Chapter 25: The Debt Collector Returned
"There are really Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang? Then, why are there so many ghosts in the world?"
"Is she just talking nonsense to scare her grandmother?" someone mumbled. He felt the gloominess around him so he dared not to speak loudly.
The chief of the Yamen officers lit up three incenses and bowed three times to the outside.
"We don't mean to disturb you both. Please forgive us." He then took out a yellow paper he prepared earlier and knelt on the ground to burn it.
After burning the yellow paper, the chief of the Yamen officers got up and said, "Desolate City is different from the outside world. This is a very dark place. I heard that a miracle once happened here, so it isn't strange if we see Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang. We just have to respect them."
"You were born with a pair of opened eyes. How fortunate!" The chief of the Yamen officers looked at Jiang Huailu, then shook his head slightly. What was the point of it?
She had been exiled to the frontier anyways. He wasn't even sure if she could survive in Desolate City.
Desolate City was the most unwelcoming for old people, women and children.
Besides, Prince Huaijiang was cruel. None of those who were exiled by him had ever returned.
"They're gone." Xiao Huailu leaned onto her mother's chest as she blinked.
Xia bit her lower lip and gently covered Jiang Huailu's eyes. "Don't look. Don't look." Thinking about the rumors circulating around the capital saying that her daughter was a bane, she still felt her heart and scalp tingling.
His Majesty was sick, so sick that he became a dotard.
After hearing the rumors, he sent an eunuch to their mansion. The eunuch's sharp <anno data-annotation-id="54862a21-1a40-48cb-966b-997914737775">fingernail</anno> slid through Jiang Huailu's skin and a drop of blood dripped out.
Luckily, Huailu was just six months old at that time. She looked cute and unthreatening.
Her eyes were so pure as well. She was also extremely courageous and she even gripped onto that eunuch's finger with her hand.
Xia found out afterwards that His Majesty asked the eunuch to decide whether the child could stay depending on the situation.
When the eunuch was gone, her whole body softened out of fear. Since then, she dared not to take Jiang Huailu out, worrying that people would spy on them.
Xiao Huailu felt that Xia's body was shaking slightly. She looked at her mother timidly and obediently closed her eyes.
The foggy forest at night was frightening.
The Jiang family was so anxious that they couldn't sleep.
When Liu woke up, she stared at Jiang Huailu, but was also a bit scared of her. So, she immediately looked away after glaring at Jiang Huailu for a second.
"Why haven't they come back? They're making me so anxious."
Liu was so anxious that she kept walking back and forth. Old Lord Jiang's body also tightened. Even though he had never said a word, he kept looking into the white fog.
Jiang Huaian let his sister sit on his lap and he wrapped a few layers of clothes around her.
"You senseless piece of sh*t! You should boil some water. Then, they'll have hot water to drink when they get back," Liu scolded Xia. She respected her daughter-in-law in the house back then only because she didn't want to tear her mask off.
But now, she didn't pretend anymore.
A mocking laugh came from the Fang family again.
Lord Fang, who was nearby, shook his head slightly. Old Lord Jiang was talented and knowledgeable, but this kind of man rarely cared about what happened in his backyard. He had never thought the forecourt would be dragged into the chaos in the backyard as well.
After a night of silence, the hearts of the members of the Jiang family sank again and again.
"We'll have to keep going after an hour." The chief of the Yamen officers glanced at the Jiang family as he asked the Yamen officers to distribute the crackers. Then, he sat aside and didn't say anything else.
Xia's body swayed slightly, but she still stood straight in the end.
This former Lady of a noble family had a bit more determination in her eyes right now.
Liu couldn't control herself anymore and started crying. When she wiped her tears off, she heard Jiang Huailu's voice.
"Hey… The debt collector is back."
After that, a clear jingling sound came from afar.
That was the sound of the things Jiang Yubai and Jiang Huaiying wore on them, before they left.
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