried about me. Because I was unable to do heavy work due to my crippled leg, our lives slowly became difficult. Only until the Zhuang Estate was sealed and Yingfan luckily escaped to her mother’s family could we be together again. We planned to get some money back from the Zhuang Estate and start a small business for a living and support our old mother.”

Feng Yingfan sobbed. “It was me who harmed him, I encouraged him. I once heard Zhuang Cheng mention in his drunken state a secret room in his study that contained some treasures. After the estate was sealed up, I went back several times with Mister He but couldn’t find the mechanism to open the basement. It wasn’t until General entered the estate two days ago that I thought it might be an opportunity. I snuck into the study again and found that you had opened the door to the basement. After discussing with Mister He, I decided to scare the guards away and steal some gold from the basement. I never thought I’d scare one of them to death. The other spotted Mister He and seized him. When Mister He broke free, the guard fell and hit his head and died. We knew we had caused a disaster, so we made it look like they were killed by ghosts.”

Du Youtian voiced his doubt, “When I hurried over upon hearing Zhang Wenzhi calling for help, I saw the female ghost and my whole body went stiff. If it wasn’t a ghost hex, what was it? Like me, the other soldiers were frozen stiff and couldn’t move either.”

He Anjie was ashamed. “My ancestors practiced medicine. I master several herbs that can paralyze people and always carry them on me for self-defense. I just instinctively used them when facing the guards.”

Feng Yingfan took out a book from her sleeve. “When I was searching the study, I found this book hidden in the drawer interlayer. Seeing it was an account book, I thought it must be very important and took it with me. With your righteousness, I think it’s best General have it. This account book should be an evidence of Zhuang Cheng’s corruption.”

Chiyun Yuexuan took the book and flipped several pages. Then, he looked at Murong Zhining. “This is the black account book that Madam Zhuang mentioned, with a list enclosed in it. What do you think we should do with these two?”

Murong Zhining thought for a moment and answered, “Feng Yingfan and He Anjie were supposed to be a pair, but Zhuang Cheng forcefully separated them. It’s normal they’d want to steal some money as compensation. Now that the two soldiers are dead against their intentions, how about General compensate the soldiers’ families some more, saying that they died on the battlefield. That way, their families will not only get support money but also gain a good reputation. Naturally, no one would investigate the cause of death then. As for these two, they also deserve sympathy. Besides, Mister He’s mother also needs to be taken care of. Let’s let them go with some money so they can start a small business and turn over a new leaf.”

Chiyun Yuexuan looked at Murong Zhining fondly. “My little lady is not at all confused when doing the accounts, while I’m a henpecked husband. Alright, let’s do as you said, there are no outsiders here anyway.”

Du Youtian laughed. “General really loves my little sister. Sis, you didn’t choose the wrong person.”

Feng Yingfan and He Anjie kept on kowtowing. “Thank you very much for your kindness, General Chiyun! Thank you, Princess and Miss Cai Sang!”

Cai Sang poked Du Youtian. “Cousin, you know nothing, so don’t talk like you do. ‘Didn’t choose the wrong person’? Humph.”

Chiyun Yuexuan shot her a glare. “Audacious servant! Since Princess regards you as her sister, this general won’t dispute with you, but you’re not allowed to mention the past from now on.”

Murong Zhining pouted and tugged at his clothes. “What did you do that makes Cai Sang act so harsh on you?”

Chiyun Yuexuan stroked the back of his head and smiled. “Ning’er, don’t pursue the past. I promise I’ll treat you like a goddess and put you in a shrine to worship from now on.”

Feng Yingfan suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, “That’s right, that old toad Zhuang Cheng once drank too much and slipped a secret. He said the tunnel under the study was not only an escape route, but also connected to the estate of a high-ranking official who colluded with him.”