Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Jiang Chun carefully considered that it seemed too unrealistic for her to actually possess control over this body.

She felt that what she probably possessed was control over this holding cell, after all, she was the host of the system.

As long as she handed over control of the body, it would be equivalent to opening the door of this holding cell.

Naturally, the original soul could then snatch control of the body.

In other words, as long as she didn’t hand over control of the body, the original soul would remain trapped in this holding cell.

As for the original soul’s threats, Jiang Chun wasn’t very afraid.

She had also said that once she finished her postpartum period and regained her strength, the original soul would no longer be able to enter this body.

Barring any accidents, the original soul shouldn’t be able to trap her anymore either.

So, she could just wait it out.

After coming to this realization, Jiang Chun sat down opposite the original soul and said with a smile, "Let’s see who can outlast the other."

She had confidence in Song Shian. With her soul trapped here, her body outside would definitely be well taken care of by him, and she wouldn’t go hungry or thirsty.

Mother-in-law Madame Zhuang was reliable, and the Song family was wealthy with many maids, servants, and nursemaids, so the two little ones wouldn’t be mistreated either.

There was nothing about the outside situation that worried her.

After sitting for a while, she even lay down.

Finding nothing to use as a pillow, she folded her arms behind her head.

Muttering to herself, she said, "This system is really unreliable. Even if it’s a prison, they should at least provide a bed, bedding, and a pillow, right?"

Facing the host’s complaints, the system remained silent, as if it had malfunctioned.

Jiang Chun scoffed and closed her eyes to prepare for sleep.

Although she was in a spiritual form, after undergoing nine or ten hours of labor, her spirit was still very tired and needed rest to recover.

*

While Jiang Chun was completely at ease inside, the situation outside was in turmoil because of her.

The second day of the Lunar New Year was the day for married daughters to return to their family home.

Since Jiang Chun was in her postpartum period, she couldn’t return to the Jiang family. Her husband, Song Shian, should have gone with generous gifts, but he didn’t go.

Jiang He waited and waited, pacing anxiously.

It wasn’t until late morning that a steward from the Song family arrived with a cart of items. The steward explained that her son-in-law wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t come today, and asked for her family’s understanding.

This steward had obviously been sent by Madame Zhuang. Song Shian couldn’t even muster the mood to return to his in-laws’ home, so how could he care about these formalities?

Jiang He let out a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Please return and tell my son-in-law to focus on recovering. I’m fine and he doesn’t need to worry about me."

After the steward left, Jiang He’s smile faded. Something must have happened to Chunniang.

Otherwise, even if the son-in-law couldn’t come, the steward who delivered the items should have been one of Chunniang’s regular stewards, and they wouldn’t have avoided mentioning her at all.

The only comforting thing was that the steward had come to deliver gifts, not to deliver a death notice.

This indicated that Chunniang had encountered trouble, but it had not yet cost her life.

Jiang He knew he should pretend to be unaware and not go to the Song family to add to his son-in-law’s troubles.

But Chunniang was his only daughter and his only hope. How could he possibly stay calm, knowing something was wrong with his only daughter?

He decisively went out to hire a carriage from the carriage rental shop and headed straight to the Song family.

When Song Shian learned his father-in-law had arrived, his heart sank, and he rushed to greet him.

As soon as they met, Jiang He asked bluntly, “Son-in-law, has something happened to Chunniang?”

Song Shian nodded, his eyes red, and said, “Her pulse is normal, but she remains unconscious.”

Tears immediately welled up in Jiang He’s eyes.

He wiped his tears with his sleeve and choked, “I guessed that something must have happened to her. Otherwise, on a day like the second day of the Lunar New Year, you wouldn’t fail to visit. Sure enough...”

Song Shian wiped his tears with a handkerchief, forced himself to stay composed, and reassured Jiang He, “Father, please rest assured. I have already sent people to find divine doctors outside. Even if it means going bankrupt, as long as there is a slight chance, I will save Chunniang.”

Jiang He patted his shoulder, tears in his eyes, and said, “Father naturally trusts you. I am incompetent and can’t help much. Chunniang’s life now depends entirely on you, son-in-law.”

Song Shian promised, “Father, I will do my best.”

The father-in-law and son-in-law cried together for a while. After they composed themselves, Song Shian led Jiang He to the bedroom to see Chunniang.

Under normal circumstances, Jiang He would never enter the lying-in chamber, but now that his daughter’s life was at stake, how could he care about such things?

His steps were quick, without a hint of hesitation.

Upon seeing his daughter, who looked as if she were merely asleep with rosy cheeks in the bedroom, Jiang He couldn’t hold back his tears again.

Song Shian did his best to comfort him, taking a great deal of effort to calm Jiang He down before seeing him off.

The next day, Crown Prince Li Junxing and Crown Prince’s Consort Song Shi Yu personally visited to see Chunniang. They were accompanied by Dr. Li, a divine doctor found by Crown Prince Li.

However, it was clear that it was of no use, as Dr. Li’s diagnosis matched that of Dr. Xue and the other divine doctors.

On the third day, female guests from the Zhou family of Madam Zhou’s natal family, the Zhuang family of Madam Zhuang’s natal family, the Li family of Madame Li’s natal family, and the Qiu family’s natal family from the Wu’an Marquis Manor came to visit Chunniang.

After holding it together for three days, Song Shian finally snapped in front of the relatives: “One wave after another, will it ever end? Are you here to visit her or to gawk at her like a sideshow?

Chunniang is disturbed by all of you and has been eating less than before.

Mother, from now on, if anyone comes under the pretense of visiting Chunniang, just receive them in the main courtyard! Don’t bring them to Dan Gui Yuan!”

After a pause, he added ruthlessly, “Even if it’s my elder sister and brother-in-law, it’s the same!”

Not only that, after Chunniang still hadn’t woken up by the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the day of the Wealth God Festival, he even invited a group of monks, Taoist priests, witches, and shamans to perform various rituals to call her soul back.

This enraged Song Zhen Ting, a scholar who adhered to Confucian principles, to the point where he wanted to discipline Song Shian according to family rules.

Madame Zhuang stopped him.

Madame Zhuang sighed, “Why are you arguing with him? Let him vent his frustrations. It’s better than him being utterly hopeless.”

Song Zhen Ting sighed deeply, “What a tragedy for our family.”

A bizarre and unprecedented scene unfolded in Dan Gui Yard.

In the outer courtyard, dozens of monks were chanting scriptures in the shed on the left, while dozens of Taoist priests were performing rituals in the shed on the right.

In the second courtyard, a group of shamans were performing their rituals in the shed on the left, while on the right, a group of female shamans were chanting incantations to the heavens and earth.

The entire Dan Gui Yard was filled with a foul and murky atmosphere.

Zhong Wenjin, who had come to visit Jiang Chun, was utterly speechless. She secretly whispered complaints about Song Shian into Jiang Chun's ear: "Big sister, when you wake up, you should really give Big Brother a piece of your mind. He’s hired four different groups to perform soul-calling rituals for you.

The expenses for the forty-nine days of food, lodging, and the items needed for the rituals amount to over five thousand taels of silver.

Big sister, earning money isn’t easy. How can you let him waste it like this?"

Hmph, although she understood her brother's feelings and couldn't be bothered to dwell on the incident where he grabbed her by the neck, it didn’t mean she didn’t hold a grudge.

Just wait, from now on, she would be Big Brother's biggest critic. When she had nothing better to do, she would badmouth him in front of Big Sister, making sure he had no way to defend himself.

＊

During the New Year holiday, it didn’t matter how much Song Shian could get away with, but after the Ministry of Personnel reopened on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, he still stayed home to watch over Jiang Chun, which utterly shocked everyone.

Song Zhen Ting stormed into Dan Gui Yard, brandishing a disciplinary rod, and pointed at Song Shian, scolding him, "As a man, how can you neglect your duties? You don’t go to court, nor do you show up at the ministry. Every day, you hide at home by your wife's bedside. What does that look like?

I understand that Chunniang is important to you, but there’s no telling when she will wake up. Does that mean you’re going to do nothing in the meantime?"

Song Shian nodded and said, "Yes, I will stay home and watch over her. I’ll go back to the ministry once she wakes up."

Song Zhen Ting flew into a rage, raising the rod and lashing out at Song Shian while cursing, "You spent ten years studying diligently, and after all that effort, you finally made something of yourself. Look at what you've become now. Do you think you're living up to your past efforts?"

Song Shian replied calmly, "First of all, I have a photographic memory and achieved top honors in the imperial exams without much effort; secondly, it was quite easy for me to make something of myself. At the age of twenty-something, I became a second-rank official. I am the only one in the entire Great Zhou who has done so."

Song Zhen Ting blew his top, panting heavily before finally roaring, "You know that you're the youngest second-rank official in the Great Zhou. Why aren't you pulling yourself together, going to court, and attending to your duties at the ministry?"

Song Shian said indifferently, "What I mean is, even if I get dismissed from the Ministry of Personnel for absenteeism, I have the ability to make a comeback in the future."

Song Zhen Ting was speechless with anger: "You..."

Seeing that his son was stubborn, he had no choice but to lash him hard with the disciplinary rod.

The beating hurt my heart more than it hurt him. This son had been smart and sensible since he was young, bringing only pride and honor to his father, never causing him any embarrassment.

Accordingly, he had never had the opportunity to apply the "a good beating makes a good son" method of education. Perhaps he had been too smooth sailing in the first half of his life. Who would have thought that at the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, with a marriage and a child, his son would suddenly enter a rebellious phase.

Forcing this nearly fifty-year-old father to painfully raise the disciplinary rod and apply the "a good beating makes a good son" method of education.

However, this beating seemed to be in vain.

Exhausted and panting, with sweat beads forming on his forehead, Song Zhen Ting watched as Song Shian calmly instructed Gui Zhi, "Tell them to continue. If anyone slacks off, deduct everyone's pay."

Song Zhen Ting: "..."

This frustrating son, he had no way to deal with him. He would let his son-in-law deal with him.

He took the disciplinary rod and angrily rushed back to the main courtyard, where he sat down and wrote a letter to Crown Prince Li Junxing.

Actually, even without Song Zhen Ting informing him, Li Junxing had already known that Song Shian didn’t even ask for leave and simply skipped work.

He understood his brother-in-law's feelings and allowed Song Shian to miss work for three days.

After three days, seeing that Song Shian still hadn’t reported to the Ministry of Personnel and had even missed the grand court assembly, he lost his temper.

He stormed over to the Song family.

Although he had long heard that Song Shian had invited a bunch of miscellaneous people to hold rituals to summon Jiang Chun’s spirit, hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it in person was another.

Looking at the scene with monks, Taoists, shamans, and spirit mediums, Li Junxing was at a loss for words.

He navigated the narrow path between two sheds to the main courtyard of the second compound, where he found Song Shian having breakfast in the eastern secondary room.

Li Junxing, surprised, said, "It's already 10 a.m., and you're just having your breakfast?"

Song Shian stood up, bowed, and greeted, "Brother-in-law."

Then he answered, "Well, I don’t know how I offended my wife, but no matter how I tried to feed her breakfast, she refused to eat. I spent half an hour coaxing her before she finally relented, so it’s this late, isn’t it?"

Li Junxing: "..."

His sister-in-law was still unconscious, how could he have offended her?

Is he out of his mind?

Could it be that after all those rituals, instead of bringing back Jiang Chun's soul, he had lost part of his own?

Otherwise, why was he speaking so strangely, not like a normal person?

There was no way to respond to that, so he brought up the main issue: "You still don’t plan to report for duty at the ministry?"

Song Shian nodded and reiterated what he had previously told Song Zhen Ting, "Yes, I need to stay home with Chunniang. I’ll only return to the ministry when she wakes up."

This response directly infuriated Li Junxing, who said irritably, "And if she never wakes up, do you plan to never return to work at the ministry?"

Song Shian nodded, "Yes, if she never wakes up, I’ll stay home with her forever, so she won’t be lying there by herself."

Li Junxing was at a loss for words, "Lying there by herself? Are the maids and old women not people too?"

Song Shian humphed, "Sure, they’re people, but no one can replace me. My wife is very picky and only lets me feed her. If the maids try to feed her, she simply won’t eat."

Standing by the side, Gui Zhi: "..."

My lord, do you even need to draft your lies?

What do you mean the maids can’t feed her and she won’t eat? Neither she nor Gui Ye, his personal maids, had even been allowed to feed their mistress.

They were truly wronged.

Knowing that his brother-in-law was stubborn and needed to be handled gently, Li Junxing softened his tone and advised tactfully, "Feeding your wife three meals a day doesn’t have to interfere with your duties at the ministry. At most, you’d just need to make an extra trip back home at noon."

Song Shian counted on his fingers for Li Junxing, "Besides feeding her, I also need to bathe my wife, comb her hair, change her clothes, and handle her waste. I’m busy every day; how could I possibly have time to report for duty at the ministry?"

Li Junxing: "..."

This guy was personally taking care of everything to such an extent that it was truly eye-opening.

He first praised, "I didn’t expect you to be so capable of taking care of someone."

Crown Prince Li Xinghang immediately tried to gain sympathy, saying, "You know that my position as Crown Prince is not stable, and I don't have many people I can rely on. You are my right-hand man.

If you walk away, it would be like cutting off one of my arms, and I might be overthrown by the third prince.

If I can't remain the Crown Prince, you can probably imagine what will happen to your sister, the Crown Prince’s Consort."

Song Shian remained unmoved and snorted, "Brother-in-law, you don’t need to stress about the third prince’s antics. As long as you can ensure you're not assassinated, I can guarantee you'll ascend the throne."

Li Xinghang glared at him, "What can you use to guarantee that?"

Song Shian raised his hand and pointed to his head, "Because my head is smarter than yours, brother-in-law. If you don't believe what smart people say, do you want to believe what fools say?

Of course, you can believe the fools if you want, but it's not a big deal. At most, you'll be led astray and lose your position as Crown Prince and the imperial throne."

Li Xinghang: "..."

His brother-in-law was so certain. Had he discovered something, or was this just his clever deduction?

Either way, he needed to assign more hidden guards to protect himself.

Better safe than sorry.

＊

After Crown Prince Li Xinghang returned unsuccessful, fewer so-called relatives and friends came to persuade Song Shian. Eventually, only the Song family remained.

Song Shian could tolerate the words of his two uncles since they meant well and didn't say anything negative about Jiang Chun.

However, the old lady, Zhou Shi, made him fly into a rage.

"In my opinion, Jiang Chun was not destined to enjoy the wealth of our Song family. Song Shian, there's no need for you to exhaust yourself. It's fate.

Let her be buried quickly, and I'll find you another wife with a good family background, good temperament, and a rich dowry."

Song Shian had come to the main courtyard to have a reunion meal with everyone, but no sooner had the food been served than he heard such outrageous words.

Without a second thought, he flipped the table over.

Plates and bowls crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces, and the soup and dishes spilled all over the floor.

Song Shian glared fiercely at Zhou Shi and angrily said, "Let her be buried quickly? Chunniang isn't dead yet. Madam, do you want me to bury my wife alive?

When the authorities investigate, will you take responsibility for this incitement to murder, or not?"

Zhou Shi immediately jumped up, "Song Shian, what nonsense are you saying? When did I incite you to murder? I just said you should give up early."

Song Shian calmly replied, "How is giving up early any different from encouraging murder? I'm too dull to distinguish them, grandmother."

Zhou Shi was choked with anger.

After a long while, she waved her hand weakly, "Forget it, forget it. If you want to make a fuss in your own courtyard, go ahead. It doesn't bother me."

This grandson had lost his mind. She needed to find a way to step down quickly before he lost his temper again. Who knew if he might even bite his own grandmother.

After this, the Song family dared not speak another word, fearing Song Shian’s temper.

＊

Though both outsiders and family had stopped trying to convince Song Shian to change his ways, Jiang Chun's health continued to deteriorate day by day.

Although her pulse still seemed very good, she no longer ate whatever was fed to her like before and had become somewhat "selective."

It wasn't that she was picky about the food being fed to her. After all, she could only consume liquid food now, and there were only a few types of liquid food available.

The issue was that her swallowing had become dependent on her "mood."

When she was in a good mood, she would "gulp" down the food continuously; when she was in a bad mood, she completely refused to swallow, and Song Shian had to coax her into eating for what felt like hours.

There were even times when, after coaxing her for one or two hours, Jiang Chun still wouldn't swallow anything, which made Song Shian so anxious he felt like a ticking time bomb, fearing that she might never eat again.

A person can't survive without food for more than a few days, and he certainly didn't want any accidents to happen.

Because of this, Song Shian's mood grew worse with each passing day, like a compressed barrel of gunpowder ready to explode at any moment, destroying himself and those around him.

＊

In the holding cell of the system, Jiang Chun was sleeping when she suddenly felt something heavy on her body, as if someone had pressed down on her.

The next moment, she received a heavy blow to her chin, causing her to wince in pain and wake up immediately.

She found herself still lying in a vast metal room the size of a football field, with the original soul now on top of her, fists flying toward her face.

Jiang Chun's mind raced with confusion. *Can souls even fight each other?*

*We're both souls—why make things hard on each other?* Couldn't they just wait peacefully for this body to die of natural causes, and then go to the underworld together?

But apparently, that wasn't going to work.

Otherwise, the original soul wouldn't have taken the opportunity to launch a surprise attack while she was resting.

Moreover, souls could actually feel pain?

Jiang Chun's chin felt like it might be dislocated, and she struggled to push the thought aside.

But now wasn't the time to think about that.

With a quick twist of her waist, Jiang Chun threw the original soul off her body, then swung her fists, raining blows down on the original soul's face.

As she hit, she scolded, "You don't hit someone's face; that's a basic rule of decency. And yet, you took the opportunity to ambush me while I was resting and even aimed for my face.

What, do you want to ruin my face so that my husband won't recognize me?

Don't worry, my husband loves me more than anything. Even if you disfigure me, he won't care.

Besides, you don't have the ability to disfigure me anyway."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Chun kicked the original soul, sending her flying three zhang away.

She said smugly, "We're using the same body, so our strength is about the same. But what I have that you don't is that I've studied martial arts under a seasoned military instructor for almost a year.

You're no match for me, so don't embarrass yourself."

The original soul, of course, didn't believe her and charged at Jiang Chun again.

Determined to force her submission, the original soul attacked once more, hoping to make Jiang Chun give up the body willingly.

Once I gain control of the body, I'll be alive again.

As for giving it back?

Impossible. There's no way I'd return it. This body originally belonged to me, so why should I give it back to a female ghost?

Talking about returning it is just a lie to fool her.

As for the ghost's husband and child, out of appreciation for how well she took care of my father, I'll take care of them too.

That should be enough to repay her.

However, the original soul was clearly delusional.

The next moment, as expected, she was sent flying by Jiang Chun again.

Jiang Chun stepped forward, looking down at the female ghost lying on the ground in a sorry state, and said with a sneer, "Wow, you're really persistent, huh? You think I'm weak because I just gave birth, so you try to take me out while I'm down?

Too bad for you, you've got another thing coming. Even if I'm not at my best, for my husband and twins, I'll muster up the strength to beat you to a pulp.

Hmph, you're too naive if you think you can take my body."

The original soul shouted angrily, "That's my body, not yours!"

This female ghost was shameless. Not only did she steal the body, but she also acted like it was completely justified. Who could be more brazen than that?

Jiang Chun raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh? Then why don't you call out and see if it answers?"

The body indeed belonged to the original soul, but by the time Jiang Chun arrived, the original soul had already been long dead, so she didn’t feel an ounce of guilt.