Chapter 7

Chapter 7

On the day the courtyards were being assigned, Yunxi caused such a scene that everyone gathered around her, coaxing and placating her.

Fu Qiu stood outside the crowd, watching in silence.

There would never be a better opportunity than this.

Ji Heng trusted her greatly. Even a shrewd old hand like Mama Lu had already begun to treat her as one of their own.

Fu Qiu lowered her eyes and looked at the jade bangle on her right wrist.

That night, the window lattices of many rooms were hacked apart by something sharp. The braver servants immediately threw open their doors and went looking, but there was not a soul in sight.

Everyone assumed thieves were scouting the place, planning to break in and steal valuables.

Mama Lu was the first to suspect the newly hired servants. Yet even after she had them dismissed one by one, that eerie sound of a blade chopping through wood continued to ring out at night.

At last, she simply ordered everyone to keep lamps lit after dark.

But not only did this fail to scare the thief away, it allowed everyone in Jiang Manor to see clearly that the blade hacking at the window lattices had no wielder.

Panic spread through all of Jiang Manor.

Ji Heng held Yunxi in her arms, her brow clouded with worry.

“Mama, if there is truly no other way, we should move to the other estate for now.”

Mama Lu was just about to accept the order when Fu Qiu suddenly said, “I once read in an ancient book that a blade striking a window lattice is an act of seeking justice for a grievance.”

Ji Heng asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Fu Qiu said, “According to the book, during the Spring and Autumn period, a wealthy man reported to the authorities that his neighbor had used a knife to chop open his window lattice, entered his home, and stolen from him.

“As it happened, that neighbor had somehow come into money around that time and was spending quite lavishly.

“The wealthy man claimed that the neighbor’s family had always been poor, so this sudden windfall must have come from stealing his property, and he demanded that the neighbor return it.

“The neighbor’s money truly was of unclear origin, and he did not dare explain it to the officials. Just when he had no way to defend himself, a clerk discovered that the cut marks on the window lattice were deep on the inside and shallow on the outside. It must have been chopped from within the room outward.

“With that, the neighbor’s suspicion was cleared, and the wealthy man honestly confessed that he had been jealous of his neighbor getting rich overnight and had tried to use this method to seize his money.”

Longyan suddenly asked, “If he was going to stage the whole thing anyway, why not do it properly and chop from the outside in?”

Fu Qiu smiled. “Who knows? Perhaps he was afraid someone would see him. Or perhaps he thought too highly of himself and took everyone else for fools.”

Mama Lu pressed, “Then… if that thing wants justice, does the book say what we should do?”

Fu Qiu nodded.

“First, you must invite it to possess someone and ask what grievance it has. If it can be resolved by the household, then resolve it for the spirit. If it cannot be resolved by the household, then offer it gold, silver, and valuables, and ask it to leave.

“However, asking it to leave is not difficult. Inviting it to possess someone is the hard part.”

At this point, she paused in thought for a moment and concealed the matter of bone-weighing.

“You must find someone with an extremely yin fate.”