Strange Tales of the Ghosts

Qian Lu heeded Qian Dagui's advice and went to Zhou Hanliu's room as he wanted to have a conversation with her, but she simply madly shouted that Xue Fu was the monster and said nothing else. Qian Lu left her furiously. Still, that night, Qian Lu stayed in Zhou Hanliu's room under Qian Dagui's order. Qian Lu knew that Qian Dagui had already compromised a lot because of Xue Fu, so he had no choice but to follow his father's order after seeking Xue Fu's agreement. No matter how much fuss Zhou Hanliu made during the day, she was weary by nighttime. She was tied to her bed and half-closed her eyes as she stared into space. Qian Lu sat on a chair and stared at the candlelights for the whole night, thinking about Xue Fu.

Qian Lu ran out of Zhou Hanliu's room as soon as the sun rose, feeling as if he got released from jail. The moment he pushed open Xue Fu's door, he was shocked. Xue Fu sat on the chair with her daytime attire on and crying.

"Xue Fu..." Qian Lu quickly hugged Xue Fu, knowing that she must be heartbroken because he went to Zhou Hanliu's room. She showed generosity, but which woman is willing to share a husband with another? He promised Xue Fu to give his unconditional love to her, yet the current situation hurt Qian Lu's heart as much as Xue Fu's. "I didn't do anything to her, I sat on the chair for the whole night..."

"Please don't tell me, Husband." Xue Fu hugged Qian Lu tightly and buried her face in his chest. The two embrace each other so tightly as if nothing in the world could separate them.

However, something big happened in the Qian Residence. Butler Lai Fu was murdered last night in the same way as the other victims. Lai Fu's corpse was hung up in his room with a rope, his chest was gouged out, and blood splattered all over the floor. A few servant girls were horrified and cried, even Qian Dagui felt his heart tremor. Who on earth was the murderer? How could they enter the Qian Residence without any sounds and anyone seeing? The officials soon sent people over and took down the body. The constable pulled Qian Dagui to the side and said seriously, "Old Master Qian, this is not good."

"What do you mean by that, Constable Li?" Qian Dagui looked at the constable, whom he had no connections with, and pondered. It was indeed a big problem that someone was killed, but Lai Fu wasn't the first one, so what did Constable Li refer to?

Constable Li smiled and whispered back, "I have news saying that these cases have disturbed the Emperor. His Majesty will be here himself to see the developments."

"You mean His Majesty is coming to Pingshan Town?" Qian Dagui was indeed shocked at the news. Pingshan Town was a small place, they hadn't even seen any high-rank officials visiting them; the Emperor's arrival would be as big as Heaven. Qian Dagui gave some money to Constable Li before he told Qian Dagui that the big households should extract some money to arrange a temporary imperial residence, a place for the Emperor to stay. This way, it would benefit those who spent money even if the case wasn't solved. It wasn't simply because it gave them face, but if the Emperor were happy about their arrangements, perhaps the future would change for them. Of course, they had to figure out the details with the local officials. After hearing this news, Qian Dagui thought Lai Fu's death was no longer the main concern. He quickly promoted another servant as his new butler.