TGCFNM -Chapter 167 This Is Called a Basic Requirement

In a small courtyard, the female ghost was still crying incessantly, unwilling to accept reality.

Chu Ling had no choice but to send everyone back to their rooms to rest. After all, the journey had been exhausting, and tomorrow they still had to go out to investigate Bai Zhuoxing’s whereabouts.

After returning to her room, Chu Ling sat down properly, folded her arms, and looked at the female ghost.

“Whether you’re pretending to be crazy and playing dumb, or you’re simply foolishly in love—only you know that yourself.”

The female ghost whimpered as she looked at her.

Chu Ling said bluntly, “If you want justice, then tell me how you died. If you don’t—if you just want to remain a wandering ghost here, waiting for your so-called Husband Yuanze—then keep waiting.”

“No!” The female ghost suddenly became clear-headed. “I want justice. It must have been that family. They wanted to seize a son-in-law, so they deliberately harmed me.”

Chu Ling felt utterly helpless. “Did that family know you were Yuanze’s wife?”

The female ghost froze, and after a long moment said, “…We had not yet held the wedding ceremony.”

“So, did they know you were Yuanze’s fiancée? Did they know you had already consummated the marriage?” Chu Ling pressed further.

The female ghost shook her head. “They probably never even saw me.”

Chu Ling was speechless. “…Then how are you so certain they killed you?”

“Who else could it be besides them?” the female ghost retorted.

Chu Ling spread her hands casually. “Your husband—Yuanze.”

“Yuanze would never kill me,” the female ghost said with absolute certainty.

Chu Ling suddenly found herself at a loss for words. This ghost was hopelessly, deeply trapped in love.

Ghost Scholar had no choice but to continue asking, “Who was the last person you saw before you died? What happened that day?”

Bai Su stopped him and looked at the female ghost. “First, tell us who you are, how you met Yuanze, and how you came to Dongle City. Tell us everything from the beginning. Only then can we help you.”

“Help me?” The female ghost’s eyes lit up. “Help me borrow a corpse to return my soul?”

Cui Xi was stunned. “You’re already dead, and you’re still thinking about that?”

“You must be dreaming!” Chu Ling finally couldn’t hold back. “At most, we can help you fulfill your last wish. Maybe we can even pass along a message to Yuanze for you. But that’s it.”

The female ghost sniffled pitifully. “I only want to take my child and return to his side.”

Chu Ling said bluntly, “You can’t go back. You’re dead. And that man isn’t a good person.”

“Yuanze is a very good man. He treated me well,” the female ghost argued.

“He didn’t marry you, yet he consummated the relationship with you—and even got you pregnant… And you’re telling me that kind of man is a good person?” Chu Ling said through gritted teeth.

Whether Yuanze was another Chen Shimei aside, this female ghost was the ultimate love-struck fool.

The female ghost bit her lip tightly. “I love him, and he loves me.”

Chu Ling felt her anger rising to the point it could burst through her skull. She clenched her teeth and asked, “Have you met his family? Has he met yours? Did you have a matchmaker arrange the marriage? Did you exchange written betrothal documents? Were there witnesses?”

The female ghost murmured, “I… I am a courtesan from a flower house. I have no family. But… but I was a qingguan—an uninitiated courtesan.”

Bai Su had clearly reached the end of her patience. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Start from the beginning. Let us hear everything, so we can help you fulfill your final wish.”

Clutching her clothes tightly, the female ghost began recounting her background, her origins, and how she came to know Yuanze.

Her name was Yu Luo. She had been the top courtesan of Shuhua House in Anzhou—selling her art but not her body. With a breathtaking pipa dance, she became famous throughout Anzhou.

The man was named Sun Yuanze, a poor scholar from Anzhou.

Though full of ambition, Sun Yuanze had no connections. One day, hoping to try his luck, he went to Shuhua House. When a drunken man attempted to take advantage of Yu Luo, Sun Yuanze stepped in to stop him. That was how they met.

At first, Yu Luo only intended to repay him for that act of kindness. But afterward, Sun Yuanze came every single day. Even if he had to sell his belongings and scrape together every coin, he would still come to see her.

Gradually, Yu Luo was moved. Though the man was poor, he was willing to give everything for her.

With his stubbornness and infatuation, Sun Yuanze slowly won her heart. Yu Luo began introducing him to wealthy patrons she knew, helping him find connections.

At the same time, she worked hard to save money. After a year, she finally redeemed herself and left Shuhua House, determined to spend her life with him.

By then, Sun Yuanze had finally secured an opportunity to study in Dongle City. He asked Yu Luo to remain at home and wait for him. Next year, after passing the spring imperial examination with high honors, he would return riding a tall horse to marry her.

And Yu Luo believed him.

Chu Ling felt the veins in her forehead throb. Looking at Yu Luo, who was lost in her beautiful memories, she asked bluntly, “The silver you saved after leaving Shuhua House—did it all go toward his studies?”

Yu Luo nodded, her face glowing with happiness. “We are family. The money went to his studies. Once he passes the exam and marries me, we will live happily together until old age.”

Chu Ling couldn’t help letting out a dry laugh. “Let me guess. After that, he stopped writing to you. So you traveled from Anzhou to Dongle City to find him. To placate you, he rented this courtyard and fabricated a story—said someone had taken a fancy to him and wanted him as a live-in son-in-law, but he refused because he wanted to leave with you instead. Am I right?”

Yu Luo pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

Chu Ling sneered, offering her no mercy. “While soothing you with sweet words, he also saw that you were still as beautiful as ever. So he consummated the marriage with you. You were immersed in the fantasy that the two of you would leave together—until you were killed.”

Tears welled in Yu Luo’s eyes as she stubbornly insisted, “It wasn’t him. He didn’t harm me!”

“Fine. Sun Yuanze, is it?” Chu Ling said coldly. “I’ll investigate this man—not for you, but to make sure no one else gets deceived by him.”

“He didn’t deceive me! Everything was my own choice!” Yu Luo cried.

Crossing her legs, Chu Ling asked plainly, “As a courtesan, you must have seen all kinds of men. You probably understand men better than anyone. The reason Sun Yuanze moved you was because of his ‘sincerity,’ wasn’t it?”

Yu Luo nodded earnestly. “He is a very sincere man. He treated me very well.”

“You’re this beautiful—who wouldn’t treat you well?” Chu Ling nearly rolled her eyes in frustration. “Is that what you call sincerity? Taking all your money to study alone in Dongle City? Making you redeem yourself with your own savings?!”

Yu Luo opened her mouth but found herself unable to argue.

Chu Ling sighed. “A person’s learning, sense of responsibility, diligence, or perseverance—those can all be strengths. But the fact that he treats me well? That cannot be considered a strength. That’s called a basic requirement.”

“He… his scholarship is quite good. Otherwise, no one would have wanted him as a live-in son-in-law,” Yu Luo countered weakly.

Chu Ling let out an incredulous laugh. “If his scholarship were truly good, he could study anywhere. Why did he need to take your money to come to Dongle City to study?”

A man who claims to be full of ambition yet blames his lack of connections—and whose idea of finding ‘connections’ is to seek them in a pleasure house—what kind of path is that?

There is definitely something wrong with this Sun Yuanze.