PDLP Chapter 2141 Strange Things Like a Web
Chapter 2141 Strange Things Like a Web
Wu Liang bowed and stepped in.
“Your Highness, Your Highness,” he said in a low voice, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, “Sun Qing and I were interrogating servants at the governor’s mansion when one of the servants confessed to something strange.”
Yan Ruyu raised her eyes: "Explain clearly."
"The servant saw Governor Ding alone in the back garden at night."
"He watched from afar as Governor Ding burned paper money under the tree, the yellow ashes being swept up by the wind and covering his clothes."
"Burning paper money?" Yan Ruyu frowned slightly. This kind of private behavior was indeed unusual.
“Exactly.” Wu Liang nodded. “The servant said that a few fragmented words were carried on the wind, something like ‘behave yourselves underground.’ He was too scared to listen any longer and quietly retreated. It wasn’t until today’s interrogation that he dared to tell the story.”
Huo Changhe tapped the table with his fingertips: "It is customary to hold a memorial service on the day itself. Burning paper money privately in the middle of the night is indeed abnormal."
His gaze shifted to Yan Ruyu, his eyes filled with inquiry. "And the phrase 'behave underground' sounds like it's meant to reassure someone."
“More than just appeasement,” Yan Ruyu stood up, “it’s more like…fear.”
She walked to the window and looked out into the courtyard: "Let's split up."
She turned her head, her eyes already filled with determination: "Your Highness, take men to interrogate Prefect Ding again, and have the secret guards thoroughly investigate his resume."
"And what about you?" Huo Changhe frowned, his tone filled with concern.
“I’m going to the governor’s mansion.” Yan Ruyu tapped the window frame with her fingertip. “Even a living person’s testimony might be concealed. I might as well go and see for myself what secrets the back garden holds.”
Huo Changhe pondered for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Alright."
He squeezed her hand: "When you encounter any trouble, mobilize the secret guards. Remember to be careful in everything you do. If there is any unusual activity, turn back immediately."
Yan Ruyu softly replied, "I understand."
Wu Liang went to wait outside the door. When he saw her come out, he quickly bowed and led the way.
The vermilion gates of the governor's mansion were tightly shut, and the door studs gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Unlike its usual imposing appearance, it exuded a somewhat sinister aura even in broad daylight.
Inside the mansion's courtyard, Sun Qing was still interrogating everyone, who looked terrified and had their heads bowed.
Hearing footsteps, Sun Qing turned around and saw Yan Ruyu. He quickly stood up and bowed.
Yan Ruyu nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.
Sun Qing's gaze swept over everyone: "Anyone who hasn't confessed yet, speak up now!"
They had already racked their brains and said quite a bit, but now they didn't know what to say next.
Yan Ruyu's gaze swept over them one by one.
An old woman aroused her interest.
The old woman was dressed in a gray cloth dress with worn-out cuffs. She gripped the corner of her apron tightly with both hands, her lips moving as if she had something to say but hesitated to speak.
Seeing that she remained silent, Sun Qing was about to continue the interrogation, but Yan Ruyu stopped him by raising her hand.
"You," she said, tapping the old woman lightly with her fingertip, her voice calm and even, "speak plainly."
The old woman stiffened, her gaze drifting towards Sun Qing with a hint of timidity.
Sun Qing's face darkened: "Just tell the truth. If there is even a single lie, then you will truly be punished."
The old woman swallowed hard, her Adam's apple bobbing, and finally spoke: "This old servant...this old servant has heard that the lady's ghost has returned."
Her voice trembled, as if afraid of being overheard by something. "One night, the servant who serves the governor came running out in a panic, saying that he saw a white shadow floating in the old courtyard of the lady and heard sobbing."
The people who went with them were so frightened their legs went weak; one of the maids was completely dumbfounded.
"Silly?"
A maid in a blue cloth skirt suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with fear: "Yes, that's right. That silly maid was from my hometown!"
She was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with her hair styled in two buns. Stray hairs at her temples were damp with sweat and stuck to her cheeks.
Yan Ruyu's eyes flickered slightly, and she took half a step forward: "Where is that maid now?"
The maids looked at each other and slowly shook their heads.
The maid's voice was so low it was barely audible: "I haven't seen her since she went mad. The steward said... said he sent her back to her hometown."
"Send them back to their hometown?" Sun Qing's eyes widened. "What exactly happened? Tell me!"
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" a short, stout servant suddenly spoke up, his voice urgent. "It is indeed a secret, and it's normal that they don't know."
It wasn't sent back to its hometown, it was buried! It was taken to the lady's grave for burial!
Yan Ruyu narrowed her eyes, a surge of emotion crossing her heart.
Sun Qing was also stunned, his anger froze, and after a long while he said, "Bury him alive?"
"Yes, yes!" another tall, thin servant replied tremblingly. He was wearing a coarse cloth short jacket, and his exposed arms were covered with tiny scratches. "I know the details of this matter."
The servant who went to bury the person was originally in charge of maintaining the mansion's large pond with me. We fetched water and dredged silt together for over three years.
Yan Ruyu knew, and had seen with her own eyes, that there was a pond in Governor Ding's mansion.
The servants in charge of the pool had to get up before dawn every day; it was indeed a hard job for them in the manor.
"One evening, he ran to me excitedly and said that the housekeeper wanted to send him to do something important."
The tall, thin servant's voice gradually lowered, his eyes filled with a mixture of envy and lingering fear: "He said that after he finished his business, the steward would give him a raise and transfer him to the purchasing department."
As you know, purchasing is lucrative, and you can go out and shop around often; it's a hundred times easier than cleaning a pond.
“I was really envious at the time,” he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, “I just regretted that I didn’t get to experience such a good thing.”
He was gone for three days before returning, and sure enough, he was transferred to the purchasing department. His clothes were much more presentable now, and he even boasted to me that working for the housekeeper meant he'd have endless good fortune in the future.
Sun Qing impatiently urged, "And then what? Where is he now?"
"Later..." The servant's face suddenly turned pale, and his lips trembled, as if he had recalled some terrible scene.
About half a month later, he went out to buy silk and said that he was robbed on the way and was hacked to death. His body was brought back by someone, covered in wounds and in a terrible state.
The side hall fell silent suddenly, and the wind blew by, making everyone's hearts sway.
The short, fat servant swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "At the time, I just thought he was unlucky, that he had just started to enjoy a good life and then died, and I felt sorry for him for a long time."
But just now, when I heard this old woman say... that the lady's ghost had returned and the silly maid had been buried, I belatedly realized that the 'important matter' he went to handle that time was probably to bury that silly maid!
The maid suddenly burst into tears, tears streaming down her cheeks: "My fellow villager is usually the most timid person. If he really saw a ghost, it wouldn't be surprising if he was scared silly."
Yan Ru thought to herself, "That purchasing agent must have known too much inside information to be silenced. The so-called robbery is a complete fabrication!"
Yan Ruyu pondered to herself: Governor Ding burning paper in the dead of night, the silly maid being buried alive, and the servant who knew the truth dying violently—these events, when strung together, resembled an impenetrable net, trapping not only human lives but also a deeper conspiracy.