As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was in an uproar. The death of Young Master Zheng had spread throughout Luoyang City like wildfire – everyone knew about it. But everyone had thought it was an accident, that Princess Jinyang’s fate was too harsh and had brought death to him. Yet now Zheng Yang’s ghost was saying that Young Master Cui had pushed him into the river – that it was deliberate murder. This… this was truly shocking.

Cui Ji’s eyelid twitched as he shook his head: “Brother Zheng, you… who told you such things? How… how could I harm you? Besides, on the ninth day of the second month, I was at home the entire time and never went out. Yongzhong can vouch for me.”

“He’s your Cui family’s lapdog. Of course whatever you say goes – how could he tell the truth?” Cui Yongzhong listened carefully – the voice was indeed coming from those two houses, but he had personally checked and found nothing suspicious. Could it really be Zheng Yang’s ghost causing trouble here because he couldn’t rest in peace?

Cui Ji said somewhat helplessly: “Then what does Brother Zheng want?” As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Yang’s voice came again: “Very simple – I want you to pay with your life for mine!”

Cui Ji sighed: “If I really had harmed Brother Zheng, I wouldn’t need Brother Zheng to say it – I would atone with my death. But I never did it. Brother Zheng drank too much and accidentally fell into the water and drowned.”

“Even now you’re still lying through your teeth! Ever since the princess chose me as prince consort, you’ve been unwilling to accept it, wanting to take my place. But you knew it was impossible for His Majesty to change the imperial decree, so the only way was to kill me, then bribe Wu A’Li and the other to put on a show in front of Brother Du and the others, so you could naturally propose to marry the princess and have Brother Du be your advocate to facilitate this marriage. Cui Ji, how vicious you are!”

Cui Ji’s eye twitched repeatedly. This must all be Du Ruhui’s trick – damn him!

Cui Yongzhong said from the side: “Who exactly are you? Why are you deliberately slandering my young master?”

“I said I’m Zheng Yang, the wronged ghost killed by Cui Ji. Today, I’m going to take Cui Ji to the Hall of Yama to atone for his crimes in the underworld!”

Cui Yongzhong sneered: “Everyone knows ghosts can’t be seen in daylight. If you were really Young Master Zheng’s soul, how could you cause trouble in broad daylight!”

When he said this, the frightened crowd also remembered this point. Just as they were gradually regaining some courage, a house not far away suddenly creaked open by itself, followed by that sinister voice again: “Cui Ji, come in. If you refuse, all of you will die here, and forget about the wedding procession!”

Cui Ji hesitated for a moment, then dismounted. Seeing this, Cui Yongzhong quickly said: “Young Master, let this subordinate accompany you inside.”

As soon as he finished speaking, that voice said: “Only Cui Ji may enter alone.”

Cui Ji said: “I’ve never done anything against my conscience, so there’s no need to worry.” With that, he walked toward that house. As soon as he stepped inside, the two doors closed by themselves.

Cui Ji looked back at the tightly closed wooden doors, then walked into the house. Despite the clear weather and bright sunshine outside, this place was exceptionally gloomy. Even the sunlight falling here looked pale and without a trace of warmth.

After passing through the courtyard, Cui Ji stood under the eaves and called to the house with its doors wide open but completely empty: “Du Ruhui, come out.”

No one answered him, but footsteps sounded behind him. Turning to look, there was nothing behind him – no figure as he had expected. But when he turned back around, the previously empty house now had a figure with disheveled hair and wrapped in white clothes. He couldn’t see the face hidden by the hair, only a pair of resentful eyes – how terrifying.

Suddenly startled by this shock, Cui Ji’s pupils contracted, but he quickly returned to normal and said coldly: “Who exactly are you? Why are you pretending to be a ghost here, impersonating Brother Zheng’s spirit?”

Under Cui Ji’s questioning, the white figure laughed sinisterly, then the laugh turned into endless resentment: “Cui Ji, do you think that by killing me you can marry the princess and become prince consort? No, a sinister villain like you doesn’t deserve the princess at all. Today is your death day!”

“Who exactly are you?” Although Cui Ji didn’t believe the person standing before him was Zheng Yang’s spirit, this voice was indeed identical to Zheng Yang’s – very strange. Before the white figure could answer, he had already strode toward it. When they were only two steps apart, the white figure suddenly floated up, suspended in mid-air with both feet dangling, like someone who had hanged themselves.

This time, Cui Ji was truly shocked. How could a person float in mid-air without any support? Could it really be… a ghost? As soon as this thought emerged, he forcefully rejected it. Impossible – there weren’t so many ghosts and spirits in this world. Besides, if Zheng Yang really wanted to seek revenge on him, he should have appeared right after his death. Why wait until now? It must be Du Ruhui – he was playing tricks in the shadows.

Eerie laughter echoed throughout this courtyard: “This place is your gate to hell, Cui Ji. Now that you’ve stepped in, don’t think about getting out!”

Cui Ji steadied himself and said coldly: “Du Ruhui, I know you’re behind this trickery. I made it very clear to you yesterday – Brother Zheng’s matter has nothing to do with me. Why won’t you let me go?!”

The white figure looked down at him coldly: “Brother Du is the only one who saw through your true face, but unfortunately he couldn’t find evidence to convict you. But that doesn’t matter – the Mirror of Karma in the underworld will naturally reflect all the evil deeds you did in life. Cui Ji, the eighteen levels of hell are waiting for you. Come with me!” Along with his words, a rope noose suddenly dropped from above, landing right in front of Cui Ji, startling him into backing away. But incredibly, as he retreated one step, the noose advanced one step, always hanging in front of him.

When Cui Ji backed to the threshold, the white figure floated before him and said in a sinister voice: “Cui Ji, I’ll give you two choices – go to the authorities and confess, or come with me to the underworld now.”

Cui Ji stared silently at the white figure and the noose, then suddenly a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Then he suddenly reached out and forcefully grabbed the white figure’s foot, sneering: “Since when can ghosts be grasped by humans? Come down!” With these words, he pulled down forcefully. Along with the sound of something snapping, the white figure fell heavily to the ground. Before it could react, Cui Ji had already stepped forward and brushed away the hair covering its face. After seeing the person’s features clearly, Cui Ji was first stunned, then said: “You came with him to frame me?”

The white figure was none other than Pei Qiancheng. Seeing that Cui Ji had seen through him, he no longer pretended and punched Cui Ji hard in the face: “You still have the gall to say we’re framing you! Zheng Yang trusted you so much, treated you like a blood brother, yet for wealth and honor, to become prince consort, you personally pushed him to his death. Cui Ji, are you even human?” By this point, his voice was already choked with sobs.

Cui Ji touched the pain on his face and said: “You believe Du Ruhui’s words that much?”