I become a god in another world

Chapter 659 The Chang Family Past

Chapter 659

Yu Lingzhu was about to retort, but she remembered what Zhao Fusheng had said earlier: she would hold back until Wu Ciping finished speaking.

Thinking of this, she bit her lip tightly and remained silent.

Wu Ciping, who had been scolded by her earlier, instinctively looked at her after he finished speaking. He saw that she was pursing her lips tightly and bit her nail twice with her thumb when he looked at her, but she did not interrupt him. He felt relieved.

There's a contradiction here.

Zhao Fusheng asked Wang Zhiyi:
"Zhiyi, in your memory, has Old Madam Chang passed away?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Lingzhu felt a pang of anxiety: she and Wang Zhiyi had never gotten along, they would bicker whenever they met, and they couldn't stand each other. This woman, Wang Zhiyi, might deliberately say something to annoy her.

Wang Zhiyi originally intended to trip up Yu Lingzhu.

Zhao Fusheng spoke gently, but his gaze was sharp, as if he could see into her heart.

As they spent more time together, she discovered that Zhao Fusheng was not what she had imagined, and was much easier to get along with than Yu Lingzhu.

If one were to lie at this moment, it would hinder the ghost case, offend people, and possibly even antagonize Zhao Fusheng.

Thinking it over, Wang Zhiyi honestly replied:
"died."

She said:
“I joined the Demon Suppression Division thirty-seven years ago. In the second year after I joined the Demon Suppression Division, Old Lady Chang died. At that time, Yu Lingzhu went back to attend the funeral.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu breathed a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if her injustice had been redressed.
"See, I wasn't lying, was I?"

Wu Ciping panicked:
"My lord, I wasn't lying."

Yu Lingzhu was unforgiving even when she was in the right:

"Thirty-six years ago, Old Madam Chang passed away peacefully. Her funeral was a grand affair, and many people knew about it," she retorted.

"Lord Wu, is it because of the capital that you dislike me?"

"I—" Wu Ciping shook his head, about to explain, when Zhao Fusheng frowned and said:

"It concerns a ghost case, and it doesn't involve personal grudges. What reason would he have to repeatedly lie to you?"

Wu Ciping, having been repeatedly retorted by Yu Lingzhu, was finally getting angry, even though he was usually quite stubborn. He replied:

"Exactly, these things are easy to find out with just a few questions, why would I lie about them?"

He muttered unhappily:

"Besides, I followed Lord Fengdu decades ago. Now that I'm trapped here, it's uncertain whether I can leave. What do the grudges outside have to do with me?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu realized that she had acted too impulsively.

Zhao Fusheng said:

"Lingzhu, you said that Old Madam Chang died, and the funeral was quite grand?"

Seeing that she didn't get angry or scold her, Yu Lingzhu felt a little guilty and said:

“Fusheng, it’s not that I’m deliberately trying to go against you, it’s just that many people witnessed Old Madam Chang’s death back then.” She explained.
"The Chang family was a prominent family in Wuqing. Many people came to pay their respects and kowtowed before Old Madam Chang's coffin. Such a thing could not be kept secret."

After she finished speaking, her tone softened:
“I also admit that Wuqing County has problems, but some things are unreasonable.”

“It’s normal for things to be unreasonable; in the Ghost Realm, it would be strange if things were reasonable.” Zhao Fusheng glanced at her.
"Our goal is to find the illogical, trace the reasons behind it, find the vengeful spirit, and discover the laws governing vengeful spirits in order to solve ghost cases. If everything makes sense, what's the point of investigating?"

Her words left Yu Lingzhu speechless.

"Tell me about Old Madam Chang's funeral," Zhao Fusheng said, seeing that Yu Lingzhu was silent. He then stopped there and steered the conversation back to the ghost case itself.

"Hearing you say that, I have a feeling that the source of this ghost case lies with Old Madam Chang herself," Zhao Fusheng said.
"A person who should have died has mysteriously come back to life. If there is a law of reincarnation here—then I dare to guess that this old lady Chang might be the first person to be reincarnated under this law?"

Her words were spoken slowly and deliberately, yet they evoked a complex mix of emotions in Yu Lingzhu.

To be honest, Yu Lingzhu was prejudiced from the beginning because Feng Du proposed to bestow the title of King General upon Zhao Fusheng and asked her to investigate the Wuqing County case. Therefore, Yu Lingzhu was very resistant to her.

But after getting to know him, they found that Zhao Fusheng was actually a really good person.

Yu Lingzhu is a person who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment, making her hard to dislike.

When it came to the Chang family, she was exceptionally protective of them, and her words were often unreasonable—something Yu Lingzhu was well aware of.

But as a general, she possessed great strength, and everyone feared her. She herself was the embodiment of reason. Even if she was truly unreasonable and had a terrible temper, others would still give her some leeway, daring not to speak out against her anger.

But Zhao Fusheng was different.

She possesses exceptional strength, yet she is also reasonable. She doesn't get angry because of Yu Lingzhu's provocations. She can reprimand when necessary, but she can also convince Yu Lingzhu when it's time to reason with her.

When the strange occurrences in Wuqing County and the death of Old Madam Chang were mentioned, she did not get angry because of the argument between Yu Lingzhu and Wu Ciping. Like a calming pillar, she made Yu Lingzhu calm down and faced the strange occurrences in the Chang family for the first time.

"You mean the ghostly calamity originated from the Chang family, and that Old Madam Chang might be the one who revived the vengeful ghost? Or perhaps someone who controls ghosts?" Yu Lingzhu asked, forcing herself to remain calm.

"possible."

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"It's just a guess. After all, no one knows the truth until the incident is clear. But the more clues we get, the better it will be for our investigation."

A look of guilt flashed in Yu Lingzhu's eyes.

However, she was used to being proud and couldn't bring herself to apologize in front of others, so she had to make amends through her actions.

She calmed herself down and thought for a moment, then said:

"Old Mrs. Chang died suddenly back then. I remember that the day she died was the fifteenth of July. That year was a year of severe drought, and Wuqing County did not have any rain for more than three months."

Yu Lingzhu was unusually calm—especially when it came to the Chang family's affairs, she was usually sharp and defensive.

Wang Zhiyi had known her for decades, and this was the first time he had seen her like this. He couldn't help but look at her strangely several times, but he didn't say anything to mock her.

"How do you remember so clearly?" Meng Po asked curiously, "Judging from your memory—"

Yu Lingzhu couldn't stand hearing others speak ill of her. When Meng Po said those words, she felt inexplicably irritated again, but Zhao Fusheng's attentive listening immediately extinguished the irritation that welled up in her heart.

She took a deep breath and then said:

"Because this matter involves a lawsuit."

As soon as Yu Lingzhu finished speaking, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Chen Duozi smiled and said:
"The adults love listening to lawsuits."

Wang Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat, and he asked:

"Why?"

Zhao Fusheng remained silent, while Wu Shaochun said:

"Based on my experience in handling cases, most ghost cases are entangled in a lawsuit."

His words resonated with everyone, and Liu Yizhen nodded in agreement.

Wang Zhiyi paused for a moment, then looked thoughtful.

Yu Lingzhu also found this statement quite novel. Her laws regarding ghosts were unique, she rarely participated in handling ghost cases, and she was not clear about the details of ghost case investigations. Moreover, she was carefree and not suitable for unraveling the mysteries to discover patterns.

At this moment, he felt that what Wu Shaochun said made some sense, but he didn't take it to heart. He simply said, "This is a family matter and has nothing to do with others. If you want to hear it, I will tell you."

She paused for a moment, as if recalling the past and organizing her thoughts:

"The story begins with Old Mrs. Chang. As I mentioned before, she had three sons and one daughter. When I met her, her daughter was already married."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fusheng had a thought: the ghost case in Wuqing County seemed to have nothing to do with Old Madam Chang's daughter at first glance. She was a married woman, and most people's attention was focused on the Chang family itself.

One person attains enlightenment, and even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

The Chang family has benefited, so there's no reason for them not to support their daughter.

Yu Lingzhu, unaware of her thoughts, continued:

"She was the second son in the Chang family, just below the eldest son. She was about ten years older than me and married a family surnamed Dong from Changjiao County, which was not far from Wuqing County."

"The Dong family used to be poor, and Chang Erniang didn't come back often. Later, the Chang family became wealthy, and the two families resumed their interactions, which became quite frequent," Yu Lingzhu said.
"The old lady felt sorry for her daughter's hard life and often helped her out, but as far as I know, the relationship between the two sisters-in-law and the second sister is not very harmonious."

This was already considered a family scandal in the Chang family, and Yu Lingzhu spoke with some hesitation.

"Are there conflicts between the two sides, such as between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or between the sisters-in-law?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

Yu Lingzhu said helplessly:

"Fusheng, these things are unrelated to the ghost case, so we don't have to talk about them, right?"

Zhao Fusheng said:

"This is no longer a family matter, but a matter of ghosts. The relationships between the Chang family members are very likely to involve the laws of vengeful ghosts, and some seemingly insignificant details may also contain clues."

Yu Lingzhu remained silent for a moment, then had no choice but to say:
"Chang Erjie is stingy and somewhat selfish. Her elder and younger sisters-in-law feel that she only gives and does not take anything when she comes to the Chang family, like a poor relative who is begging for money."

Every family has its cupboard.

Even in wealthy families like the Chang family, there are still some conflicts related to human nature.

"As for Chang Erjie, she felt that her two sisters-in-law were just outsiders. She was the one with the surname Chang, and it was only natural for her to go back to her parents' home to eat her mother's food and her brother's food. It had nothing to do with them."

Speaking of the Chang family's shameful affairs, Yu Lingzhu also felt ashamed:
"It is said that they often quarrel. When I was in the capital, I also received letters from both sides complaining and asking me to judge the matter."

"..."

Her words left everyone stunned. Wang Zhiyi's lips twitched, and Yu Lingzhu couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

"Anyway, both sides had their own reasons, and things got really heated."

She paused:

“When things got really bad, my two sisters-in-law sent their grandson to the capital, asking me to look after him for a while.”

That's strange.

Fan Bisi asked in surprise:

"The Chang family is a large household with many servants. Surely they can serve a young master like him?"

Meng Po and Chen Duozi, being women, knew these things best and immediately said:
"I suppose he's using this to complain to Lingzhu?"

Yu Lingzhu nodded:
"I also found it strange at the time, but fortunately Chang Hao was a smart kid. He was seven or eight years old at the time, and he was quick-witted and very endearing."

When she mentioned this adopted grand-nephew, a look of doting affection appeared on her face:
“He once told me secretly that his two grandfathers were arguing about divorcing his wife.”

This is no small matter.

Yu Lingzhu was both shocked and angry, but she was also afraid of frightening the child.

After much deliberation, she finally asked Feng Du for leave and asked Jia Yi for help to return to the Chang family in Wuqing County, Lizhou, where she finally found out the reason for the matter.

It turns out that over the years, the relationship between the two sisters-in-law and the sister-in-law in the Chang family has become extremely hostile.

After Chang Erjie married Dong Da, she lived a poor life in her early years and was very repressed. She was often oppressed by her husband's family.

Later, when the Chang family prospered, she finally felt proud and her husband's family treated her with great respect.

She had four daughters and two sons with Dong Dasheng, and was single-mindedly planning for her own family, during which time she received a lot of benefits from the Chang family.

Her two sisters-in-law disapproved of her always taking things from her husband's family without giving anything back, and often made sarcastic remarks to her.

The year that had the worst conflict with his two sisters-in-law from the Chang family, the two sides had a falling out and even argued at the front door, almost coming to blows, which made them quite a laughing stock.

In a fit of anger, Chang Erjie sent women to her two brothers.

She urged her two older brothers to remarry, subtly criticizing their wives for being old and unattractive and unworthy of their positions.

This naturally stirred up a hornet's nest.

The two sides are now at loggerheads.

“When I returned to the Chang family in Wuqing County, my two sisters-in-law complained to me that the Dong family was lawless and had angered the people of Changjiao County.”

As Yu Lingzhu recounted these past events, she rubbed her temples in frustration:
"Sister Chang then scolded the two women for having ill intentions and deliberately dragging her man into the mess, and the two sides started fighting in front of me."

Meng Po shook her head:

"This is due to lax family management."

Yu Lingzhu didn't refute this time.

Her position in the Chang family was awkward. She was both a benefactor and a supporter of the Chang family, yet she was not one of their own. At the same time, with Old Madam Chang around, she couldn't interfere in the family affairs. Over time, this created an awkward situation: she could only protect the family without being able to control it, which led to the Chang family becoming lawless.

"What happened to the Dong family?" Zhao Fusheng wasn't very interested in the conflict between the sisters-in-law, but she was very concerned about Changjiao County, which Yu Lingzhu had mentioned unintentionally.

Yu Lingzhu pursed her lips:
"I only found out later that Dong Da had taken over the position of Chief of the Demon Suppression Command in Changjiao County, and was also serving as the county magistrate."

"???" Even though Zhao Fusheng considered himself to have seen a lot of strange things since his rebirth, he still looked blank for a moment when he heard Yu Lingzhu say this.

She turned to ask Fan Bisi:

"Is this legal?"

Fan Bisi shook his head:
“Theoretically it’s against the rules, but if Dong Da of Changjiao County has absolute power, then he is the rule.”

Liu Yizhen added:
"There is a powerful backer behind him."

The group sang in unison, making Yu Lingzhu feel utterly ashamed.

"I didn't know about this—" Yu Lingzhu forced herself to remain calm and stubbornly defended herself:
"Yes, yes—" she said, her voice trailing off as she finished speaking, as if she knew she was in the wrong, her tone softening slightly.

"It was the people from the Wuqing County Demon Suppression Division who took care of it for him."

The people from the Wuqing County Demon Suppression Division did this because they were showing respect to the Buddha, not the monks—that is, to Yu Lingzhu, who was behind the Chang family.

Zhao Fusheng felt a surge of anger, but she forcibly suppressed it and continued to ask:
What happened in Changjiao County at that time?

Yu Lingzhu secretly glanced at her, and seeing that her expression was unreadable, she smiled wryly:

"I didn't know at the time, but later Wuqing County suffered a drought, and Changjiao County was particularly hard hit."

(End of this chapter)