On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2149 Soul Inquiry

The three incense sticks burned with tiny flames, flickering in the eerie wind, casting the hem of the Taoist's robes in a wavering, ethereal way, like a lingering soul hanging in mid-air.

Governor Ding's heart was twisted with fear. He glanced at the center of the altar, where a black lacquered memorial tablet was placed, with the words "Memorial Tablet of My Deceased Wife, Lady Liu" on it.

Each word seemed to exude a chill, and the white candles in front of the memorial tablet burned with tear-like flames, the wax dripping down the candlesticks like congealed blood and tears.

He dared not look at the memorial tablet, nor dared to look directly at the peach wood sword in the Taoist's hand. He felt a chill creep up from the soles of his feet, up his spine to the back of his neck, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

The shadow made no sound, but floated lightly toward him.

At this moment, the incense light on the altar suddenly dimmed, and the surrounding temperature plummeted, as if we had instantly fallen into an ice cellar.

Governor Ding couldn't help but shiver, his breath seemed to stop for a moment, and his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, unable to make a sound.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and his blood seemed to freeze at that moment; his hands and feet were so cold that he lost all feeling.

It wasn't a hallucination; the shadow was truly floating in mid-air, carrying a rotten, earthy, and musty smell, mixed with the scent of incense, making him almost vomit.

The shadow drifted extremely slowly, and with each inch it moved, the surrounding yin wind grew stronger, swirling the paper money scraps higher as if clearing a path for it.

Governor Ding wanted to escape, but his legs felt like they were made of lead and he couldn't move. He could only watch helplessly as the shadow drifted toward him, getting closer and closer.

Finally, the shadow stopped in front of him, no more than three feet away. A low, hoarse voice suddenly rang out, as if squeezed from a rusty copper pipe, carrying a damp, cold scent, drilling into his ears: "Why...why...kill me?"

The voice was flat, yet it was filled with endless resentment, like countless fine needles piercing Governor Ding's eardrums.

He could no longer hold back, buried his face in his hands, squatted on the ground, and burst into tears, crying, "I didn't want to kill you! It was a complete accident! It really was a mistake!"

His cries echoed in the empty backyard, filled with endless fear and panic, sounding particularly piercing.

“That night, I originally wanted to beat that adulterer to death! Who knew you would suddenly rush out to protect him!” Governor Ding cried as he pounded the ground. The coolness of the bluestone slabs seeped through his palms, making him a little more sober.

He suddenly raised his head, tears still on his face, but his eyes turned somewhat resentful, and his tone became a bit tougher: "If we're talking about it, you were the one who cheated on me first!"

"If you hadn't been so unfaithful and hadn't been having an affair with that fellow villager, none of this would have happened! You've ruined my entire reputation!"

Two figures stood silently under the eaves.

Yan Ruyu wore a silent sneer on her face, her eyes full of mockery.

Huo Changhe, standing beside her, frowned slightly.

Huo Changhe lowered his voice, his tone tinged with inquiry: "Yu'er, do you believe what he said?"

Yan Ruyu turned her head to look at him, a half-smile curving her lips, her voice carrying a hint of coldness: "Your Highness, just watch, this matter is not so simple."

Not far away, in a corner, Su Zhenhai stood with his arms crossed, listening through gritted teeth.

However, because Huo Changhe and Yan Ruyu were present, he did not dare to lash out and could only clench his fists tightly.

Before the altar, Governor Ding continued his incessant accusations.

"Ever since I learned about your affair with him, I haven't slept a wink! I am a prefect, an official appointed by the court, yet I have to endure the humiliation of my wife's infidelity!"

He wiped away his tears, his voice filled with pain and regret: "I originally thought that I would turn a blind eye and let it go as long as you stopped seeing him."

But he went too far, daring to openly come to the governor's mansion to see you! I couldn't tolerate it any longer and decided to teach him a lesson, but who knew... who knew it would lead to such a terrible mistake!

He talked on and on, from his grievances to his years of forbearance, from Madam Ding's infidelity to his regret, speaking with tears streaming down his face, as if he were truly a victim who had suffered all kinds of injustice.

But the shadow still hovered in front of him, showing no sign of dissipating.

It just stood there quietly "watching" him, its bluish-gray outline looking particularly eerie in the night, and the surrounding cold wind didn't lessen, but instead grew stronger.

At this moment, the Taoist priest, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, his voice booming, breaking the governor Ding's lament: "Hey! You still have something to say? You'd better tell me the truth!"

Governor Ding paused, stopped crying, and looked completely bewildered: "I...I've said everything! I've said everything I needed to say, there's really nothing else!"

"If you tell me everything, how can the wronged spirits linger?" The Taoist priest stared intently at Prefect Ding with sharp eyes, and suddenly swung his peach wood sword, aiming straight for Ding's face.

Governor Ding was so frightened that he instinctively put his hands in front of him to protect himself.

Just as the peach wood sword was about to touch his palm, with a "whoosh," a cluster of eerie blue flames suddenly shot up from the tip of the sword, as if it were possessed by will-o'-the-wisps, licking along the blade in the night.

The flames came suddenly and caught Governor Ding off guard, instantly scorching the hair on his forehead, and the smell of burning filled the air.

He screamed in terror, frantically patting his head with both hands, trying to extinguish the leaping flames. He stumbled backward and fell heavily to the ground.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll confess everything!" Prefect Ding lay on the ground, his voice trembling with sobs, all his previous toughness gone.

"Actually... I discovered your affair with your fellow villager a long time ago, but I didn't expose it or deal with you immediately."

"It's because I thought that as long as you made a mistake, as long as I had something on you, I could rightfully divorce you, and openly keep concubines and marry several more beautiful women!"

His voice grew softer and softer, tinged with a hint of guilt and shamelessness.

"I'm tired of you! All you do all day is be a wife and mother, you have no fun at all, how can you compare to those charming and lovely girls!"

I'd been waiting for this day for so long. That night, I hadn't planned to just give him a beating; I wanted to...

I wanted to use that opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: get rid of that adulterer and also get rid of you, so no one would know what I was up to!

"What?!" Su Zhenhai gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice, "You bastard, what a piece of trash! So shameless, yet you put on such a pitiful and remorseful act, it's disgusting!"

Huo Changhe stood there, his face so dark it could drip water. He snorted coldly, his tone full of contempt: "Just as I thought. As an official of the imperial court, instead of serving the people, you are so selfish and ruthless. You are truly unworthy of wearing this official robe!"