Lin Ji and Lu Zhao'er took Jiang Changqing out of the county.
Jiang Changqing pointed out the direction, and the three of them headed west, entering the dense forest outside the county.
"Jiang Changqing, whose idea was it to dispose of the body?" Lin Ji casually asked.
"It was my father's," Jiang Changqing replied timidly.
"You are Huang Cui's husband. Didn't you object? The girl was willing to marry you, yet after her death, you couldn't even say a word to her?"
Jiang Changqing remained silent with his head down.
"Worthless coward," Lu Zhao'er coldly remarked from the front.
Lin Ji looked at Lu Zhao'er in surprise.
It seemed to have triggered her empathy, perhaps out of sympathy for Huang Cui's fate or indignation towards the indifference of the Jiang family.
Nevertheless, this was the first time Lin Ji had seen Lu Zhao'er display such obvious emotions.
The three of them walked through the forest for a few miles, and Jiang Changqing stopped first.
"Sir," he said nervously to Lin Ji, then looked around, his face growing paler.
"What's wrong, have we arrived?" Lin Ji raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Where's the body?"
"Gone," Jiang Changqing whispered.
Lin Ji and Lu Zhao'er exchanged a glance.
"What should we do now? This coward doesn't seem to have the guts to lie. It seems the body is truly gone," Lin Ji inquired.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Zhao'er said, "Tonight, you will meet that evil spirit in your dream again, but this time, you must not linger. Ask all the questions you need to ask!"
"That's the only way," Lin Ji nodded.
They both looked at Jiang Changqing.
"Sir, should we go back?" Jiang Changqing asked softly.
"After we return, each member of the Jiang family will be locked up in the county prison," Lin Ji patted Jiang Changqing's shoulder, his expression turning cold. "Until this case is resolved, none of you can escape."
Jiang Changqing was so frightened that his legs gave out, and he sat down on the ground.
Ignoring this, Lin Ji grabbed his collar and dragged him back.
By noon, the three of them returned to Shanyuan County.
At Lu Zhao'er's command, every member of the Jiang family was thrown into the county yamen's prison.
Nightfall.
In the guest room of the county yamen.
"If you dare again this time," Lu Zhao'er looked at Lin Ji with suspicion.
"Rest assured, I only focus on official matters and have no ulterior motives," Lin Ji interrupted her before she could finish.
Last time, he was unprepared, coupled with long abstinence, and he dreamt of his mentor from his youth, which led to his indulgence.
It was just a dream, and the lost vitality returned to him after a few deep breaths.
But it would not happen again this time.
"Then go to sleep," Lu Zhao'er nodded.
In her eyes, Lin Ji was reliable.
Lin Ji responded and lay down to sleep.
Just before his consciousness fell into silence, the dream from last night reappeared.
"So fast," Lin Ji thought, and he was already awake in the dream.
Ahead was a misty scene, a cloud bed so soft-looking.
A beautiful maiden lay on the bed, her enchanting figure surrounded by mist.
With half of her face hidden like holding a lute, she was all the more captivating.
"Sir."
A soft, tender voice sounded.
"Last time, you called me husband, didn't you?" Lin Ji asked.
The movement of the beautiful maiden's body paused noticeably, clearly not expecting Lin Ji to bring it up.
Every man in the county was captivated by her, like wild beasts in heat pouncing on her. Who could focus on talking?
But Lin Ji spoke again.
"Huang Cui, I am Lin Ji, the Chief Constable of Liangzhou, here for the cause of your death."
"Monitoring Bureau?" the coquettish tone vanished from her voice.
In the next moment, the surrounding mist dissipated.
The cloud bed turned into a wooden bed, and a masked woman sat quietly by the bed, looking at Lin Ji.
"Are you here to stop me?" she asked.
"Not only that, but also to uncover the truth and give you justice," Lin Ji confessed.
As he spoke, Lin Ji felt something amiss.
His spiritual sense had already begun to probe, but he couldn't sense any ghostly aura on the woman before him.
Wasn't Huang Cui already dead? Even in dreams, ghostly auras should be used if spirits are involved.
Just like cultivators using spiritual energy.
This dream should have been created by ghostly energy.
But at this moment, Lin Ji couldn't detect anything unusual, and he didn't even know how he entered the dream.
"I will seek my own justice," Huang Cui's voice was icy.
"Was it the Jiang family who harmed you? Every crime has a perpetrator, and you shouldn't implicate the entire county."
"In my eyes, all the men in Shanyuan County deserve to die!" Huang Cui's tone became resentful.
Hearing this, Lin Ji was somewhat surprised.
"Would you mind sharing more?"
Huang Cui lowered her head, silent for a moment.
"Do you really want to hear, or are you trying to find a way to capture me?"
"I've said, meeting you is to give you justice."
"In that case, I will tell you."
With that, the surroundings changed again.
It was a sunny afternoon in a bustling city, a river flowing through the city with boats on it.
"Where is this?" Lin Ji asked curiously.
"Jinling, the capital of Yangzhou Prefecture. This is where I met Jiang Changqing."
Lin Ji's gaze fell on a distant pleasure boat.
A young maiden in a yellow dress was admiringly watching a scholar in blue robes exchanging poems with his friends.
That scholar was Jiang Changqing.
The maiden in the yellow dress was likely Huang Cui.
Judging by her appearance, Huang Cui was at most sixteen or seventeen, in the prime of her youth.
"I met Jiang Changqing in Jinling City, fell in love at first sight, pledged eternal love, and agreed to be together for a lifetime."
On the wooden bed, the masked Huang Cui whispered, "So, I followed him to Shanyuan County."
The scenes before Lin Ji's eyes kept changing.
There were nights in Jinling City where scholars and beauties leaned on each other.
There were afternoons with torrential rain, where the two laughed in a pavilion.
Among the towering mountains, Jiang Changqing and his friends admired the scenery, reciting poems and verses with great passion.
Or by a stream in the woods, Jiang Changqing carefully carried Huang Cui across the muddy path.
Finally, the scene froze when the two arrived in Shanyuan County together.
"Why did Young Master Jiang bring a woman back?"
"No, this matter must be reported to Master Jiang."
"This woman has no manners, dressed so provocatively. The Jiang family's reputation is truly tarnished."
Almost everyone who saw Huang Cui had a look of disgust.
As if a woman showing her face in public was a grave sin.
And Jiang Changqing, by Huang Cui's side, never spoke up for her, just kept his head down.
Seeing this scene, Lin Ji looked back at Huang Cui.
Huang Cui smiled.
"Keep watching."
(End of this chapter)