CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 49: ACCEPTING FAVORS COMES WITH OBLIGATIONS

Yu Nianzhao glanced over and saw a wisp of black aura emanating from Ms Jiang’s palm, climbing up her arm.

She frowned deeply, stepped forward quickly, and grabbed Ms Jiang’s arm. The black aura shrank away as if it had seen a ghost.

Ms Jiang asked in surprise, "Zhaozhao, what’s wrong? Is there something amiss?"

Yu Nianzhao stared intently at the red jade earring in her palm, "Yes, it’s very strange. Ms Jiang, don’t touch this earring anymore."

She took the red jade earring away, and the black aura inside swirled without daring to cause more trouble.

"Zhaozhao, is there something wrong with this earring? It looks quite nice." Ms Jiang asked, puzzled.

"There’s a female ghost’s soul within this earring, specifically... it should be a fragment of her soul."

Yu Nianzhao held the earring under the sunlight and could vaguely see the shrunken form of the female ghost’s soul hiding inside. Faced with Yu Nianzhao’s gaze, she shivered.

"What? A female ghost?"

Ms Jiang’s face turned a few shades paler. She looked at the hand that had held the earring and felt it was unclean, rubbing it on her clothes in despair, "Zhaozhao, I’ve held it for quite a while. Will I be haunted by the ghost?"

"Don’t worry, Ms Jiang. With me here, she won’t dare haunt you. Besides, she’s trapped inside, and apart from releasing some death aura to scare people, she can’t do much harm."

Yu Nianzhao pulled out a peace charm and handed it to Ms Jiang, "This is a peace charm. Keep it close to your body, and the ghost aura won’t touch you."

Ms Jiang happily took it and put the peace charm close to her chest, "Alright, thank you, Zhaozhao."

Yiu Renjian frowned, "That’s odd. Isn’t this from An Nan Royal Mansion? How could someone send just an earring as a gift? And it has a ghost trapped in it? Could it be intending to harm the princess?"

Yu Nianzhao recalled the fearful look when Xie Jiarou looked at her, shook her head, and said, "I think she wouldn’t have the guts for that. Perhaps it was placed inside unintentionally."

Song Ce, who had a shadow of fear for ghosts, patiently said, "Princess, should I go destroy this earring?"

"No!"

Yu Nianzhao pointed a finger at the red jade earring, and a strand of black aura was pulled out by her.

A cool breeze blew.

A faint shadow was drawn out by Yu Nianzhao, floating in mid-air in the courtyard.

"With only one soul and one spirit remaining, your real form has become so thin. I can’t see your face clearly. Who exactly are you? What is your connection to An Nan Royal Mansion?" Yu Nianzhao stared at the female ghost, vaguely able to see her beautiful face.

The female ghost felt the pressure from Yu Nianzhao and cradled her arms helplessly, shaking her head and opened her mouth, only able to utter ’ah ah ah’ sounds.

"Princess, is this a female ghost?"

Yiu Renjian swallowed his saliva. Born with the ability to see things others couldn’t, and possessing a strong yang aura, he could repel some ghosts naturally, which was why he could remain by the Prince’s side for so long.

"Yes, she can’t speak." Yu Nianzhao frowned deeply, feeling strange.

Ms Jiang boldly asked, "Why can’t she speak? Is it because she only has one soul and one spirit remaining?"

"No!" Yu Nianzhao seemed to see something, a flash of mystery in her eyes, "Her tongue has been torn out!"

"Hiss..."

Even Song Ce and Yiu Renjian, two men, felt a chill all over, and Ms Jiang instinctively covered her mouth.

Just thinking about the tongue being torn out made them feel immense pain.

Ms Jiang couldn’t bear it, "Back in the palace, I heard about this kind of cruel punishment, but it was the tongue torn out, and few could withstand such pain. It was utterly cruel. After the new emperor ascended the throne, many cruel punishments were abolished. Who would still enforce such excessive penalties in secret now?"

"This female ghost is closely linked to An Nan Royal Mansion."

Yu Nianzhao calculated, "Their fate lines are intertwined together, and since one soul fragment is in this earring, the rest of the soul should be trapped in the other earring."

"What? I haven’t heard of any fatalities occurring in An Nan Royal Mansion!"

Ms Jiang rack her brains thinking, "There aren’t many ladies in An Nan Royal Mansion. The principal wife is the second daughter from Yongning Marquis Mansion’s second branch, and there are two secondary consorts, one is the daughter of Mr. Wang from the Imperial Medicine Bureau, and the other from Xuanfu Bureau’s daughter. The rest are concubines and maids, with quite a few children born. It’s said that even though Prince An Nan has aged, and didn’t inherit the throne, his mansion is comparable to the imperial harem."

"But even though there are many beauties, the princess is very dignified and elegant, and all the ladies brought back by Prince An Nan were arranged well by her. I haven’t heard of any ladies dying in An Nan Royal Mansion!"

Woo woo woo...

The female ghost let out a sorrowful sob, kneeling in mid-air with a pitiful look towards Yu Nianzhao. Her grievances were palpable, evidently very deep.

Yu Nianzhao brushed aside her hair disheveled by the wind, calmly saying, "What? Are you seeking my help?"

The female ghost nodded her head quickly, blood tears trickling from her eyes.

"Even if you can’t speak, you want me to help you? I’m not a Daoist; I don’t guide souls to rest." Yu Nianzhao, although curious, didn’t help every wandering spirit. Otherwise, she would be overwhelmed.

Woo woo woo...

The female ghost was unwilling. Having managed to escape the mansion’s cage, she must seize this opportunity.

The female ghost anxiously spun in mid-air, the hint of purple in her soul drawing Yu Nianzhao’s attention.

She gestured, and the female ghost flew towards Yu Nianzhao uncontrollably.

Yu Nianzhao raised her hand and seized a wisp of purple aura from the female ghost’s soul, although very faint, it was undeniably purple aura.

She tossed it to her brow, and Jiu Ying popped up a head and swallowed the purple aura instantly.

[This purple aura is way too little, not even enough to plug teeth.]

[Master, this purple aura smells similar to the man we encountered today.]

[Master, the taste in this wisp of purple aura is too sorrowful, too painful, not as tasty.]

Jiu Ying’s noisy voice resonated in her head.

Yu Nianzhao looked at the panting, gradually thinning soul of the female ghost, furrowing her brows, and as her soul was about to dissipate, drew a golden talisman in the air on her soul.

Golden light merged into the female ghost’s soul, and as her soul gradually recovered, she no longer gasped, as if she had taken an elixir.

The female ghost knew Yu Nianzhao saved her and quickly knelt to thank her, hands pressed together in gratitude.

"...If I had known, I wouldn’t have grabbed it. Accidentally took on a hassle."

Seeing the purple aura, she couldn’t help but seize it and feed Jiu Ying. Now it’s clear, the purple aura was the medium holding the remaining soul fragment together. Without it, the remaining fragment would dissipate too. She’s been forced into taking on a task!

This is what they mean by having a soft mouth when eating from others and having short hands when receiving favors!