Just as Tong Aning was deeply disgusted, the courtyard gate was kicked open by someone, who walked aggressively toward Zhang Wansi.
[Ta-da! Zhang Hui makes his entrance.]
Tong Aning: "..."
[ Xixi, you know exactly how to cause trouble.]
Tong Aning couldn't believe that if these people could hear her conversation with Xixi, they would probably be furious.
Thinking this, Tong Aning shrank her neck.
When Xue Lin saw this, he assumed that Tong Aning was feeling cold, so he restrained himself and helped Tong Aning lift her hood. Tong Aning turned to look at him and blinked meaningfully.
And below--
Zhang Hui grabbed Zhang Wansi by the collar, raised his fist, and said with a ferocious expression, "You actually dare to come here to summon spirits? I'll beat you to death!"
Zhang Wansi wailed repeatedly, "You beast, you beast..."
Tong Aning was greatly shocked by what she saw.
Are they really father and son? They look more like enemies!
[More or less.]
Xixi's tone sounded rather vague.
[ Xixi, what's wrong with you? Aren't we the best gossip buddies in the world? Tell me what you know right now.]
Xixi is very pleased that her host enjoys gossiping so much.
[ Yanjun was Zhang Wansi's newlywed wife, but she passed away two months ago due to poor health. While grieving, Zhang Wansi discovered that Zhang Hui had secretly hired a sorcerer to tie his own marriage rope to Yanjun's soul. Enraged, Zhang Wansi sought out the sorcerer to confirm whether Yanjun had indeed been bound.]
Tong Aning: "..."
[Host, what's wrong?]
[So many flaws, I don't even know where to begin complaining.]
To say that Zhang Wansi is sincere, it seems that all he cares about is whether Yanjun has betrayed him and is with his son.
While Zhang Hui may seem affectionate, he is also openly coveting his stepmother.
Both of them are oddballs.
Sichen wholeheartedly agreed.
Even someone with little education knows these are scams, yet this father and son actually believed them.
Sichen said, "Your Highness, let me go down and wipe out this group of lunatics in one fell swoop."
Tong Aning looked at Sichen and quietly gave him a thumbs up.
Just as Xue Lin was about to raise his hand, he suddenly heard Zhang Hui below say, "It's you."
Zhang Hui looked at the necromancer.
[No way, did the necromancer really succeed in summoning the spirit?]
Zhang Hui pulled off the white robe of the necromancer.
The master covered his face, angrily saying, "This is blasphemy against the gods!"
Zhang Hui scoffed, clutching his white robe as he yanked the master's hand away. "Showing blasphemy against the gods! You don't think I won't recognize you just because you've changed your clothes, do you? Didn't you tell me the other day that the marriage rope is unique to you, and there's no one else with it? What are you doing now!"
[It turns out that both father and son were fooled by the same person.]
The necromancer said sheepishly, "I did say that, but I'm not using a marriage rope right now."
Zhang Hui broke down, "What else can you do? Why did you do this to me, and then to my father? I need to think of something, I need to think of something..."
The necromancer sensed something was wrong with Zhang Hui. He was terrified, but forced himself to remain calm. "What's wrong with you?"
Zhang Hui stared intently at the necromancer, his sinister gaze sending chills down the man's spine. "I'm going to kill you. Yes, as long as I kill you, no one in the world can ever separate Yanjun and me again."
The necromancer; "...?"
"No way, are you sick in the head?"
The necromancer had barely finished cursing when Zhang Hui pulled out a knife from his pocket and charged at him.
master. "!!!"
"Aaaaaaah, help!"
There was a persimmon tree in the center of the courtyard. The two of them ran around the persimmon tree five times. Although the master of summoning spirits was young, he was panting heavily and obviously couldn't keep up.
Let's go see Zhang Hui again--
His eyes were piercing and sharp; he wouldn't give up until he had struck the master.
[What a miserable life.]
Just as the master was exhausted and the knife in Zhang Hui's hand was about to pierce his heart, Sichen flew into the courtyard, kicked the knife out of Zhang Hui's hand, and kicked Zhang Hui against the wall.
In the eyes of the necromancer, Sichen was simply a god descended from heaven, and the necromancer looked at Sichen with adoration.
Xue Lin and Tong Aning entered through the main entrance.
Sichen grabbed the necromancer by the collar and pulled him up. Strangely, the necromancer was unusually cooperative.
Sichen cursed, "Now you know how to behave? I staked out you for three days and three nights and still couldn't catch you."
The necromancer's eyes gleamed as he said, "You've been keeping watch over me for three days and three nights?"
Sichen: "..."
Why is he so excited?
The necromancer wished he could kowtow to Sichen; this was the protection of the gods!
Knowing the psychic's inner thoughts, Tong Aning thought, "..."
[ Sichen is right, this is madness.]
Sichen was somewhat smug. Of course, he was absolutely right.
He told Tong Aning, " Miss Tong, you have no idea, this guy is utterly wicked. He lies about everything. Asking spirits to possess people is just a small trick. He also has rituals, granting believers indestructible bodies, elixirs, and so on—the tricks are countless."
Wow, she's got so many jobs!
Tong Aning nodded and asked, "Then you must have been watching him for a long time, right?"
Sichen: "Yeah, that's great, we finally caught them."
Tong Aning: "Thank you for your hard work."
Xue Lin stood not far from Tong Aning and Sichen. Upon hearing this, he looked towards the two of them from a distance.
Tong Aning smiled and walked up to Xue Lin. "Now the young master can rest assured."
Xue Lin's lips curled up. "Mm."
"Tsk tsk tsk," Sichen, who happened to catch a glimpse of this scene, exclaimed, "Look how happy the young master is."
Xue Lin said, "Take all of these people away."
The master of summoning spirits didn't resist much, but simply looked up to the sky and sighed, "Senior brother, am I sorry? Or was it that I couldn't find you?"
Tong Aning: "..."
Actually, the style of a necromancer is quite similar to that of a person.
Tong Aning tentatively asked, "Your senior brother isn't Xuanming, is he?"
The necromancer stared at Tong Aning in disbelief, and exclaimed excitedly, "Miss, do you know my senior brother?"
[Really...]
Tong Aning: "I do know him."
Not only her, but everyone present recognized Master Xuanming, who controlled the monkey.
"Where is he now, Miss? Just tell me, and I will repay you handsomely."
But he's about to go to jail, so that statement isn't very convincing.
The necromancer clearly realized this as well, and he said anxiously, "I'll give you all the gold I've earned."
Sichen said irritably, "Is that your money? That's the money of the victims you cheated!"
The necromancer. "..."
He was still unwilling to give up and wanted to offer more bargaining chips.
Tong Aning raised her hand, "No need, you'll see your senior brother soon."
"Really?"
"It's true, he's currently in prison in the Jingzhao Prefecture."
The necromancer. "..."
Tong Aning couldn't help but complain, "What kind of sect is this anyway? All you do is swindle and cheat all day long."
The necromancer. "Hmph, my master is the real master."
Xue Lin secretly instructed Sichen, "Tonight, separate the interrogations of Xuanming and him. I need to find out who their master is."
"Yes, Your Highness."
[Now look what's happened, even our master has been dragged into this.]
The officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture were escorting the spirit medium and the Zhang family father and son out, but they were suddenly stopped.
"Master, what are you doing...?"
The speaker was a middle-aged woman. Sichen kicked the necromancer without hesitation, "You're still lying to people."
The necromancer stammered, "There's nothing I can do. Business is booming, but the Zhang family is even more generous, so I had to move her to the back of the queue."
Tong Aning: "Master, you've been quite busy all night."
The necromancer smiled sheepishly.
Xue Lin said, "Madam, this man is a charlatan; you must not trust him."
"But I've already given him all the money."
" The Jingzhao Prefecture will return this money to you shortly."
"No," the woman insisted, "Since I gave him the money, he has to help me with the spiritual communication."
[So what they cared about wasn't money, but rather spiritual connections.]
Sichen warned, "He's a fraud; his psychic abilities are fake."
"Impossible."
The woman grabbed the spirit medium and refused to let him leave.
Tong Aning asked, "Why did you seek him out for psychic abilities?"
The woman burst into tears at the mention of the incident. "I had a good-for-nothing son who took the imperial examinations four times but failed each time. A little over a month ago, after learning that he had failed again, he couldn't bear it and threw himself into the river."
Tong Aning felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this, and her gaze towards the woman softened unconsciously. "You want to use the psychic ability to comfort him?"
"I've heard that the underworld has its own rules and regulations, and I hope he can work hard there and pass the exams to become an official."
Tong Aning: "..."
[Roll it up, roll it all up!]
*
"You..."
Tong Aning glanced somewhat cryptically at the newly appointed Ministry of Rites while at the Ministry of Rites.
The Ministry of Rites felt a chill run down his spine. Everyone in the court and the public knew of Tong Aning's abilities. Was she looking at him like that because she suspected something was going on?
That's impossible!
He has always been upright and honest, otherwise His Majesty would not have entrusted him with such an important position.
What exactly happened?
He wanted to ask, but Tong Aning was already engrossed in her documents.
" Lord Tong."
Tong Aning looked up, her eyes clear, and asked earnestly, "What is it, Lord Lü?"
Lü Er carefully considered his words and said, "If there's anything you don't understand, just ask."
Tong Aning nodded. "Okay."
Should I tell him...?
Lü Er stumbled, Tong Aning asked worriedly, " Lord Lü, are you alright?"
Lü Er waved his hand, "It's nothing."
He looked at Tong Aning and finally asked, " Lord Tong, is there... anything you want to say to me?"
Tong Aning thought for a moment, "If I tell you, will Lord Lü believe me?"
"Certainly."
Finally, it was time to speak. Lü Er was both excited and a little nervous.
Is it a joke, or is it meant to remind him?
Whether it's the former or the latter, it's a relief for him, and he no longer needs to speculate.
Tong Aning said, " Lord Lü, your inkstone wasn't knocked over by that orange cat; another cat did."
Lü Er: "..."
"What?"
"It's that black cat."
Lü Er looked in the direction Tong Aning's brush was pointing. A black cat was slowly walking by, and on the stone slab behind it were a series of black plum blossom paw prints.
Lü Er clenched his fists. Black cat or orange cat, he'd catch them all and keep them at home!