Inside the ancestral hall!

She clearly saw that many memorial tablets were arranged in the center of the ancestral hall, and at the topmost central position was placed a small shelf, as if something had been enshrined there before, but at this moment, it was completely empty.

She was just thinking about this when a gust of wind suddenly arose behind her, blowing out the two candlesticks in the ancestral hall.

How truly unlucky!

With great difficulty she’d found fire to light the candlestick, and now it was blown out again.

Her heart was full of worry when a shadow suddenly flashed behind her—so fast that by the time she immediately turned her head, she couldn’t see it.

This was too strange!

Of course, she was an atheist, a non-believer in ghosts!

In this world, there was simply no such thing as ghosts and spirits, so she also didn’t believe in Buddha.

Just as she was puzzled, she turned around, and a person suddenly appeared before her eyes!

A weathered face abruptly enlarged before her!

“Eh.”

Ji Yunshu admitted she was truly given a big fright.

Her feet involuntarily staggered backward several steps.

“Don’t be afraid, Master.”

The person who came was an old woman about fifty or sixty years old. She was hunched over, holding a candlestick in her hand, with the faint firelight trembling slightly in the air.

Illuminating her wrinkled face.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Granny Lin who watches over the ancestral hall. Seeing the candlelight inside was blown out by the wind, I came to relight it.” As she spoke, she went to light the lamps.

Ji Yunshu was indeed quite frightened!

She didn’t believe in gods or ghosts, but people scaring people could still scare people to death.

“Granny Lin, is it usually just you alone in this ancestral hall?”

“At night it’s just me alone. Those maids don’t dare stay in the ancestral hall at night, so I’m the one who watches over it. Tell me, what could there be in an ancestral hall?”

Indeed!

What could there be?

Ji Yunshu asked, “By the way, why didn’t I see anyone along the way coming here?”

Granny Lin had already finished lighting the lamps and looked at her. “Recently the residence hasn’t been peaceful. Everyone doesn’t dare to come out and move around at night, so they’ve all returned to their rooms to rest early.”

So that was it!

“Not peaceful?”

“There’s been haunting.”

She smiled. “Where are there ghosts in this world? It’s all just people’s hearts playing tricks.”

“You may think this way, Master, but others don’t. In everyone’s heart, there’s a ghost—a ghost that cannot be driven away no matter what.”

“A ghost in people’s hearts?”

“Does Master not have a ghost in her heart?”

Eh!

The ghost in her heart!

“Whatever a person fears most, that thing is the ghost. Everyone has something they fear, so everyone has a ghost in their heart.” Granny Lin had been in the ancestral hall for many years and must have long understood this point.

Ji Yunshu nodded. “What Granny Lin says is correct.”

Granny Lin narrowed her eyes. “Let me escort Master back to her room.”

“No need. Just lend me a lantern. It’s already very late—Granny should rest early.”

“It’s no problem. It’s good for this old person to walk around more. The residence is too large—I’m worried Master will get lost.”

Thus—

Granny Lin found a lantern and escorted Ji Yunshu all the way back to her room. After lighting the lamp in her room, she also left behind a fire starter.

“Every night, especially in the latter half of the night, this candlelight is easily blown out by the wind. Master, remember to close the windows properly.”

“Many thanks.”

“Then I won’t disturb Master any further.”

Granny Lin left carrying the lantern.

The entire Marquis’s residence was truly strange.

She didn’t continue thinking about it further and went to rest.

The next day, Marquis Kang had people set out a feast.

A whole table of chicken, duck, fish, and meat—everything was there.

Truly without any stinginess!

But Tang Si, who usually couldn’t resist when she saw delicious food, had changed her usual behavior.

She sat there listlessly, staring at the things before her with vacant eyes.

Ji Yunshu happened to be sitting next to her, so she reached out and poked her, asking, “What’s wrong with you?”

She let out a heavy breath. “I didn’t sleep all night.”

“Why not?”

“Someone kept knocking on the door. But every time I went to open it, there was nothing there at all.” Her voice was soft and weak.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yunshu’s brow furrowed involuntarily. She said, “You mean to say someone knocked on your door all night long?”

“Yes. I don’t know which annoying troublemaker it was. Every time I lay down on the bed, they’d come knocking. If I didn’t open it, they’d just keep knocking, and they’d giggle too. Tell me, what kind of child doesn’t sleep and comes knocking on others’ doors at night? Isn’t that sick? It really infuriates me.”

She clenched her fist and weakly pounded it on the table.

This punch just happened to attract everyone’s attention. Muruo glared at her fiercely from across the table. “Just eat. Why are you throwing a tantrum?”

Marquis Kang asked, “Miss Tang, are the dishes not to your liking? If you don’t like them, this Marquis will have people remake them for you.”

“No!” She complained with a face full of resentment. “I say, my lord Marquis, why are the children in your residence so mischievous? Last night they knocked on my door no less than fifty times. I’m exhausted. But every time I opened the door, there wasn’t even a ghost there. Who was it exactly? Hand over that child—I must teach them a good lesson.” She ground her teeth.

Instantly, Marquis Kang and the surrounding servants all felt a chill run through their bodies.

Hmm?

What was going on?

Jingrong, Ji Yunshu, Muruo, and Tang Si all didn’t understand what had happened!

What had been a perfectly good banquet became extremely tense.

Only Marquis Kang was heard letting out another heavy sigh. “What a sin!”

Hmm?

After saying this, he suddenly looked at Ji Yunshu. “Master Ji, this matter… I may have to trouble you.”

Hmm?

What did he mean?

Jingrong asked, “Marquis Kang, could you explain more clearly?”

Actually, Marquis Kang had long planned to reveal this matter—

“To be honest… actually…” He let out a sigh. “Actually, I should have said this yesterday. My most beloved treasure has gone missing.”

Most beloved treasure?

Marquis Kang’s most beloved treasure was the golden thread armor bestowed upon him by the Emperor.

Jingrong was puzzled. “Isn’t the Marquis’s golden thread armor still there?”

“It’s a pair of shoes!”

Pffft!

Someone laughed out loud—it was Tang Si. She said, “A pair of shoes? Are they made of gold? But my lord Marquis, I see your residence is magnificent and splendid. You don’t seem to be lacking gold.”

She was right.

Muruo glared at her and quietly reminded her, “Let the Marquis finish speaking. Don’t interrupt.”

“Oh.” She complied.

Ji Yunshu, maintaining her professional integrity, straightened up and asked Marquis Kang, “I wonder what kind of shoes they are that would trouble the Marquis so much? And how is this related to whoever knocked on Miss Tang’s door?”

Marquis Kang began sighing and lamenting again.

He looked at Ji Yunshu with a pained expression. “If it weren’t because the shoes were lost, I wouldn’t have troubled Master Ji to make this trip.”

Hmm?

She asked, “I don’t understand the Marquis’s meaning. Please speak plainly.”