Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 241 - 240: Ghost

Chapter 241: Chapter 240: Ghost

Wang Sanlang was taken to the old lady’s Hengshou Pavilion in the late afternoon, disguised as a distant relative from the countryside. He was hidden in a small room in the backyard. The person who received him, hid him and relayed his messages was Mrs. Tan, the old woman who limped and served the old lady.

Initially, Mrs. Tan instructed him to sneak into the Rose Courtyard at night. He was to use sleeping powder to subdue everyone and consummate the marriage with that young maid. She mentioned, once they were bound by the fact of marriage, the old lady would arrange for her to marry him, and would add a generous dowry as well.

Yet tonight, Mrs. Tan subtly changed her instruction: she commanded him to hang Chen Afu from a beam, to make it seem like she had committed suicide after their consummation. He was told to hurry back to Hengshou Pavilion to hide afterwards. As the first light of the morning approached, they would find a way to secretly remove him from the house. In return, the old lady would reward him with 500 taels of silver...

Upon hearing this, Chen Shiying was so infuriated that his body shook uncontrollably. He nearly passed out. Mrs. Jiang immediately got up to comfort him, rubbing his back and saying, "Calm down. The good thing is we were prepared for this eventuality in advance, so Afu wasn’t harmed."

Wang Sanlang was taken away. Chen Shiying then ordered Mrs. Tang’s wet nurse, Mrs. Ding, to be fetched along with Mrs. Tan, who served the old lady. He had both Mrs. Tang’s residence and the Hengshou Pavilion watched over, restricting anyone from entering or exiting.

The first to be questioned was Mrs. Ding. As soon as she arrived and realized their actions had been exposed, she was so scared her legs turned into jelly. She kneeled down, kowtowing and pleading for mercy.

Chen Shiying said, "Tell me the truth. If you do not speak honestly, not only will you lose your life, but your entire family will also be executed."

Mrs. Ding confessed that it was the old lady who had sent Mrs. Tang over to Hengshou Pavilion to discuss the plan. The scheme was also the old lady’s idea. She thought of Chen Afu as nothing more than a country girl, who, once she lost her virginity, would not dare hold fanciful dreams of marrying above her station. Furthermore, Chen Shiying would never dare to allow his daughter to marry into a more prominent family, leaving no choice but for Chen Yuhui to take her place.

However, there were no relatives in Dingzhou who could aid the old lady. So she asked Mrs. Tang to provide someone. When Mrs. Tang hesitated out of fear, Mrs. Ding volunteered her a distant relative who worked in a gambling den and knew a few tricks. Overjoyed, the old lady agreed to seek out this man.

Mrs. Ding went to Wang Sanlang and arranged everything, having him prepare the sleeping powder and a knife. Later, Mrs. Tan, who served the old lady, used the excuse that Wang Sanlang was a distant relative of the old lady to bring him directly into the Hengshou Pavilion to hide...

Perhaps realizing that she was going to die, Mrs. Ding shifted all blame onto herself and the old lady, leaving Mrs. Tang and her daughter completely uninvolved.

Next, Mrs. Tan was interrogated. Terrified, she relieved herself upon arrival. She quickly knelt down and cried out, "It was all the old lady, Mrs. Tang, and the second young lady’s plan. The old lady ordered me to do it, I didn’t dare to refuse..."

Having served as a governor for many years, Chen Shiying knew the art of interrogation well. He asked all he needed to ask, then had both women taken away and confined.

Thumping his fist on the table, he said to Mrs. Jiang, "Wang Sanlang and all the servants involved in this matter must be silenced. Let’s make it look like Mrs. Tang died from a plague, send her to the manor in the countryside and let her die there. Send my daughter, Yuhui, to Wanci Nunnery outside Dingzhou to copy Buddhist scriptures for a year. As for my mother... oh, my mother, how could she do such a thing!"

He was so angry at his mother that he wished she was dead. He was ashamed to have such a mother. However, having judged many cases over the years, he didn’t know how to deal with his own mother. Regardless of how wicked or outrageous she was, she was still his birth mother. He said with resignation, "Tomorrow I will talk to her seriously. If she insists on behaving wickedly, we cannot keep her in our home anymore. We should use the same method as with Afu, and expose my mother’s conspiracy that leads to the early death of my father to the clan elders of the Chens. Also, all the servants in her courtyard should be replaced..."

Mrs. Jiang calmly agreed, although her heart was in turmoil. She was even more grateful to her never-seen father-in-law and to Mrs. Wang. Considering how wicked Chen Shiying’s mother was, it was a miracle that he hadn’t been corrupted. Besides inheriting the benevolent nature of his father, he also owed this to the teachings of Mrs. Wang.

Chen Afu was furious after listening to all this. That wicked old woman, she was too bad!

Chen Shiying had dealt with all those who did evil, but the worst of them all, the old lady, was easily let off the hook. Once the old lady was stripped of her minions, was that not tantamount to letting her off the hook?

How could such good fortune exist!

In the future, Chen Afu would definitely find a way to expose the old woman’s evil deeds to the clan at their ancestral home, and find a way for the clan elders to handle her. But that was the fate the old woman deserved for her past misdeeds – she also had to pay the price for what she did today.

Chen Afu said to Jin Yanzi, "Jin Bao, didn’t you say that if anyone tries to hurt me, you can kill them?"

Jin Yanzi nodded, "Yes, but it only applies to those who directly attempt to harm mommy. For example, if Wang Sanlang had tried to hurt you, I could have pecked him to death. But because the old lady only gave instructions and did not personally act, I could not peck her or kill her. Otherwise, it would affect my future cultivation."

Chen Afu thought for a moment, then said, "You don’t need to peck her, nor do you need to kill her. But it’s okay to frighten her, isn’t it?"

Jin Yanzi chirped, "Sure. I’m also really, really angry at her for treating mommy that way. What if I poop in her mouth?"

Chen Afu said, "Her mouth is dirtier than excrement. Even if you pooped in her mouth, it would be wasted." Then she whispered a few words into its little head.

Jin Yanzi listened and chirped happily, "Sounds fun. I like it."

Chen Afu held Jin Yanzi in her arms and pecked it lightly, saying, "I wish Jin Bao all the best."

Jin Yanzi stuck out its tiny tongue to moisten its beak, then said with a smirk, "Wait for the good news, mommy."

The girl and the swallow left the enclosed environment. Chen Afu cracked open the back door and let Jin Yanzi fly out.

After circling in the air, Jin Yanzi landed in a large courtyard. The courtyard was surveilled from outside, so the people inside did not realize this and were still quiet.

It flew to where the old lady was sleeping. Seeing a crack in the window, it flew in.

It held up one side of the mosquito net and hung it on a hook, noting that the old lady was sound asleep and even snoring. Jin Yanzi silently cursed in her heart, ’What an evil old hag. She can even sleep peacefully after all the evil she has done.’

Looking around the room, it noticed a white embroidered handkerchief placed on a table. It picked it up and put it on its head. It flew in mid-air next to the bed, chirping a few times.

The old lady was awakened. Groggily, she wondered what was that thing? On closer inspection, it looked like a bodyless white head floating in mid-air, bobbing up and down...

"A ghost!" Shrieking in fear, the old lady fainted.

Jin Yanzi dropped the handkerchief and quickly flew out through the crack in the window.

Those who were on night duty outside rushed inside upon hearing her scream. They found the old lady lying in bed, foaming at the mouth. The other servants started yelling out in fear, instantly turning the household into chaos. Chen Shiying and Mrs. Jiang quickly made their way to Hengshou Pavilion, and sent for a doctor...