Su Mingzhe and the servant left the city, and then they remembered to ask about the origin of their name.
The servant answered generously.
The servant's name is Lu Wan, and he is the son of Lujiazhuang, fifty miles east of Suzhou.
The current owner of Lujiazhuang, whose name is Lu Minghe, is twenty-two in his thirties. He failed several exams in the past few years, so he found connections and donated a Yuanwailang, a well-known local squire.
Lu Minghe originally had a fierce wife in his family. As a result, after more than ten years of marriage, he had no children and did not dare to take concubines. He could only express his love for the landscape and interact with some Taoist priests and monks.
Since his first wife passed away the year before last, Lu Minghe quickly remarried and took in two more concubines this year.
The third lady of Xinna is the one who is haunted by evil spirits in the house now.
…
After hearing this, Su Mingzhe asked carefully:
"How long?"
Lu Wan said with a sly expression:
"It's been two months."
Su Mingzhe suddenly asked curiously:
"It's been so long, haven't you found a mage?"
"I've looked for it, how could I not look for it?"
Lu Wan sighed a few times and then said:
"My family members are friends with the abbot of Hanshan Temple. I initially asked a few masters to come over, but it was of no use. Then I invited the Taoist priest from Baiyunguan to come over, but with no results. This is not what I heard. The government invited Taoist priests from other places.
Come to catch the monster, my family members sent me to the city to see if there is any chance."
When Su Mingzhe heard this, he couldn't help but secretly said:
This Lu Wan is also a good opportunity, so many monks and Taoists found me directly.
…
Lu Wan was just a child and was not qualified to ride a horse, so he could only take Su Mingzhe back to Lujiazhuang on foot.
The two of them walked from morning to afternoon and finally arrived at the end of the field.
"Taoist Master, this is Lujiazhuang."
Lu Wan invited the Taoist priest back and knocked on the door happily.
When the concierge opened the door, he learned that a Taoist priest had come to capture the demon and subjugate it, so he quickly went to inform the owner, Lu Minghe.
Not long after.
A thin man wearing a turban came to the door. When he saw Su Mingzhe in Taoist robes, he quickly clasped his fists and bowed:
"Happy Taoist Master!"
"The poor man is bowing his head!"
Su Mingzhe met the other party politely and was led into the backyard. He saw that the maids and slaves along the way were all panic-stricken. He couldn't help but curiously asked:
"Executive member Lu, why has your house encountered such misfortune and not thought of moving away and taking shelter?"
"We can't leave. Once our whole family moves out of here, we will suffer from severe abdominal pain. It will be very fatal!"
Lu Minghe smiled bitterly, obviously still feeling frightened by the scene at that time.
Su Mingzhe saw this and asked no more questions.
…
Under the guidance of Lu Minghe, Su Mingzhe passed by the Cloister Pavilion and came to a lotus pond.
Seeing the dozens of acres of lotus pond surrounded by the Lu family's wall, Su Mingzhe's eyes widened:
"What a garden. The Lu family has such a property. If the money for incense is less, I'm afraid it will be difficult to eliminate this ghost!"
Lu Minghe didn't know what Su Mingzhe was thinking, so he led him to a rockery, pointed to a courtyard not far away, and said:
"Taoist Master, my third wife lives there. Except for her maid, who can usually go there to bring some food, if anyone else comes close, they will have a splitting headache..."
"There is indeed an evil spirit!"
Su Mingzhe used his Dharma eyes to look at it. With just one glance, he immediately understood and understood the whole story.
The ghost that haunts the third lady is not a male ghost, but a female ghost.
And looking at her age, this female ghost was less than thirty when she was alive. She was as old as a peach, plump and delicate.
In addition, although this female ghost is entangled with the third lady of the Lu family, her 'root' is not the third lady's courtyard, but the Lu family's ancestral grave not far away.
This can explain why Lu Minghe asked the Taoist monks he befriended to drive away the evil spirits, but no matter what he did, he couldn't drive them away.
As the saying goes, it is difficult to guard against house thieves if you guard against them day and night.
This female ghost is not a lonely wild ghost at all, but a domestic ghost. How can outsiders drive her away?
…
Wanting to understand the reason, Su Mingzhe did not explain to Lu Minghe, but just threatened:
"Executive member Lu, that ghost's strength is extraordinary. If we want to cure it completely, I'm afraid even your family's huge property will not be able to be saved."
Lu Minghe heard the meaning of the words and asked quickly:
"Taoist Priest, even if there is no cure, if it can make him calm down, Lu is willing to pay five hundred taels of incense money!"
"If that's the case, then I'll go and have a good chat with her."
Su Mingzhe asked Mr. Lu to wait outside and entered the courtyard himself.
…
After a while, Su Mingzhe walked out of the courtyard and said to the landing officer solemnly:
"Exceptor Lu, I just talked with the ghost, and she said that she doesn't need any other conditions, but that she only needs your third wife to serve her."
"ah?"
Yuan Lu didn't expect that Su Mingzhe could not save his beloved third wife from the fire, and he suddenly became anxious:
"Taoist Priest, please talk to her again. As long as she is willing to leave my house, I am willing to pay one thousand taels of incense!"
"This... okay, I'll talk about it again!"
Su Mingzhe calculated in his mind that one thousand taels of silver was almost his annual income in Mojia Town, so he could just accept it as soon as possible.
…
This time, Su Mingzhe stayed inside for a bit long.
A full hour passed.
Su Mingzhe came out with a gloomy look on his face and sighed towards Lu Minghe:
"In addition to Mr. Lu, the ghost said that it is okay to leave the Lujiazhuang, but there are two conditions. One is that the Lu family will offer incense to her, and the other is that the third lady will become a monk and serve her!"
Lu Minghe was very happy to hear that Gui Mei was willing to leave home, but when he heard that one of the other conditions was that his third wife should accompany her, he suddenly became angry and anxious.
These three ladies had extraordinary backgrounds. They were originally the only daughters of Liu Jing, the imperial censor who patrolled the salt industry in the south of the Yangtze River. She had learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and poetry since she was a child. It can be said that she was both talented and beautiful.
Later, Liu Jing was impeached and imprisoned, and Miss Liu was forced to live in Jiaofangsi. After Lu Minghe learned about it, he spent nearly 100,000 taels of silver to manage various relationships before marrying her home.
As a result, something evil happened during the wedding night, and to this day, Miss Liu is still a young lady.
How could Lu Minghe be willing to let her go:
"Taoist Priest, my third wife has never been able to become a monk since she was a child. Why don't you talk to her again? If she really needs someone to serve her, I am willing to pay to find ten pairs of boys and girls to worship her!"
"Executive member Lu... the ghost said that as long as the third lady is concerned, nothing else can be discussed. You can think about it later."
Su Mingzhe wiped out Lu Minghe's last glimmer of hope. Seeing that the other party was still reluctant to make a decision, he simply issued an ultimatum:
"Executive member Lu, there are only two ways now. One is to abandon this manor. Pindao has a way to suppress and seal the ghost. The other is to agree to the conditions proposed by the other party."
"This manor is the ancestral land of my Lu family. All my ancestors lived in the garden and forest in the backyard. How could we give up!"
Lu Minghe let out a long sigh, his expression was miserable. Although he was deeply reluctant to give up, he also understood that now, he had to make a choice:
"Taoist Master, I am willing to agree to the other party's conditions, but once she leaves, she cannot come back again!"
"This is natural! Since this matter was negotiated by Pindao, Pindao will be responsible to the end!"
When Su Mingzhe saw that Lu Minghe agreed to the plan discussed between him and Gui Mei, he happily went back to tell Mrs. Lu the good news.
…
In the courtyard bedroom.
Miss Liu, who was being dressed by the maid, saw Su Mingzhe come in again, and asked shyly and uneasily: