CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 77: POSSESSED BY A SPIRIT?

Li Chang’an suddenly felt great, "Xiaohua, come on, I’ll teach you how to play ’Three Immortals Return to Cave’."

Zhao Xiaohua cheerfully followed Li Chang’an into the house.

Leaving Qin Zheng alone in the courtyard, looking forlorn.

"My cousin, don’t be fooled by his refined appearances, he’s just like a sesame paste dumpling, dark at heart." Zhao Dahe said gleefully, "But to be honest, he’s not wrong. What you’re doing here, at first glance, looks alright, but the more you look, the uglier it gets."

"Ah, Zhao Dahe, now you’re making sarcastic comments too." Qin Zheng rushed toward Zhao Dahe, mimicking a wild animal, "How dare you say that about me, I’m ugly enough for your sake, not mine. Do you think I want to be this ugly? I’m so ugly, even I dislike myself."

Zhao Dahe dodged, "Can’t you just let someone speak the truth?"

At the Meng Family.

Madam Sun came back home with a bellyful of anger.

Madam Lin immediately came forward, "Mother, please don’t be mad. Ruyu knows she was wrong. She was just inadvertently taken in by Zhao Xiaohua’s tricks! Ruyu is such a kind-hearted child; she never expected Zhao Xiaohua to be so cunning."

Meng Ruyu stepped forward timidly, tears in her eyes, "Grandma, please don’t be upset."

I have to say, this mother-daughter duo sure knows how to play the victim.

Without arguing, and being so polite, what else could she do?

She had to patiently ask them what happened.

In summary.

Zhao Xiaohua told Meng Ruyu lots of bad things about Zhao Dahe, and Meng Ruyu believed them. Then, Zhao Xiaohua intentionally let Meng Ruyu see a very handsome man, and Meng Ruyu couldn’t help but stare at him.

As if possessed, Meng Ruyu then said she didn’t like Zhao Dahe anymore.

"Grandma, I’m not lying to you. At that moment, I seemed unable to control myself, it was just so strange. You saw Si Mo today too, he’s hideously ugly. But I swear, the Si Mo I saw that day was like an immortal. I think there’s something supernatural at Aunt’s place." Meng Ruyu said.

"Supernatural?"

Meng Ruyu nodded definitively, "Yes, supernatural. Just take Aunt, for instance; she seems like a different person. Looks the same, but her personality has changed. And Zhao Xiaohua was so fat before, but now she’s suddenly so slim, and her temperament is different too. I’ve heard from storytellers that sometimes mountain spirits come down from the hills and possess people, causing trouble."

Madam Sun pondered; indeed, Meng Yao is quite different now.

And Zhao Xiaohua too, wasn’t much to look at before, now she’s too pretty. Could it be she’s a fox spirit?

The more Madam Sun thought about it, the more it seemed possible.

Madam Lin also found the reasoning sound.

"Mother, what should we do?" Madam Lin asked.

"Isn’t the Temple Master of White Cloud Temple a practitioner? Aren’t spirits most afraid of Daoists? We should ask him to take a look, and if there’s a possession, he can handle it." Madam Sun immediately came up with an idea.

"Having the Temple Master of White Cloud Temple take action isn’t cheap." Madam Lin said.

"Once the spirit is gone, we won’t have to pay; let Meng Yao do it. She’ll even thank us." Madam Sun said.

"I’ll go visit my family; my brother is quite close with the Temple Master, maybe we can get a discount. But to invite him, we must pay upfront." Madam Lin said.

"Got it, I’ll give you the money. Later we can ask Meng Yao for reimbursement." Madam Sun was generous.

Mainly because the family wasn’t short of money at the moment.

After Zhao Ting died, they got a lot of money from Meng Yao, which is why they later built such a good house. After selling the big house, they got a huge sum again. In fact, this money came from Meng Yao and Zhao Ting.

Much more than they would have gotten by marrying off Meng Yao back then.

Raising her wasn’t a loss at all.

Madam Lin took ten taels of silver from Madam Sun, five for her brother. She kept five to buy herself some rouge and powder later.

Madam Sun urged Madam Lin not to delay and to send the message as soon as possible.

Madam Lin thought about asking Meng Cheng to accompany her, but he refused.

His face hadn’t fully recovered, so Meng Cheng didn’t want to go out and embarrass himself.

Madam Lin had to pack up and head back to her family on her own; it was a bit far, and she thought of asking her daughter to accompany her. But Meng Ruyu complained it was too far and there was no carriage, so she refused too.

"Once we have a carriage, traveling will be much easier." Madam Sun said.

Anyway, either Meng Zhu would have to get the carriage back from Meng Yao or the family would have to buy a new one.

She needed to teach her well about family loyalty.

Meng Zhu sneezed, making Meng Yao nervous, "Big sis, are you feeling unwell?"

In ancient times, a cold could be fatal. Although she had medicine, given Meng Zhu’s pregnancy, the use of medicine was very restricted.

"Why so anxious? Just my nose itching. I figure Mom’s gone home holding a grudge and is badmouthing me there." Meng Zhu laughed, "I’m perfectly fine, overly fine, actually. Haven’t you noticed how Chang’an’s care for me has changed a lot? Just feels unexpectedly closer."

Mental illness being a sensitive matter, since Li Chang’an chose to keep it hidden, Meng Yao decided not to disclose it either.

So she said, "I’ll try to persuade Chang’an some more; hopefully, this year he can bring you home a wife!"

Meng Zhu was thrilled, "Really?"

"I’m your sister; why would I trick you? Of course, it’s true!" Meng Yao teased.

"Promise me, sister, I’ll rely on you for my daughter-in-law." Meng Zhu held Meng Yao’s hand tightly.

Meng Zhu chuckled secretly, once Li Chang’an recovered, she wouldn’t even need to worry about it. He might just sort out his own marital affairs!

"Will you go see Mom?" Meng Yao asked.

Meng Zhu sighed, "If I don’t go, will she ever give me peace? She’ll just keep coming over relentlessly."

"Anyway, Chang’an can handle it now, let him deal with it when she comes." Meng Yao said casually.

Meng Zhu gave her a reproachful look, "He’s still the younger generation, and a man, it’s not very appropriate."

"Then I’ll go with you." Meng Yao suggested.

"No need, I can manage on my own." Meng Zhu said, "If you come with me, she’ll be even more agitated."

"Be careful then, why not take Xiaohua or Changning with you?" Meng Yao advised.

"No need for them, you know how Mom is. Nothing nice to say, those two young girls can do without hearing it. Don’t worry, I’m not a three-year-old child." Meng Zhu replied.

Madam Sun saw Meng Zhu arriving and deliberately looked outside again.

"Mom, don’t bother looking, I came by myself. I know you want the carriage, and I’m not going to beat around the bush, stop dreaming. In our household, your son-in-law is in charge, and he holds grudges like nobody’s business. He remembers everything you did to make things difficult for him back then. Even during holidays, if I bring something extra, he complains!"

Meng Zhu just passed the buck, if she dared, let her go find her husband!

Madam Sun instinctively shrank her shoulders, for Li Baixia was a notorious scoundrel; after marrying the daughter, he never gave the Meng Family a second glance.