After I stopped being a lady from a rich family, I fought all over the capital

Chapter 385 Rumors
Liu Wu was anxious to explain, but he couldn't think of the right words.

I always feel that no matter what I say, there is a risk of it being misinterpreted.

After thinking it over and over, he could only look at Song Lan with a pitiful expression.

"Lady Ghost..."

Please, sir, have mercy on this clumsy and tongue-tied person.

He really didn't know how to explain it.

Song Lan scoffed lightly.

They didn't continue playing with the child.

"Sit down and eat."

Liu Wu had no appetite left.

But the female ghost has already spoken; if he doesn't eat...

Who knows what other troubles might arise?

Just thinking about it made him terrified.

Liu Wu immediately dared not think any further, quickly thanked him, and sat down obediently and properly.

Ignoring what it was, I casually ladled out a bowl of drink, picked up two steamed buns, and stuffed them all into my mouth without a second thought.

Even when choking on their food, they dared not make a sound, and quickly picked up their drinks to gulp it down.

Song Lan couldn't bear to look at his stupid appearance.

"...Do I really not feed you normally? Or is it that Madam Liu doesn't feed you at home? Is it necessary to wolf down your food like this, without even chewing it?"

"Aren't you afraid of choking to death?!"

Although Song Lan did not make any move, Liu Wu felt a solid poke on his forehead.

He immediately dared not do anything reckless.

I quickly adjusted my mindset and began to chew slowly and carefully.

However, the food he had eaten earlier still unexpectedly caused him to burp a few times.

He was extremely nervous and quickly turned his head to look at Song Lan's expression.

Seeing that Song Lan didn't seem angry, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down.

But this meal was destined to be tasteless.

He only remembered that he ate a lot, but every bite was tasteless.

In fact, he wouldn't have dared to stop rashly if Song Lan hadn't spoken up.

Even though I was already stuffed at the time.

hiccup~

As Liu Wu stood aside watching others pack their things, he couldn't help but hiccup one after another. Before long, he couldn't stand it anymore and blushed with embarrassment.

"Female ghost hiccup~ Adult hiccup~ Me hiccup~"

Liu Wu was so angry at his own stupidity that he almost cried. How could he be so stupid... He had completely lost face this time.

I wonder what the female ghost will think of him.

Will you be very angry?

He really wanted to cry.

"Have some water, catch your breath." Song Lan handed him a glass of water.

I feel angry and helpless.

"I don't know what you're so anxious about? Is someone trying to steal it from you? Or is there someone standing behind you with a whip soaked in cold water, ready to whip your butt until you've eaten all of this?"

Song Lan glared at him speechlessly.

"It's not some rare delicacy. Even if it were, it wouldn't be worth all this."

"That's how it is, but it seems like I really am abusing you."

"If Madam Liu sees this later, won't she blame me?"

Liu Wu replied subconsciously, "My mother won't blame you. She'll just think I did something wrong. If she finds out why, she might twist my ear and even whip my bottom with a leather whip dipped in cold water until it's bruised and battered."

After saying such a long string of words, Liu Wu belatedly realized that he seemed to have stopped hiccuping.
As a result, just as I was thinking about it, I started hiccuping again.

Liu Wu felt even more aggrieved.

"Female ghost hiccup~ Adult hiccup~" Don't you have any way to save her?

hiccup~

Song Lan glared at the person as the hiccups grew louder and louder, almost sounding like a frog croaking.

"Drink the water."

Liu Wu then remembered that the female ghost had just condescended to personally pour him water.

As a result, he was so focused on expressing his grievances that he didn't even have time to drink.

"Oh, oh, hiccup~ I'm going to drink it now~"

Even though he was choking a little from drinking, Liu Wu didn't dare to stop.

Until I couldn't help coughing anymore.

Song Lan: ...

I'm truly impressed by this brilliant idea.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, no one's going to take it from you."

After a long while, Liu Wu finally recovered from his coughing fit.

"Huh? I'm not hiccuping anymore?"

He touched his throat and spoke with great surprise.

Song Lan glared at him.

If I had known there were such stupid people, I wouldn't have wasted my resentment by dissolving it in water to calm him down.

He should be given a glass of water to drink directly.

Anyway, he always manages to choke himself.

Then I kept coughing, coughing, coughing, coughing, and all my ailments were cured.

"okay."

Song Lan asked impatiently, "What do you want from me?"

Liu Wu was clearly still in the dark.

Yeah, what did he come here for?

It seems like nothing's wrong.

Why did he come over if there was nothing wrong?
Song Lan: ...

"Didn't you just tell me that something happened at that steamed bun shop?"

"What happened?"

After Song Lan's reminder, Liu Wu finally remembered: "Oh, yes, something's happened."

You'd never guess!

"This morning, just as dawn was breaking, a neighbor who lived near the steamed bun shop got up in the middle of the night to go to Dengdong. As a result, he saw something lying by the pond not far away."

"That neighbor was also very carefree, plus he was curious."

"The less you can see, the more you want to see."

"When I got there, I was scared half to death!"

Liu Wu deliberately kept everyone in suspense: "Guess what the neighbor saw?"

Song Lan: ...

What else could it be that it saw?
It was nothing more than the body of the steamed bun shop owner, who probably drowned in the pond.

And it was face down.

It is even quite possible that this person suffered some torment before his death.

Therefore, they will likely have a rather ferocious appearance.

It looks rather scary.

Song Lan completely ignored Liu Wu, slowly picked up her teacup, and sipped it carefully.

Liu Wu had made a fool of himself.

He couldn't help but carefully and concisely explain the matter once again.

I no longer dare to have those ulterior motives, to be mysterious, or to keep people in suspense.

He was afraid of angering the female ghost again. And indeed, things turned out just as Song Lan had predicted: the steamed bun shop owner drowned.

His neighbor, out of curiosity, turned him over and was shocked by the crisscrossing wounds on his face.

She screamed and fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, the scream attracted the attention of the others.

With everyone's help, they took the unconscious neighbor to the clinic and reported the incident to the Jingzhao Prefecture.

The officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture rushed over, carefully examined the body, and ruled out murder as a possibility.

However, the wounds on the face of the steamed bun shop owner were indeed quite frightening to look at.

It's even unbelievable.

Because the wound wasn't caused by any sharp weapon, but rather... by a crab claw.

After the coroner determined what weapon caused the wound on the steamed bun shop owner's face, everyone was very puzzled.

How could a perfectly healthy person be injured like this by a crab claw?

But there were no other footprints around.

All that remained was a crab trap and the footprints of the steamed bun shop owner who had walked there.

Then there were the footprints of the neighbor who discovered the body of the steamed bun shop owner.

Analysis of the footprint formation time can prove that this neighbor did indeed come over after the steamed bun shop owner died.

That's why they ruled out the possibility of homicide.

Jiao Bubai, however, felt that something was amiss.

I don't know if it's because I've been dealing with too many cooking-related cases lately, but they're all rather mysterious.

It always made him unconsciously associate every case with evil spirits.

So, just as Song Lan finished clearing away breakfast, Liu Wu told him about the steamed bun shop owner drowning by the pond, the gatekeeper came to announce that Lord Jiao Bubai, the Left Inspector of the Capital Prefecture, had come to visit and asked if Song Lan wished to see him.

"Since you're already here, please come in."

Song Lan didn't even need to guess; she knew why Jiao Bubai had come.

As expected, Jiao Bubai was somewhat reserved when he first came in, rambling on about unrelated things.

until--

"Lord Jiao, please speak your mind directly. There's no need to beat around the bush."

"You say you're tired, but I'm even more tired listening to you."

Jiao Bubai felt even more embarrassed, but he quickly became more open-minded.

He recounted the story of the steamed bun shop owner, which was largely consistent with what Liu Wu had said.

"...I have a feeling that things aren't that simple. In addition, there have been too many cases of evil spirits harming people in the capital recently. So I would like to ask Miss Song to take a look and see if there is anything wrong with this matter. Is it also caused by evil spirits?"

Jiao Bubai also explained why he had such doubts.

"As far as we know, this person is usually optimistic and cheerful, and has never made enemies. Everyone who knows him praises his good temper and how good he is to his family."

"I really can't understand why someone like him would suddenly have such a despair and commit suicide by drowning?"

Song Lan chuckled softly: "What a coincidence, there's something I can't figure out either."

"Why don't you enlighten me, Lord Jiao?"

Jiao Bubai hurriedly said, "Please speak, Miss Song."

"The Jingzhao Prefecture has only ruled out the possibility that he was murdered."

"But in reality, there is no evidence to prove that he suddenly had a mental breakdown and went to drown himself in the river in the middle of the night."

Jiao Bubai nodded: "That's true."

This is precisely what he finds strange.

Song Lan's words were like a wake-up call: "Then why does Lord Jiao believe he committed suicide by drowning, rather than by accident?"

"The riverbank was muddy and slippery, and it was the middle of the night. When he went to get the crab trap, he slipped, lost his footing, and fell in, which led to his drowning..."

Song Lan raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiao Bubai, who was completely stunned and seemed to have never thought of this possibility.

"Because it was nighttime, no one passed by and no one heard the noise, so he did not receive timely rescue and was unable to get up on his own."

"That's what led to his eventual drowning."

Song Lan blinked: "Didn't Lord Jiao ever consider that this is the real reason?"

Jiao Bubai: ...

That sounds quite reasonable.

But why does it still feel like something's not quite right?

But since Song Lan had already said that, even if he had any more questions, no one was destined to be able to answer them for him.

"What Miss Song said makes sense; I was blinded by my own limited perspective..."

Jiao Bubai had already accepted this explanation.

Liu Wu, who had been listening to the whole thing, suddenly spoke up: "It's no wonder that Lord Jiao would be so suspicious. Even I initially thought it was the work of a demon."

"Not a monster, but a water ghost."

Jiao Bubai immediately became interested: "A water ghost?"

He suddenly sensed a deliberate attempt to create a false impression.

There have been many cases in the past that have used the concept of ghosts and gods.

"Could Brother Liu elaborate?"

Seeing Jiao Bubai suddenly become polite, Liu Wu belatedly looked at Song Lan, somewhat unsure if he had said something wrong.

Seeing Song Lan's expressionless face, making it impossible to guess his mood, Liu Wu felt even more uneasy.

Under Jiao Bubai's expectant gaze, Liu Wu had no choice but to bite the bullet and carefully recount the rumors he had heard.

"...I heard that people had drowned in that pond before, so some people say that the water ghosts in the pond crawled out to find a replacement."

"Now that the original water ghost has found a substitute and gone to be reincarnated, this one who just drowned will probably become a new water ghost. And with the crabs eating his face like that, he will probably become a vengeful water ghost. He won't be content to just take the lives of one or two people before he goes to be reincarnated."

"It's said that this pond will become unclean in the future."

"This place is no longer safe to live in."

"They also said that fish and shrimp that have eaten human flesh cannot be eaten..."

Liu Wu sensed that something was wrong. Jiao Bubai and the female ghost both looked rather unwell, so he gradually lowered his voice.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Liu Wu cautiously approached Song Lan, looking aggrieved, and said, "Lady Ghost, please say something."

"I'm really scared to see you with such a stern face."

Jiao Bubai suddenly came to his senses. In fact, if we're talking about frightening expressions, his expression just now was truly awful.

On the contrary, Song Lan's expression was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell what was going on.

But with that imposing aura, and his unsmiling demeanor, even Jiao Bubai unconsciously sat up straight and became more careful with his breathing.

"Lady Ghost..."

Liu Wu was so frightened he was about to cry.

He is now quite certain that he must have said something wrong.

So the female ghost is unhappy now.

He just hadn't figured out which sentence he had said wrong.

"What does Lord Jiao think?"

Song Lan asked a question out of the blue.

Jiao Bubai was stunned for a moment, then realized that Song Lan was probably asking him how he viewed what Liu Wu had just said.

"Such panic-inducing statements are likely malicious rumors spread by someone on purpose."

"If people readily believe and spread this information, it could cause widespread panic."

"Not to mention, people love to hear conspiracy theories."

“This kind of story is more in line with their expectations.”

"Even if the government investigates and clarifies at this point, it will most likely be to no avail."

Jiao Bubai's expression darkened slightly.

Song Lan gave a soft "hmm": "It's good that Lord Jiao knows what's important."

Jiao Bubai still harbored some doubts about the cause of the steamed bun shop owner's death.

"...Was it really just an accident?"