Strange Tales of the Ghosts

Qian Dagui realized the situation was bad after he returned home. Qian Lu ordered the servants to tie Zhou Hanliu to a willow tree in the yard because of her shouting and screaming. 

"Lu'er, what are you doing?" 

"Father, you are back. I don't know what's wrong with Hanliu, she ran into Xue Fu's room early in the morning and said that Xue Fu was the monster who killed everyone. She even hit Xue Fu and cursed at her. I saw that she failed to control herself and ordered her to be tied up," Qian Lu stood in front of Xue Fu and looked at Zhou Hanliu. He never had any feelings toward this woman, and now he started to hate her.

Qian Dagui looked at Zhou Hanliu and saw that her arms and legs were all tied up. Her hair was messy and teary as if she wanted to say something. Although his son didn't like her, Zhou Hanliu was Old Master Zhou's daughter after all. If Old Master Zhou asked, he wouldn't be able to tell the truth; hence, he wanted to set her free. 

"It's over now. No matter how insensible she was, you've taught her a lesson. Now free her." 

"But Father..." Qian Lu didn't want to, but he stopped speaking when he saw Qian Dagui's glare. He took Xue Fu's hands and headed back to their room. 

Just like what Qian Lu expected, Zhou Hanliu madly threw herself towards Xue Fu's door after she was untied and cried while slamming the door, "Xue Fu, come out, you monster!" 

"This is just too much!" Qian Lu couldn't listen to it anymore and dashed out. 

Xue Fu stopped him and said, "Husband, don't be angry with Sister. It's all my fault. We are both your wives, but you only love me; it's unfair to her." 

"Unfair? Oh, I think it's fair! A jealous woman like her doesn't deserve to marry into the Qian Family!" Qian Lu was too angry to pick his words calmly. He wasn't stupid; he knew Zhou Hanliu probably did this out of jealousy. He had already avoided her as much as possible, yet he still let her find an excuse to make Xue Fu look bad. Qian Lu couldn't tolerate this because he didn't want anyone to bully Xue Fu.

Xue Fu convinced him, "Husband, please, could you stop arguing with her for my sake? Where should I place myself in the family if you and Sister argue like this all the time?" 

"Xue Fu," Qian Lu pulled her into his arms, feeling sorry. He wondered what did he ever do to deserve such a caring and kind wife as Xue Fu. 

Qian Dagui couldn't bear to listen to what Zhou Hanliu said either and ordered servants to tie her up again, but this time, she was tied in her room instead of the tree. Too many things happened recently, and Qian Dagui was busy handling them. The most concerning thing was the murderer as they were all in danger. At night, Qian Dagui laid in his bed and thought through everything over and over again. Zhou Hanliu's madness was the second concern. She was fine yesterday, how did she go crazy over the night? Qian Dagui asked the servants and heard that she didn't eat much, so it was impossible that she was poisoned. He saw the way Qian Lu protected Xue Fu during the day, Qian Lu never liked Zhou Hanliu, and he would hate her after this. Qian Dagui knew what his son was like, and he assumed that his son wouldn't do anything insensible, so her madness had nothing to do with him either. Qian Dagui planned to call a doctor tomorrow to see whether she was faking it or not. If she were faking it, it would be hard to investigate, but if she really lost her mind or were poisoned, it would be as clear as crystal.