Chapter 14: First Hearing of the Zhang Family Ghost

“Is that true?” Landlord Zhang’s hand holding the pig’s ear suddenly paused, his smile becoming somewhat forced.

“Of course it’s true,” Li Si said with a serious face.

At this moment, it was certainly better to say he had no ability to subdue demons and exorcise evil. Although this might offend Landlord Zhang, it was better than being forcibly detained here by him.

After all, no matter how overbearing Landlord Zhang was, he wouldn’t dare to kill Li Si. At most, he could forcibly detain him, but not for too many days.

Landlord Zhang could freely dispose of servants earlier because he had their indenture contracts, and he could execute these servants at will. But Li Si was a scholar who had excelled in the imperial examinations, not a servant who could be disposed of at will.

“What can be done?” Hearing Li Si’s words, Landlord Zhang’s face showed a troubled expression, and he sighed a bit.

“Why is Uncle troubled?” Although Li Si knew why Landlord Zhang showed this expression, he still asked feigning ignorance.

“Ah, this is actually a family scandal, not convenient to spread outside. But since I’ve acknowledged you as my nephew, there’s no harm in telling you,” Landlord Zhang sighed, then snorted coldly, “Actually, all these things were caused by that jealous woman.”

As he said this, Landlord Zhang’s tone conveyed a strong sense of hatred.

Li Si immediately understood. He had felt something was off about Madam Zhang Guo from the beginning. How could a woman with such an age difference be Landlord Zhang’s original wife?

“I was originally in love with Miss Guo and was preparing to bring her into the family. Who knew that jealous woman would threaten suicide, refusing to let me take a concubine,” Speaking of this, Landlord Zhang gritted his teeth, seeming to still deeply resent that “jealous woman.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t be coerced by her. I still took a concubine, who is now my wife, Guo Qian,” As he spoke, Landlord Zhang lovingly grasped Madam Zhang Guo’s delicate white hand, and Madam Zhang Guo looked at Landlord Zhang with tender eyes. It seemed like a scene of mutual affection between lovers.

At this moment, however, Li Si again felt Madam Zhang Guo’s crystal-clear jade foot rubbing against his calf. Looking at Landlord Zhang’s head, he felt somewhat strange in his heart.

“Then what happened?” Li Si discreetly moved his chair back a bit, avoiding the small foot under the table, and continued to ask Landlord Zhang.

“Afterwards, that jealous woman committed suicide by jumping into a well,” Landlord Zhang said this rather calmly, as if he wasn’t talking about the death of his wife.

“Heh, what right did she have to stop me from taking a concubine, just because she bore me a son? Other families have had several children, she only gave me one and still had the nerve to say she had continued my family line. She thought her suicide would stop me from taking a concubine, but not only did I take one, I also made her the official wife,” Landlord Zhang sneered.

“Is the ghost her?” Li Si asked.

“That’s right,” Landlord Zhang’s expression changed from calm to angry, fuming, “Who would have thought that even after death, she would disturb the peace of our home, not caring at all about our marital feelings.”

Li Si laughed coldly in his heart. When had Landlord Zhang ever cared about his feelings for his wife? When he spoke of his former wife’s death earlier, he hadn’t shown any marital affection at all.

“Since then, the house has been haunted. Every night, you can hear her crying,” Landlord Zhang sighed, then continued, “Several servants in the house have died, all from falling into the well. I’ve reported it to the officials, and more than a dozen constables came. Several died that night, and the officials stopped getting involved after that.”

“Later, I had the housekeeper spread the word that whoever could subdue this ghost would get a thousand taels. A few fearless but incompetent people came, and they died that night. Their bodies clogged the well, and it took a great effort for the servants to pull the bodies out.”

Speaking of this, Landlord Zhang sneered.

“Does worthy nephew have any ideas?” At this, he looked at Li Si with hopeful eyes.

Li Si’s face showed a troubled expression, and he sighed, “If Uncle asked me about scholarship, I could manage, but how would I know anything about subduing demons and exorcising evil?”

“That’s true,” Landlord Zhang nodded, his face showing a regretful expression, seeming to strongly agree with Li Si’s words.

“Uncle, I also feel regretful about this matter. It’s a pity I don’t have the skills to subdue demons and exorcise evil, otherwise I would certainly slay this ghost for you,” Li Si’s face showed an expression of righteous indignation, as if he had an irreconcilable grudge against ghosts.

Seeing Li Si like this, a look of understanding flashed in Landlord Zhang’s eyes. It seemed this Young Master Li was indeed as rumored, a person who was indignant at the state of the world. A gentleman-like figure, but unfortunately not versed in the ways of subduing demons and exorcising evil, of no great use to him.

However, now that he had entered the Zhang mansion, it would be difficult to leave. Whether Li Si could subdue this ghost or not, he would have to try. If he couldn’t subdue it, then he would die in the Zhang mansion.

At this moment, Li Si put down his chopsticks and cupped his hands towards Landlord Zhang, saying, “Uncle, I’m full. I’ll come visit you another day. I also wish you find someone to eliminate that ghost soon.”

Hearing Li Si say this, Landlord Zhang was stunned. His face gradually turned cold, and he put down his chopsticks heavily on the table, saying in a chilly voice, “Has Zhang’s hospitality been lacking in any way?”

“Of course not,” Li Si quickly replied.

“Then why do you want to leave?”

“Actually, I think your mansion’s environment is particularly good, and the food is excellent. Unfortunately, I have appointments with some families in the county. I’m supposed to teach some children at the hour of Monkey today. When one has an appointment, one naturally must go,” Li Si’s face showed a regretful expression, as if he really wanted to stay at the Zhang mansion.

Hearing Li Si’s words, Landlord Zhang’s face immediately softened: “That’s simple. I’ll have a servant go to the county town to inform them. It’s the same if you go in a few days. Besides, didn’t you say before that you wanted to borrow books from my mansion’s library? This is a perfect opportunity.”

Landlord Zhang beckoned to a servant. When he came close, he instructed, “Fan Fu, go and notify them.”

“Yes, master,” the servant respectfully accepted the order and left.

Seeing Landlord Zhang’s behavior, Li Si’s heart sank. This old scoundrel indeed had no intention of letting him leave. He was determined to drag Li Si down with him, even to death.

He quickly searched through the original owner’s memories and sighed inwardly. The original owner had indeed tried to borrow books from the Zhang mansion. But at that time, how could the Zhang family have looked favorably upon the original owner, who was just a poor scholar? They had directly driven him out.

The original owner’s attempt to borrow books from the Zhang family was out of necessity. After all, this world was one of knowledge monopoly, with books basically in the hands of some landlords and certain families.

Ordinary people generally had no chance to access books. This era also didn’t have printing technology, and books were basically all hand-copied. This was why the original Li Si had risked the humiliation of being driven away by the Zhang family to ask to borrow books.



At this moment, a thought flashed through Li Si’s mind like lightning. He suddenly realized something: the original owner’s family wasn’t wealthy, so why did the study at home have forty to fifty books?