Chapter Two: In Deep Trouble!

“Sir, all the files related to this case are here. If you don’t need anything else, may I take my leave?”

“Are you frightened?” Zhang Rui took the files, eyeing the other man who, even as he spoke, was already retreating toward the doorway. An uneasy feeling stirred in Zhang Rui’s heart.

“Aren’t you afraid, sir?” The advisor asked back, curiosity lacing his words.

Zhang Rui paused. To be honest, he wasn’t particularly afraid. Perhaps it was the influence of stories and films from his previous life—female ghosts were often tied to fortune or opportunity.

“Didn’t Master Tian say before leaving that as long as there’s no blood, the woman can’t leave the painting?”

“Sir...” The advisor gave a wry smile. “Perhaps you haven’t encountered much of this sort. If things were really so secure, how did the entire Shen family die such a dreadful death?”

“Maybe the Shen family didn’t realize the danger of the painting and accidentally let it become stained with blood...” Zhang Rui trailed off as he noticed a strange look in the advisor’s eyes. He grew cautious. “Is there something wrong?”

“Have you misremembered, sir?” The advisor’s tone was odd. “When did the Shen family ever have a chance to touch the painting?”

Zhang Rui was stunned. How, then, did the Shen family die?

“It seems you really are confused,” the advisor said with a sigh. “That painting was always in Master Tian’s possession...”

Zhang Rui fell silent.

Master Tian was the old man who had taken away the ghost with the painting. So the female ghost had slipped out from right under his nose to commit murder?

“Sir...” The advisor sighed. “Since you took office, you’ve seemed absent-minded. Usually, it’s fine; I can look after things for you. But this time, you really shouldn’t have acted on impulse. These wicked entities easily attract one another. Even if the painting is as safe as Master Tian claims, you shouldn’t have accepted this case.”

He glanced toward the back of the hall. “Your wife is a rare and virtuous woman. Please, sir, take care not to implicate your family.”

With a weary sigh, he clasped his hands in farewell and left the office.

Zhang Rui was left dumbfounded by that last remark.

It took him a long moment to process. Wait, do I actually have a wife?

Thinking about it, it made sense. He’d been a county magistrate for some time, wasn’t that the age for marriage? It was only natural for his family to arrange it.

But could this marriage, accelerated by circumstance, really count? He had no memory of their wedding night—did that really count? Was she truly his?

And another important question gnawed at him... If he was already married, did he perhaps even have a child?

He shuddered and pushed the thought aside, unwilling to dwell on it. Instead, he opened the files to see exactly what sort of deadly case he’d inherited.

The more he read, the grimmer his expression became. The advisor had been right—he really shouldn’t have gotten involved.

The murdered Shen family was no ordinary household. The eldest son, Shen Ling, was a military officer of Youzhou—though not yet a general, his sixth-rank post as a commander was higher in status than Zhang Rui’s own as magistrate. The second son, Shen Yuan, was the county constable of Fuchun County, directly under Zhang Rui, in charge of local security and policing.

Shen Ling, under orders from above, had escorted Master Tian from Youzhou to Beihai City, stopping in Fuchun County for a rest. Yet in a single night, Shen Ling was found dead in the street, and the entire Shen household slaughtered.

Tasked with escorting Master Tian, only to have their family slaughtered by the very ghost imprisoned by the master’s hand...

Something about the whole affair was off.

The more Zhang Rui read, the more he gleaned about the world he now inhabited. In this world, supernatural threats sometimes arose, and there were specialists like Master Tian tasked with subduing them. These practitioners often carried more than one wicked spirit, so they were always escorted or attended by robust martial men—both to intimidate the spirits and to allow the court to keep an eye on the practitioners themselves.

In other words, Shen Ling had been both escort and monitor to Master Tian. With Shen Ling dead, Master Tian would be free from court supervision, and under the pretext of urgent business in Beihai, he’d left alone before a new escort could be arranged.

No wonder the clerks had turned pale when Zhang Rui insisted on investigating the case—clearly, they feared more than just the ghost in the painting.

He’d been careless, assuming that as an official, everything would be handled by the book. But in this world, the rules were different, and he faced figures who paid no heed to protocol...

And Beihai City...

Zhang Rui glanced at the files, which bore the date: the thirty-first year of Guangqi. The year sounded familiar, as though something momentous was supposed to happen...

“My lord...?”

A gentle, graceful voice startled Zhang Rui so much he almost leapt out of his skin, hand instinctively reaching for his brush.

But when he looked up, his hand froze.

A young woman in yellow stood before him, strikingly beautiful, her features delicate and sweet. Even by the standards of his previous, more modern life, she would have been considered a beauty. Yet she was so tall that even standing, he might be half a head shorter than her.

“My lord, it’s late—are you still working? Mother is urging you to come eat.”

Zhang Rui forced a stiff smile. This must be the virtuous wife the advisor had mentioned. Why was she so tall?

The woman in yellow didn’t seem to mind his awkwardness. Her husband had always been indifferent; a smile was more than she could expect.

“My lord, since coming to Fuchun County two years ago, you’ve never quite acclimated. Your stomach is weak; the doctor has said you must eat on time. Why not finish your work after supper?”

So, he’d been county magistrate for two years?

He nodded, picked up the painting beside him, and said, “Very well, you’re right. Let’s eat first.”

The woman paused, surprised. Her husband was usually distant, addressing her formally or as “Madam Luo,” only calling her “my dear” during their early days together. Was he trying to ask a favor?

It made sense—after the New Year, he’d serve three years in office, and according to Jin dynasty regulations, he’d undergo a review. With an undistinguished record, promotion would be difficult, but with the right connections, he might secure a comfortable new post.

The thought made her wary. She’d already been disappointed once; she wouldn’t let her family be used again. When he went to the capital for the exams, her family had spent generously to support him, only for him to later look down on her merchant background.

This time, she mustn’t be fooled.

Each wrapped in their own thoughts, the two walked from the main hall to the rear courtyard. Along the way, many maids were busy at work, which piqued Zhang Rui’s curiosity.

Were they really so wealthy, to afford so many servants?

He remembered that back when he was struggling to pass the lower-level exams, the family had sold off their land just to support his studies. Even if he’d changed his fate with his own hand, his salary as a magistrate was meager, hardly enough for such splendor. And these maids were dressed better than most respectable women—he couldn’t have possibly afforded them.

Could it be that in these past two years, he’d succumbed to temptation and used his office to amass illicit wealth?

“Ah, there you are, my child! We’ve all been waiting for you to eat!”

Halfway along, a familiar voice made Zhang Rui’s heart swell. He looked up to see the dearly familiar face and warm smile of his mother, the woman who had raised him through hardship.

“Mother...” Zhang Rui quickly bowed.

“My child, there’s no need for such ceremony at home. Come, everyone’s waiting.”

He looked up, smiling. His mother looked younger than before, a testament to a more comfortable life these past two years. Dressed in elegant black, her former careworn expression had vanished. It seemed his choices had not been for naught.

“Madam Luo...” His mother’s face softened as she looked at him, but turned stern when her gaze shifted to her daughter-in-law. “Have the kitchen reheat the soup. Your husband’s stomach can’t handle cold food.”

The woman bowed obediently. “Yes, Mother.”

Zhang Rui couldn’t help noticing that his tall wife seemed to have little standing at home.

When she left, his mother sighed. “My son, it was my shortsightedness that led me to choose such a wife for you. If only I’d known how you would blossom after your studies...”

“Mother, don’t say that. She’s a good wife.”

“Good? Hmph.” His mother gave him a look. “You took eight tries to pass the first exam. We had no money left, so we sold the land to the Luo family. Did they ever look at us as equals? Your father was nearly forced to become a tenant farmer. Who would have thought you’d turn things around, passing not only the local but the provincial exams in one go? Only then did the Luo family suddenly want to marry their daughter to you.”

“I just thought you’d peaked as a provincial scholar. It seemed wise to marry into the Luo family and use their wealth to move you up. Never imagined you’d have the fortune of a star, passing even the metropolitan exam and becoming a full scholar...”

By this point, Zhang Rui understood. After he’d changed his fate, he’d quickly passed the provincial exam, but at the time, his family assumed it was a fluke and that he’d peaked, so they agreed to the Luo family match. The Luo family were merchants—normally looked down on by officials, but his family was too poor to be picky. The union benefited both: money for his campaign, status for them.

But then he’d surpassed expectations, passing the highest exam and becoming a full jinshi. With that, the merchant connection began to drag on his prospects, since scholars with genuine merit could aspire to far higher office.

He found it a bit ludicrous—his once humble, honest mother now calculating and ambitious... She’d never been like this before.

He was about to say something when she added, “Your old tutor said that your class was examined by the Crown Prince himself, making you all his protégés. If the Crown Prince becomes emperor, your generation will be the first to be promoted... Such a pity, marrying a merchant’s daughter...”

Zhang Rui couldn’t help but laugh and cry—his mother had learned much since he’d become an official, even about such courtly matters.

Wait—

Suddenly, a bolt of realization struck him, and he froze.

The Crown Prince... The Crown Prince! How could he have forgotten?

Reading the files earlier, he’d had a nagging sense of something important—the thirty-first year of Guangqi. Wasn’t that the year the Crown Prince died suddenly?

And wasn’t it in Beihai City?

Gods! He might be caught up in something far bigger than he’d imagined...