I become a god in another world

Chapter 662 The truth back then
Chapter 662

Upon hearing this, everyone remained silent for a long time.

Meng Po clenched her fists and cursed angrily:

"What beasts! The two couples were perfectly fine, and they were ruined by the Dong family."

While it is said that Dong is a scourge, the real source of the trouble lies with the Chang family and Yu Lingzhu.

Although no one pointed fingers at her and cursed her out of respect for Yu Lingzhu, the subtle, imperceptible gazes from the crowd made Yu Lingzhu uneasy.

She never expected that Dong Da would get into this mess back then.

"Isn't it embarrassing?"

Wang Zhiyi sneered and asked Yu Lingzhu.

Yu Lingzhu clenched her hands tightly, and for a long time she still couldn't calm down.

Dong Da was an unremarkable man. His family was poor, and he had borrowed a lot of money to marry Chang Er in his early years, which he had not yet paid off even after more than ten years of marriage.

He was short and had a wretched appearance. He was thin and hunchbacked in his early years, but later, when the Chang family prospered, he also became wealthy. When Yu Lingzhu saw him again, he was heavily pregnant.

He was always cautious and smiling in front of Yu Lingzhu, never expecting that he was such a person behind her back.

She secretly glanced at Zhao Fusheng out of the corner of her eye, only to see that Zhao Fusheng's lips were tightly pursed and his hands were clenched into fists and pressed on his knees, clearly very angry.

Yu Lingzhu was also furious. If she had known this would happen, she should have killed Dong Da when she learned that someone in Changjiao County was causing trouble and suing him.

She felt anxious and restless, but she felt that whatever she said would be wrong under such circumstances, so she could only endure the bitterness.

"Such riots are likely to bring about evil spirits," Zhao Fusheng said coldly.

She didn't scold Yu Lingzhu, but to Yu Lingzhu, it was even more painful than being scolded.

Wu Ciping also sensed the tense atmosphere between the two.

He glanced at Yu Lingzhu furtively, then muttered to himself:
"Who can argue with that? Not long after, Changjiao County was hit by a famine."

"Drought?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

Wu Ciping nodded:
"According to Cheng Mengyin's case file, that's exactly what it says. It says that the water in the well started to decrease and the water level dropped. In less than half a month, people all over the county had to carry pots and pans and run ten miles every day to fetch water."

Later, the disaster gradually spread, and even the wells in other places began to dry up wherever people went to fetch water from the county town. People in other villages and towns became unhappy and believed that there was a plague in the county.

The most serious consequence of this incident is not the ghostly calamity itself, but the human-caused calamity resulting from the ghostly disaster.

Once the rumor spread that people in Changjiao County might be carrying the plague, other villages and towns became wary of them.

Over time, residents of villages and towns near Changjiao County have formed their own armed forces. Villagers carry weapons and are on guard, and will not allow outsiders to approach if they see them passing by.

It caused quite a stir at the time, and checkpoints were set up in every village and household.

The initial warning is that if the person ignores it and tries to approach forcibly, a fight will break out.

The fight between the villagers was brutal.

This is a fight for survival; everyone is driven by anger and has lost their rationality.

According to the records Wu Ciping saw back then, in the spring of 208 AD, a total of 87 village battles of varying sizes broke out in Changjiao County, involving more than 110 villages.

"In the later stages of the war, many villages were almost deserted, with hardly any living people left."

This incident resulted in a large number of deaths.

Even in the early spring of 408 AD, when this incident first occurred, it was not necessarily certain that it was caused by a ghost, which ultimately indirectly led to the involvement of the military.

"Later, at the end of March of the same year, Dong Fugui of Changjiao County sought help from Wuqing County."

Because the matter was so serious and the number of deaths was so high, the prefect of Wuqing County did not dare to make a decision on his own and wanted to report it to the prefectural government and wait for the higher-ups to make a decision.

But the Chang family disagreed at the time.

"In Cheng Mengyin's records, she received a handwritten letter from Old Madam Chang."

Wu Ciping looked embarrassed as he said this.

Pink snot oozed from his nostrils as he looked at Yu Lingzhu with an unnatural expression.

Yu Lingzhu was already restless, and seeing Wu Ciping's expression, a bad premonition welled up in her heart:

"What do you see me doing?"

Fan Wujiu, who never thought things through, said whatever came to mind. Upon hearing this, he replied:
"The reason he's looking at you must be because this matter is related to you."

Yu Lingzhu was furious:
"Nonsense! I wasn't involved in this. If I had known earlier that Dong Dajian had insulted another man's wife, killed his husband, and caused all this trouble, I certainly wouldn't have tolerated such evil!"

She was still very excited after she finished speaking:
"If I had known earlier, I would have definitely killed him—"

"Don't talk big. If you kill Dong Da, how are you going to explain it to Sister Chang?" Liu Yizhen retorted sarcastically.

Yu Lingzhu said:

"What explanation can I ask for? I can guarantee she'll marry an even better man." She finished speaking, still deeply frustrated.

"That Dong Da looks like a horse's hoof, dark-skinned, ugly, and short. It wouldn't be a loss if one of him died, so why would I begrudge losing an outsider? I truly don't know—"

"Don't get angry so soon," Liu Yizhen said with a smile.

"You don't know, but do you think Old Mrs. Chang knows?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu's heart skipped a beat.

If it were before, Old Mrs. Chang was a truly good person in her heart, and she would certainly not have associated with such wicked people.

This old woman hated evil and was always ready to stand up for the weak and oppressed.

Thinking of this, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and she burst into a tirade:
"What the hell is going on? Old Mrs. Chang wasn't like this back then!"

Zhao Fusheng calmly observed her:
"People change, what's so strange about that? Have you noticed the time?"

Yu Lingzhu looked up at her with teary eyes:
"What time?"

"You're really confused." Zhao Fusheng shook his head, then sighed deeply.

“Lingzhu, you possess immense power, yet you remain so oblivious.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu was overcome with grief:

"I have no idea--"

"After the incident in Changjiao County, Dong Fugui sought help from Wuqing Prefecture in late spring of the 208th year of the Han Dynasty, which was at the end of March." Seeing that she was truly confused, Zhao Fusheng decided to be more explicit:
"When the sisters-in-law of the Chang family in Wuqing County had a falling out, in what month did you return to Wuqing County?"

"I traveled at the end of March and arrived on the first day of April—"

Yu Lingzhu shuddered as she said this.

She was in a ghostly realm, surrounded by a chilling atmosphere, but at this moment, a sinister feeling, far colder than the environment itself, arose in her heart and spread to her limbs and bones.

Having heard Zhao Fusheng's words, she was not truly foolish and naturally guessed the meaning behind them.

What did Grandma Chang write in her letter to Cheng Mengyin?

She suddenly wiped her eyes and turned to look at Wu Ciping.

Wu Ciping then said:
"It was a letter seeking help. The letter said that the local people in the area managed by her son-in-law Dong Fugui were fierce and cults were rampant. The people wanted to rebel and caused a great disturbance. She wanted to ask Cheng Mengyin to help mediate and mobilize the state army to suppress the rebels."

Wu Ciping paused for a moment at this point: "The letter ended by saying that if Cheng Mengyin was willing to help, the Chang family and Lord Yu would remember his kindness, and also mentioned that Lord Yu would be returning to the Chang family to visit relatives soon, and that he was already aware of this matter—"

Yu Lingzhu was struck dumb, her eyes widening in shock.

She found it so absurd that she almost laughed, but kept shaking her head.
"I really do not know."

Even if she didn't want to believe it, she had to admit that if what Wu Ciping said was true, she might have been tricked by Old Madam Chang.

After Dong Da caused trouble, Chang Er sought help from her maternal family—which is why Chang's two daughters-in-law mentioned that she had been frequently returning to her maternal family lately.

Her husband's philandering caused a huge mess, and Chang Er ended up cleaning up his mess instead.

This was so absurd that it made Zhao Fusheng's blood vessels in his brain throb.

When faced with this situation, Grandma Chang chose to side with her relatives rather than with what was right.

She was a wise and experienced woman who knew Yu Lingzhu's character well: she treated the Chang family as her own.

Therefore, taking advantage of the unrest in her family, she ordered her two daughters-in-law to send her grandson Chang Hao to the capital, and through Chang Hao, she told Yu Lingzhu that something big had happened in the Chang family.

Based on her understanding of Yu Lingzhu, she knew that Yu Lingzhu would definitely want to mediate after learning about the Chang family's problems—which also meant that Yu Lingzhu would return to the Chang residence.

So, taking advantage of this opportunity, Old Mrs. Chang sought help from Cheng Mengyin again, using a combination of money and threats to force Cheng Mengyin to help Dong Da out of his predicament.

……

Yu Lingzhu herself never expected that decades later, she would learn the truth about the case by chance.

This belated truth hit her hard.

She thought the upright and incorruptible Old Madam Chang was actually a greedy and selfish old woman who took advantage of her fervent devotion to the Chang family.

'vomit.'

Yu Lingzhu suddenly felt nauseous.

Her beliefs collapsed, and she felt that her previous understanding had been overturned. The truth came unexpectedly and shocked her.

"How could this happen—" she murmured to herself.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head:
"Let's continue with this case."

Wu Ciping said:
"Yes."

He had already experienced some of Zhao Fusheng's methods.

In addition to her powerful ability to control ghosts, she also possesses keen perception.

By questioning Yu Lingzhu and himself, they managed to piece together a rough outline of the case from back then, peeling back the layers of the mystery.

Everyone knows something about the past, but no one is willing to talk about it.

Only when everyone speaks their part, and the facts are pieced together, can we find the truth of what happened back then.

Seeing the clues in the case meant that the case in Wuqing County had finally been solved, which gave Wu Ciping a glimmer of hope—this was the most important thing.

"After receiving the letter, Cheng Mengyin should have taken action, but the matter in Changjiao County has not been resolved."

The arrival of the army did not truly solve the problems in Changjiao County; instead, it brought even greater disaster to the area.

From the Later Han Dynasty to the present day, corruption is rampant.

The imperial court was unable to pay the army's wages, and the troops mostly engaged in burning, killing, and looting, making them even more terrifying than bandits.

In any case, this incident dealt a disastrous blow to Changjiao County.

"I later checked the household registration records. Changjiao County conducted a household registration survey in 201 AD during the Han Dynasty. At that time, there were more than 76,400 people on record."

This number isn't exactly precise, but it's not far off.

Several years later, the number of people will have fluctuated, but the total number is definitely over 70,000.

“Until the summer of 208 AD, Cheng Mengyin recorded that more than 50,000 people died in Changjiao County.”

Upon hearing this number, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but curse:
"You bastard! Dong Fugui deserves to die! The Chang family deserves to die!"

Yu Lingzhu sat there, stunned.

Of the more than 50,000 people, only a few hundred or so actually died from the ghostly calamity, while the majority died from village battles and military conflicts.

This outcome stemmed solely from the sudden rise to power of a previously impoverished and destitute individual.

……

"I'm confused."

Yu Lingzhu said blankly.

For the first time, she agreed with what Zhao Fusheng had said: she was confused.

She was completely unaware of and oblivious to the fact that such a major event had occurred back then.

The two sisters-in-law had mentioned that a major disaster had occurred in Changjiao, but she only knew about the conflict between the sisters-in-law in the Chang family.

Despite the many troubles caused by Old Mrs. Chang using her name, she still stubbornly remembers the loving way Old Mrs. Chang went to great lengths to rescue her from prison, caring for her and comforting her.

How can people change so quickly?
She only wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, so why did the final result turn out so differently from what she imagined, and why did a good thing turn into such a bad thing?
"You'd better pull yourself together." Zhao Fusheng looked at her coldly.

"The one who tied the knot must untie it. The ghostly calamity in Wuqing County is closely related to you. Now is not the time for you to pretend to be stupid, say a few words of apology, and shed a few tears to get away with it."

Yu Lingzhu suddenly realized:
"Then what do you want me to do?"

Zhao Fusheng was disappointed and frustrated:

"What's the use of crying now that it's already happened? At least pull yourself together and try to atone for your sins. I'm not a judge; I'm just a nominee general in the court now, with no power or position. I have no right to convict you. After this is over, if you survive, go find the person who should apologize to."

Her reprimand seemed to rouse Yu Lingzhu, who had been disoriented, back to her senses, and she perked up.
“You’re right. This is not the time for me to be discouraged. I need to resolve the matter in Wuqing County first, and then I’ll go back to confess my guilt.”

"Such a big incident has occurred in Changjiao County. Besides war and human disaster, is there any sign of a ghostly calamity?"

“No.” Wu Ciping shook his head. “There were no signs of trouble in May. Many people died then, and people stopped fighting. The main thing was that a strange drought occurred that year, and the drought lasted for a long time, from spring to summer, without any relief.”

Wu Ciping speculated:
"I thought it was so hot and there was no water, so fighting would be a waste of energy, which is why later battles, big and small, ended inconclusively."

"Was Changjiao County still suffering from a severe drought until July, when Old Mrs. Chang passed away?"

Zhao Fusheng then turned to ask Yu Lingzhu.

Yu Lingzhu nodded:
"At that time, there was still a drought—"

She shuddered as she said this.

She had heard about the severe drought in Changjiao County and knew that many people had died, but she never expected the situation to be so dire.

"Lord Zhao is indeed very perceptive," Wu Ciping praised upon hearing this.

Yu Lingzhu was slightly taken aback. Combining Wu Ciping's words with Zhao Fusheng's question, an idea surged into her mind, and she blurted out:

"Could it be that the drought back then was actually haunted?"

Wang Zhiyi then held his chin and exclaimed:
"Hey, Jiang Jinshan, how come Yu Lingzhu is so stupid? How come I used to argue with her so much?"

Jiang Jinshan chuckled twice.

(End of this chapter)