Chapter 64
Chapter 64
Early the next morning, Ji Yan’an had his people bring over the case files from the past few years.
After only a quick look, he discovered quite a few wrongful convictions and fabricated cases.
And perhaps Wang Hu had simply been too confident in himself, because the holes in those cases were so numerous he hadn’t even bothered to hide them.
A portion of the money and valuables in Wang Hu’s secret room had come from these unjust cases.
In order to seize those people’s wealth and land, he had casually slapped them with baseless charges, then gone to “confiscate their property.”
The people under him had followed his example, and had done plenty of the same.
The more Ji Yan’an read, the colder his gaze became.
Letting that beast return to Shangjing just like this was far too easy on him.
When Jiang Yunsui woke up, she came to find Ji Yan’an while yawning. But the moment she saw the mountain of case files waiting to be handled in front of him, her little feet immediately backed away.
Too scary. She absolutely could not let him notice her and drag her off to recognize characters and practice writing again. Time to run.
She would go outside and dig up mushrooms.
“Huh? New mushrooms grew again?”
Jiang Yunsui stared at a kind of little red mushroom growing on a tree.
“Why is it this one? You can’t even eat it.”
That was right. It was a poisonous mushroom.
It wasn’t deadly, but after eating it, a person’s mind would become muddled, and they would unconsciously spill some of their own secrets.
Jiang Yunsui named it Truth Mushroom.
She had originally intended to pick it and throw it away. After all, this thing could not be eaten.
But then she thought of something, and giggled mischievously.
“I’ll give it to Nanshu.”
After being forced by Nanshu to memorize all those characters, Little Mushroom still held a bit of a grudge.
After putting away the Truth Mushroom, Jiang Yunsui was just about to take the other mushrooms to the kitchen and have Fat Chef turn them into something delicious.
Then she suddenly heard a lively commotion coming from outside the Ji Mansion.
Curious Little Mushroom was online.
Without the slightest hesitation, she scurried outside on her short little legs.
First, she secretly peeked from the doorway.
She saw many people standing outside the main gate. There were all sorts of people-some crying, some laughing. Most of them held something in their hands: a chicken, a sheep, a basket of eggs, some sweet potatoes…
It was as if they had brought out everything they could possibly offer.
“Young Master, Young Master, thank you! Thank you for capturing Wang Hu and avenging my daughter!”
“Young Master, thank you for avenging my family. Sob, sob… Heaven has finally opened its eyes…”
Ji Yan’an came out, his face still pale with illness.
The moment those people saw him, they knelt down at once. The gratitude in their words was utterly sincere.
Ji Yan’an looked at them, and seemed to finally understand the heavy responsibility resting on the shoulders of the Ji Family.
In a daze, Jiang Yunsui seemed to see weak golden motes gathering together and falling onto Ji Yan’an.
Some even flew toward her.
She raised her little hand and stared blankly at the golden motes drifting over.
So pretty. Just as pretty as Imperial Flowing Essence.
The instant those golden motes landed on her, Jiang Yunsui knew what they were.
Merit. Faith…
Her eyes widened.
“So this is merit?”
It felt so comfortable.
The merit gathering around Ji Yan’an was the most abundant.
But before long, all that merit flowed into his body and vanished from sight.
With a few simple words, Ji Yan’an persuaded the commoners to leave. At the entrance of the Ji Mansion, they left behind quite a few baskets, as well as some living chickens, ducks, sheep, and other livestock.
No matter what, those commoners refused to take them back.
Ji Yan’an felt helpless, but at the same time, warmth stirred in his heart.
This was a feeling he could never experience in Shangjing.
He clasped his hands behind his back and lifted his head to look at the sky.
“Grandfather, Father, so this is what you wanted to protect?”
In the past, he had not understood. He had only listened to his elders.
But now, he seemed to understand.
A tear slipped from the corner of his eye, but Ji Yan’an quickly composed himself.
“Take all of these away. Cook the eggs and eat them. As for those… keep them for now.”
He turned to leave, only to come back a few seconds later.
Then he flicked Jiang Yunsui on the forehead.
“Ow!”
“Why are you standing here in a daze?”
Jiang Yunsui looked up at Ji Yan’an with bright, sparkling eyes.
“Ji Yan’an, I saw merit just now.”
“Merit?”
After thinking for a moment, he understood what Jiang Yunsui meant by merit.
“Oh? How did you see it?”
Jiang Yunsui’s smile was as radiant as warm sunlight.
“It was on those people just now…”
She told Ji Yan’an everything she had seen.
Ji Yan’an glanced at his own hand, the corners of his mouth curving faintly. “Is that so? What a pity I can’t see it.”
“What use is that sort of thing?”
Jiang Yunsui scratched her head. “Well, it’s very useful to people who can cultivate. For ordinary people, I think it gives them the right to choose the world and family they’ll be reborn into in their next life.”
In truth, she did not really understand it either. She had only heard those things from other spirits.
“I see.”
Ji Yan’an sank into thought.
Then his grandfather and fathers, who had protected so many people, must have merit too.
He only hoped that in their next lives, they would be safe and sound, and live quiet, ordinary lives.
“Oh, right, Ji Yan’an, do you want to eat mushrooms?”
Jiang Yunsui bounced along behind him.
Ji Yan’an’s voice was cold. “No. Don’t even think about putting mushrooms on the table for the next few days.”
Jiang Yunsui looked at him accusingly.
“Why not?!”
Ji Yan’an sneered. “We’ve been eating mushrooms for over a month. What do you think?”
No matter how delicious they were, he was sick of them.
Jiang Yunsui muttered under her breath that he was too picky.
But honestly, she was starting to get tired of them too.
They could take a break.
Then she would give the mushrooms she dug up today to the others.
And so, that day, the members of the Yue Tribe tasted a delicacy unlike anything they had ever eaten before.
After eating, they knelt in the courtyard, shouting that they wanted to follow Ji Yan’an for the rest of their lives.
When Ji Lu returned and reported this, the corner of Ji Yan’an’s mouth twitched.
“After they’ve rested for two days, send them off for training.”
That afternoon, while Ji Yan’an was reviewing case files, he caught a certain Little Mushroom trying to sneak off.
“Where are you going? Have you finished your studies for today?”
Jiang Yunsui said pitifully, “Can I take a day off?”
“No.”
Jiang Yunsui’s little face immediately fell. “How can a mouth that’s thirty-six degrees say such icy words? That’s so cruel.”
Ji Yan’an smiled at her. “There’s something even crueler. Would you like to experience it?”
Little Mushroom quickly shook her head, then trudged off dejectedly to find Nanshu.
At that moment, Nanshu was holding a book in one hand and a ruler in the other.
“This study attitude of yours is absolutely unacceptable. Hurry up and come read!”
He seemed to have forgotten how Jiang Yunsui had tormented him into a breakdown before.
Jiang Yunsui read for a while, yawning twice a minute. In ten minutes, her head nearly slammed into the desk three times.
Ji Yan’an spared a moment to glance at her, then looked away because his eyes hurt.
“Smack… Don’t sleep. What did I just explain?”
Nanshu stared at Jiang Yunsui like a hawk.
Jiang Yunsui yawned. This was way too sleep-inducing.
Her eyes darted around as she remembered the Truth Mushroom she had picked that morning. A wicked idea immediately popped into her head, and she crooked a little finger.
“Nanshu, let me show you something.”
Nanshu remained unmoved. “Take your studies seriously. It’s been so long, and you still haven’t memorized that passage!”
Jiang Yunsui said, “Just look first. After you look, I’ll be serious.”