Chapter 91: The Haunted Sun Residence

Chapter 91: The Haunted Sun Residence

If he didn’t wrap this up quickly, within two days, the juicy romantic escapades of the two sons of the Sun family and their cousin would spread throughout Changhe County.

Did they really think Lu Mingchao was just bluffing when she said she’d rather give up two shops than let her cousin suffer?

Lu Mingchao was a fierce grudge holder.

Qu Ying, being so naive, was easily manipulated.

Perhaps, more accurately, Lu Mingchao had accurately gauged Qu Ying’s thoughts.

Qu Ying looked sullen, suppressing her resentment deep inside, reluctantly agreeing.

Sun Zhiye gave a silent, cold sneer, closing his eyes again, not sparing Qu Ying another glance.

Meanwhile, on another front.

First, the magistrate’s wife sent her servant woman, then the eldest son of the Sun family. Yunniang finally found out about Lu Mingchao being pushed into the icy lake at the plum blossom banquet.

Blinded by rage, Yunniang stormed off, not even waiting for Lu Xiaoxin, who was running after her, and headed straight to the Xie family at the mountain’s base.

Lu Mingchao: ...

“Mom,” Lu Mingchao cautiously forced a smile.

Yunniang, while tenderly stroking Lu Mingchao’s head, scolded, “How can you still smile? How can you smile at a time like this?”

“What the Sun family did is completely heartless, lower than pigs and dogs. They deserve to pay for this.”

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll go to the town temple to pray to the Bodhisattva, cursing them to a miserable death.”

“How could you not say a word about such a big deal? It’s driving me crazy.”

Yunniang, considering that Lu Mingchao grew up in the marquis’s residence, restrained her anger and scolding, appearing more reserved.

After a pause, Yunniang’s eyes reddened, pulling Lu Mingchao into her embrace, “My dear Chaochao, what will we do now?”

Already struggling with fertility, and now pushed into an icy lake in the dead of winter, adding cold to cold.

“Such a tough life.”

Lu Mingchao murmured, “Mom, the cousin from the Sun residence was also pulled into the icy lake by me, so it’s not a loss. I also squeezed two shops out of the eldest son of the Sun family, so it’s not bitter.”

How can money be bitter?

It must be sweet, sweeter than syrup.

Yunniang, with a muffled voice, raised her tone, “Is this about loss or not? Anyone who harms others deserves to drown.”

“And, can you speak properly? Who says they squeezed something out of someone?”

“Starting today, I’ll make you a soup every day to drive out the cold and dampness and warm your body. I won’t believe it can’t be restored.”

“Sister,” Lu Xiaoxin ran in panting, her clear eyes filled with overflowing panic, “The water is scary, the water is cold.”

Lu Mingchao left Yunniang’s embrace, looking at the trembling Lu Xiaoxin, recalling when Lu Xiaoxin was tricked by Lu Miao into falling into a not-yet-frozen river when she was young.

Because of her own fall into the water, Lu Xiaoxin remembered the time she nearly drowned in the icy river.

"Xiao Xin, big sis is okay now," Lu Mingchao gently wiped the sweat from Lu Xiaoxin's forehead with a handkerchief.

Lu Xiaoxin's tiny hands clung tightly to the hem of Lu Mingchao's dress, large tears falling as she sobbed, "Don't let big sis be drowned in the water."

"No one's drowning, no one's drowning," Lu Mingchao soothed, following Lu Xiaoxin's words.

Yunniang turned her face away, lifted her head, and blinked to hold back her tears. "Why are we always clashing with water? From now on, we'll steer clear of water."

"What about the big water vat in the yard?"

"And the small puddles after the rain?"

"You're still teasing!" Yunniang slapped Lu Mingchao on the neck.

Yunniang started to wonder if naming Lu Miao had brought all the water-related misfortunes to the family.

"Xiao Xin, don't cry, big sis is tough and will keep you safe," Lu Mingchao coaxed softly.

"The water was freezing and pitch black, I couldn't open my eyes or breathe, and I kept sinking," Lu Xiaoxin murmured softly.

"Big sis, can I stay with you?"

Lu Mingchao smiled warmly, "Of course, I promised you before I got married."

Lu Xiaoxin was thrilled, tears still clinging to her long lashes, but she smiled with pure joy, her whole demeanor suddenly becoming youthful and vibrant.

Yunniang gave Lu Xiaoxin a look, "You little rascal."

"Chaochao, mom will figure out how to make you some soup."

"No matter how cold it gets, mom will warm you up."

Lu Mingchao watched Yunniang's bustling figure, her smile widening.

The sun slowly sank in the western sky.

Sun Zhiye decided to head back to the residence first and then have the servants find Xie Yan to finalize the deed.

The carriage had to stop at the alley's entrance, unable to go any further, the chaotic noise passing through the carriage and reaching his ears.

A sense of dread crept into Sun Zhiye's heart. He opened the carriage door and peered at the commotion in the alley, his body swaying slightly.

Outside the Sun residence, a tall altar stood, adorned with an incense table and flickering candles.

A group of Taoist priests, clad in yellow robes and wearing terrifying masks, held peach wood swords, shook bronze bells, or held bowls filled with unknown blood, chanting obscure and incomprehensible incantations. They contorted their bodies in a frenzied manner, as if enacting an ancient and mysterious rite.

Once the bronze bells quieted, the blood from the bowls was slowly poured onto the stone steps leading to the residence. Then, the Taoist priest with the peach wood sword lifted his head to the heavens, swung the sword decisively, and bellowed, "Evil spirits, be gone!"

Some eager onlookers joined in, shouting, "Evil spirits, be gone!"

Sun Zhiye gritted his teeth, his face pale, the veins beneath his skin faintly visible, leaving it unclear whether this honorable man was seething with rage or feeling ill.

To Qu Ying, this elder cousin appeared as delicate as a jade statue.

"Ridiculous!" Sun Zhiye's knuckles cracked, his gaze sweeping over Qu Ying's inappropriate expression, his anger intensifying.

Is stupidity a family trait in the Qu family?

He was still racking his brains to cover up the strange occurrences at the Sun residence at night, trying every means to silence the servants, only hoping to reassure everyone once he had some clues.

Unexpectedly, just after taking Qu Ying to Changxi Village, a grand altar with incense burners and ritual dances was openly set up outside the Sun residence.

Wasn’t this just broadcasting to everyone in Changhe County that the Sun family was haunted?

Soon, the talk over tea would be about how the Sun family had done too many wrongs, and now ghosts were visiting them at midnight.

Even scholars, who are supposed to keep a respectful distance from matters of gods and ghosts, let alone merchants who believe in feng shui and luck.

Merchants fear bad luck the most.

Sun Zhiye watched as his mother solemnly accepted a deep red bronze mirror from a yellow-robed Taoist priest.

The bronze mirror looked like it had been dipped in blood.

The whispers of the onlookers felt like dull knives, relentlessly fraying the threads of reason in his mind.

"What terrible things has the Sun family done to have ghosts showing up every night?"

"Is this just a scare tactic?"

"I heard from the Sun residence servants that when they asked the exorcist priests for talismans, they said evil spirits would knock on the door every night. When they opened the door, there was nothing there, but they could hear an old man coughing in the courtyard, and by dawn, there were ominous dead things outside the door."

"If this isn’t a haunting, then what is?"

Things still weren’t chaotic enough.