After Afei left, Aman was still distressed and complained, “We agreed on one hundred taels, but suddenly it became two hundred. Even hens don’t lay eggs that quickly.”

Jiang Si reached out and tapped Aman’s forehead, saying, “I never realized you were such a money-grubber before.”

Aman covered her forehead and pouted, thinking to herself that her mistress didn’t have money before either, so she couldn’t have been a money-grubber even if she wanted to.

“Don’t focus so much on this. Money is important, but it’s not the most important thing for us,” Jiang Si said.

She needed money to get things done, but what she lacked were people to do the tasks. If she had any other option, she wouldn’t have used a street ruffian like Afei, whom she had never dealt with before.

Fortunately, she was lucky. Afei was quick-witted and not so shallow-minded, making him somewhat useful.

“Give these two hundred taels to Diviner Liu to repay her,” Jiang Si instructed.

“Won’t you be seeing Diviner Liu again, Miss?” Aman asked.

“No, there’s no need to see her anymore.” Repaying the debt meant they would owe each other nothing from now on. It was time for Diviner Liu to face the consequences of her evil deeds.

In her previous life, Diviner Liu had enjoyed prosperity for a long time. Even when Jiang Si married Yu Jin and returned to the capital, Liu was still thriving.

However, one day, the once-prosperous Diviner Liu was hacked to death in her own home, and the murderer was never caught.

Jiang Si happened to know who the killer was.

From the moment the title fell to Second Uncle’s family, she began to suspect the incident when Second Aunt had invited Diviner Liu to their home to perform an exorcism. While asking Yu Jin to secretly investigate Second Uncle, she also had him look into Diviner Liu’s background.

Many things, if investigated thoroughly without regard for cost or time, often reveal unexpected truths.

The most disgusting of Diviner Liu’s deeds was using her son disguised as a daughter to ruin the young ladies of wealthy families. It was this very act that brought about her demise.

Of course, the killer had nothing to do with the Yan family.

Diviner Liu’s unconscionable scheme wasn’t limited to the Yan family. Some girls were strong-willed and didn’t insist on marrying a poor boy because of those seven nights, while some parents truly loved their daughters and prevented them from making foolish decisions.

According to Yu Jin’s investigators, at least four or five young ladies had suffered from the same strange illness as Miss Yan.

Diviner Liu had been meticulous in her actions. All of these young ladies were only children, living in different towns at least a hundred li apart. The poor boy in their dreams, supposedly staying with distant relatives, had a different set of “relatives” each time.

Diviner Liu had cast a wide net at great expense.

Among them was Miss Dou, a beautiful girl adored by her parents. She had a strong personality and, after being victimized by Diviner Liu’s son, quickly figured out the truth and hanged herself, leaving no explanation for her parents.

Diviner Liu’s son’s disguise as a girl was flawless. How could Miss Dou’s parents know that the person sleeping with their daughter every night was a man? Faced with their daughter’s death, they were completely baffled, unable to fathom the reason.

Seeing that a death had occurred, Diviner Liu quickly fled.

Miss Dou had a fiancé, a childhood sweetheart who had become a military officer stationed in Lin City. He had been away suppressing a local rebellion with his superiors. When he returned and learned of his fiancée’s death, he nearly went mad.

Miss Dou’s parents could only cry helplessly in the face of their would-be son-in-law’s questioning.

His fiancée’s death became an indelible pain for this man. He couldn’t believe she would take her own life over something trivial. There must have been something unbearable that had happened to her.

The man turned his attention to Diviner Liu, who had appeared at the Dou family’s home.

However, communication was difficult at that time, and once Diviner Liu left, she vanished without a trace.

The families in different towns who had been victimized by Diviner Liu, even if they had figured out the truth, had no choice but to keep it tightly under wraps. They didn’t dare mention Diviner Liu’s name to outsiders and were forced to praise her abilities while swallowing their bitterness.

When victims actively cover up for their perpetrators, it becomes nearly impossible for outsiders to uncover the truth.

This went on for over a decade.

The man finally pieced together the truth through a combination of guesswork and investigation. In a rage, he castrated Diviner Liu’s son, then secretly infiltrated Diviner Liu’s home in the capital and hacked her to death in the night.

By the time those who had sought Diviner Liu’s services sent people to look for her, the man had already left the capital and returned to his fiancée’s hometown.

Such cases were the hardest to solve. Even if the authorities tried to investigate those who had grudges against Diviner Liu, they wouldn’t think to look back more than a decade.

Moreover, Diviner Liu wasn’t from a noble family; she was just a rural woman who had gained favor among the elite through her reputation. Once she died, interest in her case quickly waned, and it gradually became a cold case.

Yu Jin had been investigating Diviner Liu’s affairs at Jiang Si’s request for a long time, which is why they were able to track down this man and uncover so much.

The man’s fate left Jiang Si sighing for a long time.

After entrusting his parents to his brother’s care, the man took his own life at his fiancée’s grave.

This incident caused quite a stir in the local area.

People said the man was too devoted, unable to bear the thought of his fiancée even after more than a decade, and finally decided to follow her.

No one connected this man’s death with the death of a fortuneteller far away in the capital. Or perhaps, Diviner Liu, who had appeared there over a decade ago, had been completely forgotten, and news from the distant capital couldn’t possibly reach this place.

Jiang Si still remembered how displeased Yu Jin looked when she expressed admiration for the man’s unwavering love for his fiancée.

She had given him a sidelong glance and said that such men were rare in this world.

Yu Jin had retorted, “It took him over a decade to avenge his fiancée. She probably got tired of waiting and had already reincarnated. What’s there to admire about such a slow-witted man?”

The couple had bantered for a while before putting the matter to rest.

Before the appointed time with Diviner Liu, Jiang Si left Aman behind and departed first.

When Diviner Liu arrived punctually and didn’t see Jiang Si, she felt relieved. “I don’t need the money. I should thank Fourth Miss for her help.”

“That won’t do. Our Miss said that repaying debts is a heavenly principle. Please take it. Also, in the future, when you see our Miss, just treat her as a stranger,” Aman replied.

Diviner Liu was more than happy to comply. She took the two hundred tael bank note and left, feeling pleased.

A few days later, a young man arrived in a small town several hundred li away from the capital.

The man was in his early twenties, and fairly handsome, but his gait betrayed a hint of frivolity.

Such a young man’s appearance in the small town didn’t attract any attention.

The young man stopped in front of a tavern, rubbing his chin and muttering, “Is this the tavern where the man Miss mentioned often drinks?”

Just then, a patron was walking out of the tavern. The young man quickly grabbed him and slipped him a few copper coins. “Brother, is General Qin drinking inside?”

The patron pointed into the tavern and mumbled, “He’s drinking in there right now.”

“Thanks,” the young man said as he entered the tavern.