Chapter 3: Mother, Look, There’s a Ghost Beside Me

Chapter 3: Mother, Look, There's a Ghost Beside Me

Upon hearing Jiang Yunxin's words, Fang Mingyan fell silent once more.

Assuming he was pondering over the case, Jiang Yunxin was surprised when he responded after a pause, "You have experience?"

Caught off guard, she paused before attempting to justify herself, "Experience from books is still experience."

Fang Mingyan didn't comment directly, but his expression conveyed approval of her autopsy process.

This was something Jiang Yunxin was confident about.

"Hmm, bookish experience?" Fang Mingyan chuckled at this, then regained his serious demeanor. "Regardless, you're indeed skilled despite being a student. Your words ring true. That's it, go rest."

With that, Fang Mingyan turned and left.

Jiang Yunxin returned to her small quarters.

As she would be staying for half a month, the Criminal Justice Bureau had arranged a room for her within a courtyard shared with several maids.

Anything goes for Jiang Yunxin; she didn't mind any of it, as long as they didn't send her back home. Everything else could be negotiated.

Thoughts, however, had a way of manifesting.

Jiang Yunxin had merely rinsed her hands briefly in the morgue earlier. She was about to thoroughly wash away the blood and change her clothes so as not to frighten the young girl she lived with when someone called out for her.

"Jiang Yunxin, someone's looking for you."

"Who is it?" Jiang Yunxin was somewhat puzzled.

She didn't know many people in this era, and her friends from the academy were all preoccupied with the current crisis—there was no time for social visits.

"It's your mother."

Jiang Yunxin paused in her tracks.

"My mother?"

"Yes. She says she's Lady Jiang."

Jiang Yunxin knitted her brows. In truth, she had never met this Lady Jiang, but in the memories of the body she now inhabited, there was a particularly grim recollection.

At the start of the year, Lady Jiang had come to visit her with a stern expression, informing her, "As a young woman, you should be married by now. It's your father spoiling you, allowing you to attend school. I've spoken with your father, and in half a year, when you finish your studies, I'll arrange a marriage for you."

Then Lady Jiang revealed the suitor: Ma Xiuneng, the second son of the Ma family.

Ma Xiuneng was a notorious scion in the capital, known for his vices. Despite numerous failed attempts at matchmaking, his temperament remained unchanged, and the dowry he demanded had only escalated.

Naturally, Lady Jiang was enticed. After all, it wasn't her daughter, and if she could fetch a good price, why not?

As for whether Jiang Yunxin would live or die after marrying into the Ma family, that would depend on her own fate.

This became the final straw that broke Jiang Yunxin's spirit.

Upon hearing that Lady Jiang was looking for her again, Jiang Yunxin slowly wiped her hands, formulating a plan.

"I, who have dealt with corpses for over a decade, will not let you dictate my life," she thought. "If I don't give you a nightmare today, I'd be ungrateful for the second chance this body's original owner has given me."

With that, Jiang Yunxin put back on the blood-stained clothes she had just changed out of, then layered a slightly cleaner garment on top.

Her hands were still soiled from the task at hand, but it seemed there was no need to wash them now.

Jiang Yunxin let out a cold laugh.

"Please ask her in, tell her I'm unable to come out at the moment," she instructed.

In no time, Madam Jiang was escorted inside.

Upon entering, Madam Jiang covered her mouth, voicing her grievances before she even reached her daughter.

"I can't fathom what you're thinking, living in such spacious houses yet choosing not to stay. Refusing to act like a lady and instead squeezing into a servant's quarters, pretending to be a male servant..."

Madam Jiang's words were cut short as Jiang Yunxin abruptly grabbed her wrist.

"Mother, you're here." Jiang Yunxin clasped her mother's arm with urgency.

The blood on her hands stained Madam Jiang's expensive garment.

Startled by this action, Madam Jiang took a step back, attempting to shake off her daughter. "What are you doing?"

But Jiang Yunxin was not someone she could easily shake off.

Despite never having practiced martial arts, an undertaker needed a steady, precise, and strong grip when wielding a knife. If Yunxin clung on with all her might, even two Madam Jiangs wouldn't be able to pry her loose.

"Mother," Yunxin pleaded emotionally, her fingers digging into Madam Jiang's arms. "You have to save me, I'm scared, so scared."

Trapped by Yunxin's grasp, Madam Jiang had no choice but to ask, "What's going on? What happened?"

Yunxin replied, "I just dissected a corpse, and then... I saw that person's soul."

Madam Jiang couldn't wrap her head around it.

"Look, look, it's all blood," Yunxin said, pulling down the collar of her clothes dramatically. "I saw him stand up from the corpse, ripping open his stomach as he said, 'I know you, I know your mother...'"

Madam Jiang struggled desperately to free herself, now both smelling and feeling the blood on Yunxin's hands.

"Mother, come with me, please speak for me," Yunxin said, dragging her mother along with her.

Madam Jiang was utterly terrified.

"I don't even know him. Why would you take me there?" Madam Jiang, now disregarding her noble demeanor, struggled and called out for her maid, on the verge of tears and almost crying for help.

"Everything will be fine. He said if I were to marry, I could live in my courtyard," Jiang Yunxin pushed away the maid with one hand and pulled her mother out with the other.

Madam Jiang finally broke down in tears.

"Don't want you to marry, don't want you to marry," she cried with her eyes closed. "I'll immediately reject the marriage proposal from the Ma family..."

Why didn't she do this earlier and avoid all the trouble?

Jiang Yunxin let go with a cold laugh.

"Mother," she said calmly. "I've now got blood on my hands, so I'm an unlucky presence. In the future, it's best if you visit me less and worry about me less. Otherwise, I'm afraid your delicate health won't be able to withstand it."

With that, Jiang Yunxin released her grip.

Madam Jiang, as if haunted by a ghost in broad daylight, leaned on her maid and stumbled away.

She probably wouldn't cause any more trouble for a while.

Jiang Yunxin exited the courtyard to see Fang Mingyan already standing at the entrance, accompanied by his two trusted associates, Long Qiao and Xue Dongyang. All three wore peculiar expressions, suggesting they had overheard some of the conversation.

"Lord Fang," Jiang Yunxin composed herself, adjusting her attire before bowing to Fang Mingyan.

Fang Mingyan nodded. "Your mother was here to discuss a marriage proposal? It's natural for young men and women to wed. There's no need to be so averse to it."

Never would Jiang Yunxin have imagined that Fang Mingyan, as her superior, would concern himself with the personal life of his subordinates.

Yet, she firmly replied, "My lord, my birth mother has passed away. The one who came was my father's second wife, proposing a match with the son of the Ma family, Ma Xiuneng. I assume you've heard of him."

If Fang Mingyan were to praise Ma Xiuneng even slightly, Jiang Yunxin would have decided this place was no longer tenable.

Upon hearing Ma Xiuneng's name, a noticeable change appeared on Fang Mingyan's face.

After a moment of silence, he nodded. "Let's postpone this marriage. You're still young; there's no rush to get married."

From the common folk in the capital to Lord Fang Mingyan himself, everyone knew that marrying into the Ma family, specifically Ma Xiuneng, was not advisable. Lady Jiang was well aware of this fact but chose to disregard it. If anyone dared to suggest such a match to her biological daughter, she would undoubtedly fight fiercely against it.

Jiang Yunxin exhaled in relief.

Fang Mingyan seemed quite level-headed.

Deeming it a minor incident, Fang Mingyan didn't dwell on it excessively.

He asked, "Do you know how to ride a horse?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. Prepare yourself; we'll head to the family cemetery."