NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29 - I
If there was a Bone Flower nearby, someone would suffer backlash from unwarranted resentment. However, whether this “someone” included all people nearby, specific individuals, or particular groups, any strange situations they encountered would manifest randomly.
The acne on the new junior sister’s face was a result of the recent bone flower’s growth. The Fang family’s residence was too close to Zhang Mingyu’s residence!
Initially, Jing Xingzhi contemplated asking if there were others like his junior sister, but Fang Yaojun’s tears held him back. The little girl was mentally fragile, so direct questioning might make her cry later.
Fang Yaojun led the new junior brother to the wing and said, “Senior brother, can you eat by yourself? I’m going to deliver food to daddy.”
Jing Xingzhi nodded: “I can eat by myself, and you can go and bring food to the teacher.”
Fang Yaojun left.
While eating, Jing Xingzhi asked the old servant: “What happened to the teacher’s goddaughter? It’s not easy for me to ask, fearing it would upset the teacher.”
It was definitely not possible to ask Fang Qichen directly, as that would be rubbing salt into someone’s wound.
“Well, let me talk to the young master about this,” the old servant hesitated for a moment, then thought it was permissible to speak. He began, “Let me briefly tell you about Young Lady Qi.”
“Young Lady Qi’s maiden name is Xinlan, and she liked to wear blue clothes. When she was alive, the chief admired Young Lady Qi’s intelligence just like a talented scholar, so he adopted Young Lady Qi as his goddaughter. Later, after the old lady passed away, the master retired and returned to his hometown, establishing an academy in Huanshui County. Young Lady Qi came here secretly and attracted some wealthy people. A learned lady opened the first academy for women in the Li Dynasty!”
Proudly, the old servant continued, “After the academy was established, we recruited many young masters, and the then Deputy Chief Zhang was one of them. The chief didn’t like Deputy Chief Zhang and always looked down on him, but Deputy Chief Zhang was smart and proposed marriage directly to the Qi family.”
“Young Lady Qi couldn’t defy fate repeatedly, so she got married. Half a year after the wedding, on New Year’s Day of the first year, the chief went back to his old house in the countryside to celebrate. Young Lady Qi and Deputy Chief Zhang celebrated in the academy. At the beginning of that year, Young Lady Qi walked back to the capital alone and was attacked by bandits, and the entire team disappeared. Young Lady Qi was the only one whose bones couldn’t be found!”
The old servant paused a little bit, “Everyone who went out at that time died, most of them were people close to Young Lady Qi, and no one was suspected. After all, if Young Lady Qi hadn’t followed the convoy, her maids wouldn’t be dead on the scene,” the old servant concluded, sighing faintly.
“There may have been an accident. They will be found out,” Jing Xingzhi speculated, thinking that either the eldest maid had been bribed or the sincere maid had been deceived. With everyone gone, it now depended on what the authorities could uncover.
In any case, Zhang Mingyu couldn’t escape, and his actions couldn’t be explained by ignorance. There were too many suspicions, and it was reasonable to consider him the murderer. But finding justice for the dead was the priority; even if Zhang Mingyu were killed, there would be no coming back.
Jing Xingzhi furrowed his brow and quickly finished his meal.
.
After dinner, he returned to Fang Qichen’s room. Jing Xingyi entered, exchanged glances with Fang Qichen, and nodded toward his junior sister.
Fang Qichen understood and sent his little girl away.
Once Fang Yaojun left, Fang Qichen asked, “Ask your junior sister to go out, what do you want to say to me?”
Jing Xingzhi inquired, “Teacher, is there anything wrong with my junior sister wearing a veil? We have some folk customs in my family, maybe they can be useful.”
Fang Qichen sighed, “I have asked the doctor to take a look; it’s been getting worse and lasting longer. But she’s not the only one; the little girls and shuangers nearby have had growths on their faces over the past half month. Some doctors say it’s due to water and soil problems. I’ve heard that some who left were cured, and some had their faces rot! Sigh…I originally wanted to persuade her to leave, but she insisted on staying and taking care of me. Later, upon hearing news that her face was getting bad, I didn’t even dare to let her go.”
Fang Qichen’s brows knitted.
It’s not that he didn’t try; he invited all the nearby old doctors, and the imperial doctor from the palace was on the way with his team.
Jing Xingzhi said mysteriously, “Teacher, this junior sister is not sick.”
“That’s…” Fang Qichen’s breath caught, and his pupils dilated.
“It’s senior sister’s fault,” Jing Xingzhi stated.
Fang Qichen thought for a moment, looked incredulous, and shook his head: “How could your senior sister harm others?!”
Fang Qichen believed the young disciple because he could see “ghosts,” unlike himself who spouted warnings of miracle sight without real ability. He was a fake, and he knew it.
With previous events as a foundation and the fact that only young, unmarried girls and shuangers had these strange occurrences on their faces, Fang Qichen had no doubts about Jing Xingzhi.
But Fang Qichen also had his own convictions. He believed that even if she became a ghost, his goddaughter would not harm anyone.
Jing Xingzhi saw the old man was convinced but still stubborn and explained, “Senior Sister didn’t do it on purpose. She has left, but the resentment after her death unconsciously escaped. Perhaps Senior Sister harbored ill feelings towards men for many years, so those grievances specifically target young girls and young shuangers, not wanting them to be harmed by ‘men.'”
Fang Qichen suddenly realized: “This… within half a month, several people have had their engagements canceled!”
When someone became ugly, engagements were broken, agreements were canceled, and promises were forsaken. Marrying into such a family could mean worrying about getting old and ugly in the future!
Fang Qichen’s face wrinkled as he pondered, “There are a few who haven’t broken off engagements, and the mistress has visited them. It can tell the difference between good and bad people, but it’s frustrating to have an ugly face! These children spend all day feeling depressed inside; can it be cured?”
Fang Qichen looked at the young disciple expectantly, knowing that if the young disciple mentioned it, there must be a solution.
The young disciple’s habit of speaking in roundabout ways was a bit annoying, but after going around in this circle, Fang Qichen’s attention was diverted to another group of children.
Jing Xingzhi smiled inwardly and said seriously, “It can be cured, but it’s a bit troublesome.”
“First, you have to eat a strange white flower in the flower bush, and then you have to go to the temple for a month to cleanse. You can’t eat meat during this month, only vegetarian.”
It was rare to eat raw flowers; let alone flowers that grew from dead body but for the sake of improving their faces, Jing Xingzhi believed they could bear it. However, going to the temple to cleanse could lead to gossip and ruin reputations.
Caught in a dilemma, Fang Qichen muttered, “If you don’t go for purification, your face won’t improve; if you go, your reputation might be ruined!”
Despite Fang Qichen’s background, going to the temple might not affect his daughter’s reputation, but many children in the academy came from ordinary families, requiring careful consideration.
Seeing Fang Qichen’s predicament, Jing Xingzhi took the initiative and suggested, “Teacher, I have a solution.”
“Say it quickly!” Fang Qichen urged.
“Let them pray for Senior Sister!” Jing Xingzhi proposed, thinking it could serve a dual purpose: giving Senior Sister a “gift” from her juniors and enhancing the effect of dissipating resentment. Even if her face was damaged, it could potentially be saved.
“Okay! I’ll go talk to them,” Fang Qichen agreed, expressing gratitude, “Xingzhi, I won’t ask any more questions about the other teachers. Thank you very much for your junior sister!”
“Um, teacher…” Jing Xingzhi touched his nose and suggested, “How about you tell the outside world that I was also struck by the immortal’s statue?”
As soon as Fang Qichen mentioned being hit on the head by the immortal’s statue, Jing Xingzhi remembered it. What a brilliant idea. The immortal enlightened him. The immortal revealed the truth!
In an era where scholars held power, who would dare to question the immortal’s words? Anyone daring to do so wasn’t taking the immortals seriously.
Those who disregarded the immortals should also consider whether they should disregard Imperial Teacher Fang Qichen and Emperor Li Yunxi.
In other words, Jing Xingzhi would no longer be a mere magic stick but a powerful magic stick cloaked in the skin of an immortal.
Fang Qichen glanced at him and generously said, “You use this excuse.”
Fang Qichen could discern that his little disciple harbored a mysterious secret. However, Fang Qichen had tested Jing Xingzhi’s character and believed this young disciple would not engage in nefarious deeds.
If the young disciple had a secret to hide, why bother exhuming a corpse wronged for ten years or going through the trouble of treating a stranger’s face?
For Fang Qichen’s kindness?
With the young disciple’s skill, there was no need for flattery; it was likely done for convenience.
Fang Qichen understood clearly that his disciple was really a good thing. Reflecting on it, he touched his gray and white beard, and said happily, “I really have a good eye; every disciple is excellent!”