The Marquis Is Innocent

The next day, the snow cleared, and the sun slowly showed its half-face from behind the clouds.

Yuyang recently had been cloudy and hazy, and the sun had not appeared for several days.

The people in the city rejoiced at the good weather they had not seen for a long time and started their busy and ordinary day as usual. Little did they know the Young Marquis, whom they had always admired, returned to the city last night in the snow.

There is no way to imagine what will greet the Marquis after a long cold night of solitude.

As the sun rose, it was nearly six o’clock when black smoke rose from the top of Mount Yu.

It started as a single column but soon turned into a roll of smoke, which covered the entire mountains with the fire in the middle.

Passers-by on the city’s roads were the first to see it. They stopped in amazement and looked at it from afar.

Then, many more people knew, and they came out of their houses to watch and talk about it. Some people climbed on the mill, and some on the roof. More people called friends out of the city, regardless of the distance, and rushed to the mountains.

Everyone knew there was a big witch temple at the top of Mount Yu.

The great witch was famous. Besides giving a fortune to those who ask, the witch could eliminate disasters, avoid illnesses, call the gods, and even transport the spirits of the dead and call the wind and rain.

No one ever saw the great witch call the wind and rain with their own eyes. It was not because the great witch was not powerful but because there were not enough sincerities to call down the thunder gods and lightning mothers.

Furthermore, there are rumors among the people in the city that the Great Witch can put curses on people secretly with her words.

The most fantastic thing was Mrs. Zhu, the Wei family’s mother, believed in the Great Witch. People often see her figure in and out of the witch temple.

Therefore, people worship the great witch of Mount Yu with a sense of scorn and awe.

It never occurred to them such an intense fire would rise from the location of the witch temple in the mountain.

Within noon, the news spread.

Marquis returned to the city last night. Early this morning, he took his men to the mountain and set fire. He burned the magnificent witch temple with a three-tier temple in front and behind, to the ground.

……

Wei Shao stood on the open space at the top of Mount Yu, his pupils reflecting the fire across and his expression gloomy.

His chest reverberates with anger, and his blood boils. Even if he burned ten more of this fire, it was not enough for him to vent his fury cleanly.

The wind whistled. At the side, Yu Yang Magistrate’s face baked by the fire slowly, and he felt uncomfortable in such cold weather.

But he did not dare to take a half step back.

The Marquis’s rage was abnormal. He felt it deeply too.

The roof of the big temple collapsed down.

Boom sound. The fire briefly suppressed, and then as if broken free, it wrapped in countless sparks of foam, again rushed up.

Yu Yang Magistrate saw Marquis turn around and stride down the mountain. He rubbed his dry, sore face from the fire and hurriedly trailed up.

……

Mrs. Zhu got a nightmare almost every day since that time.

Even if she awoke, as soon as she closed her eyes, it was like Old Jiang’s deep resentment haunted her, and her heart pounded.

On the night of the incident, she kept requesting to bring in Old Jiang to confront that evil woman who dared to accuse her.

She believed in Old Jiang and relied on her for many years. There are even favors for her in the beginning.

She still remembered it very well. Thirty years ago, she was just the daughter of the Zhuo County family. Old Jiang was a few years older than her. She was twenty years old widow with a three-year-old son. She served various jobs in the Zhu family.

One day, the Zhu family had a murder case. With a pair of scissors, Old Jiang stabbed a manservant who tried to take advantage of her to death.

Mrs. Zhu’s parents wanted to send her to court. Old Jiang pleads with Mrs. Zhu. Mrs. Zhu felt sorry for her and softened her heart. She stopped her parents and took her to her side.

Since then, Old Jiang has been grateful to Mrs. Zhu. She married the Wei family by coincidence and brought Old Jiang, who had always been her favorite. Old Jiang devoted and sacrificed her life to her for many years. Mrs. Zhu completely trusts her, almost to the point of obedience.

She couldn’t imagine how this wicked woman, Old Jiang, would have such a heart to set her up like this in the end!

Under her hissing demand for confrontation, they finally sent Old Jiang in front of her.

Once she saw the familiar face, she was furious, slapping her hard, tearing her hair, and cursing with the cruelest words she could think. Her palms were numb with pain, and she almost fainted. She gasped for breath, but Old Jiang, who never said a word, showed a smile she could not understand.

She leaned over, pressed to Mrs. Zhu’s ear, and said, “Madam, do you remember twenty years ago, that poor son of mine, how he died?”