Chu Haiguang suppressed his intense discomfort as he bowed respectfully to the Emperor. For the past few days, he had been feeling unwell, assuming his old ailments were acting up. It wasn't until yesterday, when he saw the little girl the Emperor had brought back carrying a certain treasure, that a selfish thought had crossed his mind.
Though he couldn't discern exactly what the object was, he felt a surge of Yin energy from the Netherworld when he drew near it. That energy had instantly alleviated his suffering. If he could obtain that treasure, he would no longer have to endure the monthly agony of heart-devouring and tendon-snapping pain.
Who could have guessed that the treasure would vanish overnight!
Early this morning, Chu Haiguang felt his limbs growing numb. He had requested leave from Du Zhou and even tried to decline the Emperor’s summons. He hadn't expected the Emperor to send men again at noon, with the message that even if he were dying, he was to be carried into the palace.
Seeing mostly familiar faces in the hall, Chu Haiguang couldn't help but steal another glance at the little girl. He still felt nothing from the treasure. He sighed inwardly.
"Grant him a seat. Minister Chu, you look quite unwell," Liu Che said, sitting up straight to observe him. Chu Haiguang’s face was deathly pale, with deep dark circles under his eyes, and his gaze was clouded and murky.
"I thank Your Majesty for your concern. It is merely an old recurring illness, though I fear my sickly appearance is quite ghastly."
*What kind of illness causes a soul to show signs of detaching from the body?* Ah Jiao marveled inwardly.
"In that case, I shall keep this brief," Liu Che said with an air of sincerity. "Sorcery has once again surfaced within the palace, and my heart is uneasy. This child is young, so I wish for Minister Chu to draw a protective talisman for her to pray for her safety."
Ah Jiao turned her head away. *Excuses, all excuses.*
"This... I am currently ill, and I fear I may not draw the talisman well," Chu Haiguang hesitated.
"It’s fine, Master Chu. Just draw one. At worst, we’ll just have Jiao-jiao carry a few more," Wei Yuan said with a wave of her small hand.
Yang Deyi brought forward the brush and ink that had been prepared long ago, placing them on the table. As Liu Che picked up the brush, Yang Deyi began to grind the ink, which was mixed with cinnabar.
"This brush was made from the hair on the tip of a wolf king’s ear, which I hunted in the Shanglin Park ten years ago. I have cherished it ever since and rarely used it. Today, I grant you its use." Liu Che toyed with the wolf-hair brush for a moment before dipping it into the cinnabar ink and handing it to Chu Haiguang. "I have heard that for drawing talismans, wolf hair is superior, specifically the hair from the tip of the ear. Furthermore, the more spiritual the wolf, the better the talisman. This brush of mine is of the highest quality."
Chu Haiguang took a deep breath and accepted the brush, his hand trembling slightly.
Ah Jiao looked from Liu Che to Chu Haiguang. Was Liu Che trying to identify the culprit through handwriting? In truth, the best way would be to have him draw a proper talisman to observe his brushwork, hand seals, and incantations. But looking at the state of this man named Chu, he likely wouldn't be able to draw anything at all.
The moment Chu Haiguang’s brush touched the yellow paper, a sharp pain exploded in his head, and he collapsed into a dead faint.
"Hiss—" Liu Che recoiled slightly.
Ah Jiao watched as Chu Haiguang’s soul wavered violently. Furthermore, a faint, weak bloody aura drifted around his spirit.
The mist floating in the air suddenly became agitated, surrounding Chu Haiguang’s soul. A small wisp of his essence was torn away and swallowed by the mist, which then retreated back toward the Golden Crane.
The eyeball inside the Golden Crane began to bounce joyfully. Startled, Ah Jiao didn't care that she was limping; she stepped right over Liu Che’s hand and hid behind his back.
"What are you doing?" Liu Che asked, annoyed. The Wei father and daughter were equally confused.
Ah Jiao leaned into Liu Che’s ear and whispered, "The thing inside is moving. It’s disgusting!"
Liu Che looked at the Golden Crane and then at Ah Jiao. He truly couldn't see anything, and a seed of fear began to sprout in his heart.
Wei Qing, unable to understand what the two were doing, followed their gaze to the Golden Crane, but he saw only the statue standing there silently.
The mist gathered into a clump around the crane before slowly dispersing.
The eyeball bounced inside the statue, then suddenly stopped. It slowly rotated—Ah Jiao felt as if it were staring directly at her!
"Just burn it. Melt it down, melt it!" Ah Jiao poked Liu Che’s back hard. If it were targeting Liu Che, she would let him investigate at his own pace, but if it was eyeing her, it was better to melt it immediately.
The eyeball floated up, and the surrounding mist began to drift toward Ah Jiao. Just as it was about to touch her, she felt a sudden warmth in her chest. The three protective talismans and the bead all emitted a glow, and the mist instantly vanished!
Blue flames ignited around the eyeball, burning within the hollow interior of the Golden Crane.
In a few blinks of an eye, the eyeball was burnt to nothing. Ah Jiao looked inside the crane; only a small pile of ash remained.
Ah Jiao: "..." *What now? Liu Che and the others haven't even started their investigation. Will he think I'm lying to him?*
Liu Che pulled Ah Jiao in front of him, only to find her looking dazed and innocent.
"What happened?" Liu Che asked.
"If I told you the thing inside the Golden Crane was burnt to cinders, would you believe me? Wait, wait, don't get angry yet! There are still two more gold statues," Ah Jiao whispered urgently into his ear.
"You had better not be lying to me," Liu Che hissed through gritted teeth.
A short while later, Huang Yu led several men to carry in the other two Golden Cranes.
Liu Che grabbed Ah Jiao by the collar and brought her over to the statues. Wei Yuan thought this was a bit too rough, but since her father didn't speak up, she didn't dare interfere.
Sure enough, each statue contained an eyeball surrounded by mist.
Ah Jiao reached out to touch a statue, and the eyeball rolled away to the other side. As her hand moved across the gold surface, the eyeball constantly avoided her.
Ah Jiao felt a surge of relief, and her courage grew. She patted the statue. "They're inside. All of them."
"What is inside?" Wei Yuan asked.
"Something bad," Liu Che answered. Seeing this, Wei Qing stopped Wei Yuan from asking further.
"Your Majesty?" Wei Qing handed a longsword from a nearby rack to Liu Che. Liu Che took it and aimed it at the statue, dropping Ah Jiao at his feet.
Ah Jiao: "What are you doing?"
"Splitting it open!" Liu Che gathered his strength and slashed directly at the gold statue. The moment the blade touched the gold, a talismanic seal manifested and then vanished.
"There's a seal!" Ah Jiao tugged at Liu Che’s trousers—she was simply too short to reach higher.
Master Shen had said that where there is a caster, there is a way to break the spell. Unfortunately, she had never practiced cultivation and did not know the techniques.
"Your Majesty, perhaps we should summon the people from the Xunxian Pavilion to break the curse?" Wei Qing shielded Wei Yuan behind him.
Liu Che gave a cold laugh. "If they had the ability, would this thing have remained hidden for so long? A pack of useless fools."
The eyeballs bounced back and forth inside the statues as if trying to escape, but there was no way out.
"Chen Ajiao, what exactly do you see?" Liu Che asked, looking down.
"Eyeballs and a bunch of gas!" Ah Jiao blinked.
Liu Che sheathed his sword. "Yang Deyi, go summon the people from the Xunxian Pavilion." He then turned to the unconscious Chu Haiguang on the floor. "Lock him up. Chain him. Zhongqing, help me keep an eye on these two things."
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the people from the Xunxian Pavilion arrived. Their hair was messy and they were dripping with sweat, having likely run all the way.
The crowd of occultists observed for a long time and used various skills, but none could break the seal on the surface of the statues. Ah Jiao did, however, spot two people who could actually manifest spiritual power. One was the man who had read her face yesterday and claimed she was clever but ill-tempered, named Huan Jiujun. The other was an unfamiliar youth, about fourteen or fifteen years old, named Fu Qingye.
*Tsk, tsk.* The Xunxian Pavilion housed dozens of people, yet including Chu Haiguang, only three had any real talent!
Ah Jiao looked at Liu Che and sighed.
Liu Che had no choice but to let the Commandant of Justice take the statues away for inspection, with Wei Qing supervising.
Wei Qing led Ah Jiao and Wei Yuan out of the Xuanshi Hall. Yuli was already waiting at the door. Guo Tun carried Ah Jiao, followed by a sedan chair carried by attendants.
Wei Qing finally couldn't help but stop. He turned, took Ah Jiao into his arms, and walked to the side. "Jiao-jiao, tell your Grand-uncle honestly... can you see strange things?"
Ah Jiao put on a look of great surprise, covering her mouth. "Grandpa Emperor said I can't tell anyone!"
"Does anyone else know besides the Emperor?"
Ah Jiao shook her head.
Wei Qing sighed and instructed, "Do not tell anyone that you can see strange things. Not your aunt, not even your father or mother." Such matters were best kept secret to prevent anyone from using the child’s gift against her. Moreover, the Emperor’s actions clearly showed he didn't want others to know either.
Ah Jiao looked bewildered but nodded. "Jiao-jiao is a good girl. I will listen to Grand-uncle."
Wei Qing finally smiled and continued toward the Qingliang Palace.
"Yuan'er, I see you like Jiao-jiao so much. Have you thought about having a child of your own? You've been married for so long; has there been no news from your womb?" These questions should have been asked by her mother, but since his wife was gone, he had to worry about it himself.
Wei Yuan was taken aback. She shook her head and explained, "My father-in-law and mother-in-law say there is no rush, and my husband says it doesn't matter." Thus, she wasn't very worried.
Wei Qing paused for a moment before walking on. "Then... does Chuo treat you well? Has he... mentioned taking concubines? Sigh, if you suffer any grievances, you must tell me."
"No, he doesn't. Er... my mother-in-law did mention once that I should offer one of my dowry maids to serve my husband, but I didn't agree, and my husband said it wasn't necessary. She hasn't brought it up since!" Wei Yuan smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"Have you seen a physician? Is your health alright?"
"I have, Father. When my eldest sister-in-law was pregnant and called for a physician, I had him check me as well. He said I am perfectly healthy!"
Watching Wei Yuan’s carefree smile, Ah Jiao felt uncertain. After all, in her previous life, when she had summoned the Imperial Physician to check her body, he had also said there was nothing wrong.
Hearing this, Wei Qing could only nod. "Since you are in the palace now, why not take this opportunity to have a proper look? I know Imperial Physician Qin, who just attended to the Emperor. His wife is a female physician in the palace, and she is exceptionally skilled in women's health..."
"Yes, yes! Father, go and invite her now!" Wei Yuan was delighted; she also feared the physicians outside the palace might not be skilled enough.
Ah Jiao called out, "Grand-uncle shouldn't go. Let Guo Tun go." There was certainly no need for Wei Qing to make the trip himself.
Guo Tun was quick-witted and spoke up first, offering to invite Madam Qin.
Wei Qing smiled and thanked him for the trouble.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
噬心断筋 | Heart-devouring and tendon-snapping | A descriptive term for agonizing internal pain.
狼毫 | Wolf hair | A type of brush made from weasel or wolf hair, often used for calligraphy and talismans.
寻仙阁 | Xunxian Pavilion | "Pavilion of Seeking Immortals," the imperial department for sorcerers and alchemists.
廷尉 | Commandant of Justice | The high-ranking official in charge of the legal system and high-profile investigations.
女医官 | Female Physician | A specialized medical role for treating women in the imperial court.
桓九君 | Huan Jiujun | A sorcerer in the Xunxian Pavilion.
符青叶 | Fu Qingye | A young, talented sorcerer in the Xunxian Pavilion.
秦太医 | Imperial Physician Qin | A high-ranking court doctor.
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The Han Dynasty Empress is a Ghost | Chapter 58 | Burnt to Cinders | Novela.app | Novela.app
