I become a god in another world

Chapter 665 The Dong Family Haunted
Chapter 665

"Lingzhu, you're finally back."

As soon as the men left, the two sisters-in-law, along with their daughters-in-law, rushed forward and surrounded Yu Lingzhu.

Two women took Yu Lingzhu's hands, asking her with concern and warmth:

"It's been so long since we last met, why did you suddenly decide to come back at this time?"

"Lingzhu looks a bit haggard. Did she travel all night and not get enough rest?"

With everyone chiming in, Zhao Fusheng and the others were pushed to the side.

Yu Lingzhu's heart burned like fire.

She was troubled by the Chang family ghost case and anxious about the situation in Wuqing County. Hearing her sisters-in-law's words and recalling her past with the Chang family, she couldn't help but feel her eyes redden and tears were about to fall.

"What's wrong with Lingzhu? She suddenly started crying—" the eldest sister-in-law asked with concern, then paused, turned around warily to look at Zhao Fusheng, Wang Zhiyi and the others, her eyes already showing defensiveness.

"Did someone bully you?"

Sister-in-law Chang's face turned ashen.

“I have something on my mind lately, and I’d like to take this opportunity to talk to you two sisters-in-law. I also have some questions, so please don’t hide them from me,” Yu Lingzhu said, sniffing.

The group of people were suspicious, but they nodded nonetheless:

"Ask me anything you want." After saying that, he tentatively added:
"Is it inconvenient for you to talk? Why don't you have someone take your friend down and settle him in?"

"No." Yu Lingzhu replied quickly, then seeing the surprised looks on her sisters-in-law's faces, she hurriedly added:

"It's really inconvenient to talk with so many people, so I'll have my nephews' wives tidy up the house for me first, and my two sisters-in-law can stay and talk to me."

After she finished speaking, she shouted again:

"Fusheng, you all stay as well."

At first, Chang's two sisters-in-law thought that Yu Lingzhu had been bullied and ostracized by Zhao Fusheng and others. But after hearing what she said, they realized that they had guessed wrong. Although they were puzzled, they followed Yu Lingzhu's instructions and dismissed their daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law, asking them to help pack their luggage and settle the people.

The two women then escorted Yu Lingzhu and the others into the house.

Since it was the women talking, the men felt it inconvenient to follow, so they stayed outside.

There were strange occurrences in Wuqing County, and the Chang family also had significant problems. Everyone dared not separate, so they all gathered in one place, waiting for the women to come out.

After entering the house, Yu Lingzhu asked bluntly:
"Sister-in-law, we've come back to investigate a case."

"What case could have alarmed the capital and made you come back in person?" Sister-in-law Chang asked curiously.

Her original maiden name was Zhang, and she came from a farming family, where she had endured hardship in her early years.

Although she lived a life of luxury after the Chang family became wealthy, traces of her early life can still be seen in some details.

Zhao Fusheng examined her closely and saw that Zhang was about fifty years old, with almost all white hair, a face covered with wrinkles, calluses on her finger joints, and knife marks from years of farm work.

She spoke quickly, and saliva involuntarily seeped from the corners of her mouth, which she would wipe away from time to time.

"Yes--"

Yu Lingzhu hesitated for a moment, then instinctively looked at Zhao Fusheng.

The two sisters-in-law of the Chang family also turned their heads in the direction of her gaze, and Zhao Fusheng then said:

"It's a case from Changjiao County."

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief:
"Yes, yes, Changjiao County."

Yu Lingzhu returned this time because of the ghost case in Wuqing County—but she found it hard to tell her family about the situation when faced with their concerned eyes.

Fortunately, Zhao Fusheng did not make things difficult for her, but instead brought up the case in Changjiao County, which relieved Yu Lingzhu of a great weight.

"Changjiao County?"

The eldest sister-in-law, Zhang, murmured something, then turned to look at the second sister-in-law. The two sisters-in-law exchanged a meaningful glance.

Zhao Fusheng was very good at asking questions; she took the initiative to speak and steered the conversation toward herself.

"To be honest, we've recently heard rumors that a case has occurred in Changjiao County."

As soon as Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, the two sisters-in-law of the Chang family became wary and shook their heads repeatedly.
"There's no such thing. It's probably just a rumor."

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu became somewhat anxious:
"How can this be a rumor? It's even reached the capital."

The eldest sister-in-law, Zhang, became suspicious:
"Who spread it?"

"Yes--"

Yu Lingzhu was impatient and couldn't keep things to herself. As soon as she heard her sister-in-law ask her that question, she was about to open her mouth and tell her everything.

Zhao Fusheng pressed down on her hand:
"Let's not talk about who spread the word, but I heard that the matter in Changjiao County is related to your aunt."

As soon as she spoke, the two sisters-in-law of the Chang family turned their attention to her.

Zhao Fusheng remained calm and composed:
"I heard that Second Sister Chang has been going back to her parents' home more often lately?"

The second sister-in-law's lips moved as if she was about to speak, but the eldest sister-in-law became even more wary and sneered upon hearing this:

"Who told you that? Who spread rumors? Aren't they afraid of damaging their good deeds—"

She was implying a warning.

Zhao Fusheng, however, was not intimidated by her words. Instead, he smiled and asked again:

"What merit is being lost? Does Wuqing County even have merit?"

"this--"

Sister-in-law Chang had intended to take the initiative, but she hadn't expected that the other woman would seize her weakness, leaving her speechless.

Zhao Fusheng stunned her, but instead of pressing her about the matter of merit, he continued:

"I can see that you have a close relationship with Lingzhu; you're not family, but you're closer than family—"

Sister-in-law Chang breathed a sigh of relief, and upon hearing this, she quickly said:

“How can we not be family? When the old lady saved Lingzhu, she was still young, and we all treated her like our own sister.”

Zhao Fusheng nodded and smiled:

"We're all family, so why can't we talk about this? Lingzhu was very anxious when she heard that the matter in Changjiao County was related to Second Sister Chang. She was afraid of implicating the Chang family, so she volunteered to go back to Wuqing County to investigate the matter."

Zhang immediately looked troubled.

"Aren't the actual people in charge of Changjiao County now Dong Da and Dong Fugui?" Zhao Fusheng pretended not to notice the unease on their faces and then asked.

The question wasn't particularly sharp; in fact, it was common knowledge. Zhang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Yes, it's him."

Zhao Fusheng then asked strangely:

"I heard that he was just an ordinary person before, who was illiterate and ignorant."

“We were all rough men before, and we didn’t know how to read,” Zhang said. “It’s normal that Mr. Dong can’t read either.”

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"What does this Dong Da look like?"

What kind of strange question is this?
Zhang and her sister-in-law exchanged glances, both puzzled but relieved by Zhao Fusheng's seemingly nonsensical questions.

The question was neither important nor secret, Zhang answered readily:

"It's just that it has a pair of eyes and a nose."

Zhao Fusheng asked again, "Is it pretty?"

Her questions immediately made Zhang lower her guard.

At first, Zhang was worried that these officials from the capital would be difficult to deal with, but seeing that she kept focusing on whether Dong Fugui was good-looking, she thought contemptuously: These officials from the capital are obviously all show and no substance, only knowing how to ask whether a man is good-looking.

She held Zhao Fusheng in low regard, which led to a slight disdain and a decrease in her vigilance. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said:
"People in their forties or fifties, what does it matter if they're good-looking or not? Besides, when my aunt got married, she definitely looked at whether Dong Da was capable and could support a family. She didn't care if he was good-looking or not. As long as he wasn't missing a nose or eyes, it was acceptable."

Zhao Fusheng said:

"It doesn't look good then."

Zhang nodded:

"It's not exactly pretty."

She felt it was a waste of her energy to talk to Zhao Fusheng, so she turned to chat with Yu Lingzhu, but Zhao Fusheng said:
"Dong Da was never good-looking back then, and his family was poor. He was also illiterate. Now that he's old and his looks have faded, he's caused such a big disaster. Hasn't Sister Chang ever thought of kicking him out and finding another young and handsome man?"

Zhao Fusheng's words greatly surprised Zhang.

The second sister-in-law was also stunned.

After a long while, Zhang murmured:
"That makes sense, but what about the children—"

“The child won’t starve if he stays with his mother,” Zhao Fusheng said.

"If the matter in Changjiao County is related to Dong Da, it would be much simpler to abandon Dong Da than to bother others."

"That's true." Zhang hesitated for a long time before nodding.

Seeing that her expression softened, Zhao Fusheng then asked:

"Are you close to Second Sister Chang?"

Zhang paused for a moment, unsure whether to nod or shake her head.

She felt like she was having an internal struggle, when Zhao Fusheng said something surprising: "I heard you often argue, right?"

"Who told you that?" Zhang asked with a forced smile.

Zhao Fusheng then laughed and said:
"Sister-in-law Chang, this is no secret. Last time someone saw you two fighting with Second Sister Chang at the door, everyone in Wuqing County knows that, right?"

"you--"

Zhang's face darkened.

However, her memory was confused, and for a moment she wanted to deny that it had happened, but she was not sure. Recently, her relationship with her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law had indeed been very bad. Because of the Changjiao County case, her sister-in-law had been frequently returning to her parents' home, trying to persuade her mother and two brothers to help her solve her predicament.

Zhao Fusheng saw the unspoken message hidden in her eyes and added fuel to the fire:

"What was the reason for the fight? Was it because of Dong Da? This man must have some kind of bewitching magic that has bewitched Chang Erjie. Has he been constantly going back to her parents' home lately, pestering you for help?"

The two sisters-in-law of the Chang family looked gloomy, and for a moment they were both at a loss.

Zhao Fusheng said again:
“The case in Changjiao County is a big deal. If Old Madam Chang and the two gentlemen help, it will affect Lingzhu.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Lingzhu immediately realized what she meant and joined in the conversation:

"You two sisters-in-law know perfectly well how I've treated them. Do you think Dong Da is closer to you than me? Why are you helping him instead of me?"

As soon as Yu Lingzhu finished speaking, Zhang immediately said:

"Of course not, it's just that we're worried about our family and don't want to speak ill of others behind their backs. If the master finds out, he'll definitely blame us."

As soon as she finished speaking, Chang Ersao nodded in agreement.

It turns out the two women were afraid of this matter.

Yu Lingzhu realized what was going on and understood that Zhao Fusheng had opened a loophole in the conversation—the rift between the two sisters-in-law and Chang Erjie had been brewing for a long time. At first, they just didn't dare to say it, but once the loophole was opened, it was only a matter of time before they could ask her questions.

And now the opportunity has ripened.

Yu Lingzhu seized the opportunity and said:

"So what? These words came from my sister-in-law's mouth and entered our ears. If others ask us about them, we will never admit it."

Others nodded.

Zhang sighed:
"It's not that we don't want to talk about it, it's just that it's a family scandal."

Second sister-in-law also said:

"I feel upset whenever I talk about my aunt."

Yu Lingzhu knew perfectly well what she was referring to, but pretended not to know and asked casually:
"what happened?"

"That Dong Da is a real scoundrel. He bullies men and women in Changjiao County, commits all sorts of evil deeds, and has harmed many people. Many of the people he has harmed have filed complaints all the way to Wuqing County, but the master has always been the one to protect him," the second sister-in-law said with dissatisfaction.

She spoke first, and her sister-in-law couldn't help but follow suit:

“In the past, people would cover for him when he did these things, but recently he has gotten himself into big trouble. Two months ago, he broke into someone’s house and raped a young woman. That young woman was virtuous and jumped into a well that very day.”

As she spoke, she looked at Zhao Fusheng and the others, only to find that they were not surprised. Startled, she blurted out:

"You don't necessarily already know about this, do you?"

Yu Lingzhu nodded.

Zhang then said:

"As expected, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. This has only been going on for a short time, yet the news has spread so quickly."

"After this young woman jumped into the well, will her husband be able to swallow this insult?" Zhao Fusheng asked deliberately.

Zhang then slapped her thigh and sat down on the chair:

“I can’t agree to that. This man is a pig butcher with a violent temper. When he learned that his wife had been murdered, he took a knife and broke into the Dong family’s house, killing many people.”

Second sister-in-law also said:

"Dong Fugui's younger brother was also killed, and in the end, Gao Shen was killed by Dong's family members with a flurry of blows."

"After the death, the body was left in a mass grave. Originally, Dong Da wanted to leave it exposed in the wilderness, never to find peace. But after this incident, the Dong family has become restless." Zhang shook her head.

Zhao Fusheng's heart skipped a beat; Wu Ciping hadn't mentioned this part in the ghost case from back then.

She asked:

"How exactly is there unrest?"

Zhang then said:

"It's haunted."

She was quite direct and brought up the issue directly.

"Haunted?!" This question startled Yu Lingzhu.

Zhang said:
"Yes, isn't that why you came here? Because of this ghost case?"

Zhao Fusheng spoke up:
"Wait, is there a water shortage in Changjiao County now?"

Zhang asked blankly:
"I haven't heard about this yet. I only know that the Dong family is haunted, and my second sister is looking for people everywhere. She said she found a very powerful feng shui master to solve this problem."

"Do you know the name of this feng shui master, where he is from, or what his surname is?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

Her questions seemed to come out of nowhere, but fortunately, apart from Dong Da's case being somewhat related to the Chang family, these questions did not involve the Chang family itself, and Zhang was able to answer them.

"This feng shui master is also a relative of mine. I don't know which generation he belongs to. I heard that he lived in Wuqing County and was a widower. His wife died and he had a child. Later, he moved out of Wuqing County. A few days ago, I heard that a relative of his died outside. Before he died, he wanted to return to his roots, so he escorted the coffin back to Wuqing County. When he heard about the Dong family's matter, he volunteered to solve this troublesome matter."

(End of this chapter)