Jiapingguan Chronicle

Song Yaojia snapped her fingers at Jin Miaomiao and nodded with a smile.

"They really had their eyes on them all along?" Jin Miaomiao looked incredulous. "Isn't the She family's escort agency a small operation? How could they have been targeted? The Gong and Ma families' territories aren't in Yangzhou Prefecture, so how did they happen to choose the late Empress Dowager's cousin's house? If this is just a coincidence, it's really hard to believe!"

“Sister Miaomiao is right, it’s too much of a coincidence,” Meilin chimed in. “There are so many escort agencies in Yangzhou Prefecture, and none of them have any problems, so why is it that only the She family is haunted?”

“Of course it’s not a coincidence.” Song Yaojia smiled and explained, “According to the testimonies of the Gong and Ma families, they initially targeted the She family not because they could profit from it. After all, in their eyes, although the She family ran a security escort agency, it was far inferior to other security escort agencies in Yangzhou Prefecture and not worth their time.”

"So?" Shen Cha spread her hands. "If the true identity of the She family hasn't attracted the attention of the Gong and Ma families, then it must be something about the She family that has made these two families go to such lengths, right?"

“Xiao Cha is so clever, that’s right.” Song Yaojia tapped the edge of the table lightly with the handle of her fan and said, “About half a month before the She family was haunted, the escort agency took on a job to deliver a bronze tripod to a merchant in Luozhou.”

"Merchants from Luozhou?" Shen Haolin raised an eyebrow. "The maternal grandparents' family of the late Empress Dowager? Is it that merchant family?"

“It is indeed that merchant, and the one who commissioned the She family is the late Empress Dowager’s maternal uncle.” Song Yaojia chuckled. “And this bronze cauldron is also quite prestigious; it came from the palace.”

"Was it bestowed upon her maternal grandfather by the late Empress Dowager?" Seeing Song Yaojia nod, Shen Cha frowned. "But that's a bronze tripod. Even the late Empress Dowager probably wasn't qualified to use it, let alone bestow it upon a relative of the maternal family. Isn't that a bit excessive?"

"The burial item was agreed upon by my imperial uncle, and," Song Yaojia sighed softly, "the late Empress Dowager's maternal grandfather had passed away long ago. The reason she was given a bronze tripod was because her maternal grandfather's tomb was washed away by heavy rain and needed to be rebuilt. Originally, the late Empress Dowager did not want my imperial uncle to know, but he found out anyway, which is why he was given a bronze tripod. To be precise, it was not given by the late Empress Dowager."

"Oh, I see!" Shen Cha nodded. "But if it was a royal decree, it should have been escorted by the Imperial Guards. Why did they specifically hire a security escort agency?" She frowned slightly. "That doesn't make sense!"

"The Imperial Guards were only responsible for escorting them to Yangzhou Prefecture; the rest was up to them. That's why Uncle Shang thought long and hard before he approached the She family."

"Do the merchants know the background of the She family?"

“Of course I know,” Song Yaojia nodded. “Otherwise, how could a small escort agency like the She family dare to accept such an imperial gift?”

“It seems that even if the Gong and Ma families don’t manage to deceive Gongsun Yue and the advisor, they will still be dealt with.” Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin. “Coveting imperial gifts is tantamount to treason, and sooner or later their families will be wiped out.”

“They didn’t know at first. They only realized it when they were almost there, and then they ran away.” Song Yaojia looked at the others. “Don’t you think this is incredibly childish?”

“It’s not that they’re playing around, it’s just that I think they’re pretty stupid,” Jin Miaomiao snorted. “Why would they want this cauldron? It’s just a funerary object, a burial item.” “Isn’t this their business? Aren’t tomb raiders rich from reselling these kinds of things?” Song Yaojia rolled her eyes. “They were probably commissioned by someone to find it, but it’s always been in the palace. This time, the Emperor’s uncle bestowed it upon a merchant, and its inexplicable appearance in the world attracted their attention. Actually, before the haunting, the Gong family had sent people to try to snatch and steal it from the She family, but they never succeeded. Although the She family no longer leads troops into battle, they are still a family of military generals. The generations after She Nanqi have not given up practicing martial arts, nor have they given up the hope of one day returning to the court.”

"So, the Gong family realized that forceful seizure wouldn't achieve their goal, and the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, making it easy for them to be defeated, so they resorted to methods like haunting?" Seeing Song Yaojia nod, Jin Miaomiao sneered, "Don't they know that military generals have always avoided gods and ghosts? Cousin She would never believe in this."

"There's one more thing," Shen Cha stroked her chin, "When they were plotting against the She family, didn't they bother to investigate the She family's background?"

“If they had such thoughts, they wouldn’t have gotten themselves into trouble by doing something so stupid.” Song Yaojia sneered. “On a side note, the Ding family also got involved in this attack on the She family.”

"Empress Ding's brother?"

“That’s right!” Song Yaojia nodded. “When the Ma family’s group of swindlers with no real skills were roaming around Yangzhou and Wuzhou, the Ding family had already gotten involved. Empress Ding’s brother arranged for his confidants to follow this swindler gang, and the money they swindled was split equally among the Gong, Ma, and Ding families.”

"Splitting it equally?" Jin Miaomiao raised an eyebrow. "The Gong and Ma families have always been profit-driven, fighting tooth and nail for even the smallest gains. How could they possibly be willing to split it equally with the Ding family? What's wrong with them?"

"It's not that they didn't make a good match. After all, the Ding family members are smart and more flexible than them." Song Yaojia snorted. "The people that Empress Ding's brother sent over were all quick-witted, eloquent, and particularly cunning. They also knew how to bewitch people, so they eliminated quite a few fools in the Gong and Ma families." He couldn't help but grit his teeth as he said this. "Good idea. In the month after they joined, the gold and silver treasures they swindled were more than the Gong and Ma families had combined in the previous few years. Naturally, the Gong and Ma families were willing to split it equally."

"As expected, there's still profit to be made." Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes. "So, the haunting of the She family's house was also the Ding family's idea?"

“Yes.” Song Yaojia nodded. “They initially assigned one person, but later they found that the She family cousin hadn’t fallen for it and didn’t care. Not only that, he was even planning to catch the ghost. They felt they had met their match, so they added two more people to cause trouble. Although the She family were descendants of military generals, the She family’s servants and maids didn’t know martial arts and were easily frightened. In addition, the neighbors gave them advice, saying that this couldn’t continue and that some exorcists who could exorcise ghosts had come to the city. They suggested that they let them take a look.”

"My cousin from the She family doesn't believe it, right?"

“Yes, but his family was really terrified, and he was a little worried too.” Song Yaojia sighed. “So he went to see the so-called exorcist, which is just a bunch of swindlers, but he was wary.”

"You were on guard?"

“I specifically sent someone to the Yangzhou government office to request the deployment of the Yangzhou prefectural soldiers.” Song Yaojia smiled. “The Yangzhou prefect didn’t know the She family’s background, but he knew they were relatives of the Empress Dowager, and very important relatives at that. So, he arranged for ten men to be hidden in the She family’s residence, just in case.” (End of Chapter)