TGCFNM -Chapter 4 Did Cui Xi Run Away?

When Chu Ling slowly came to, she was lying on the floor. Dawn was just breaking outside, and beneath her head was a pool of blood, dried and sticky against the ground.

Ghost Scholar sat leisurely in a chair, lowering his gaze as he examined her.

The moment Chu Ling lifted her head, a chill swept over her, along with a pair of eyes that seemed able to see through everything.

Ghost Scholar chuckled softly and motioned for her to get up first. “It’s good that you’re awake. The pooled blood at the back of your head has already been cleared—it won’t endanger your life. From now on, take one pill a day from the divine medicine I dug out. In half a month, you’ll be much better.”

“Then many thanks to you, Master,” Chu Ling said. Her lips were cracked and dry; after speaking just that one sentence, her throat felt so parched it seemed about to smoke. She braced herself against the chair and slowly climbed up. After sitting down, she called out weakly, “Cui Xi, Cui Xi?”

“That girl ran off. Seems she took her indenture contract with her and even grabbed some silver before leaving,” Ghost Scholar said, lightly shaking his folding fan, smiling as he watched Chu Ling’s reaction.

“She thought I was dead, so she simply ran?” Chu Ling was genuinely stunned. In the original plot, Cui Xi seemed to have stayed by her side all along.

“You don’t seem to feel much betrayal,” Ghost Scholar remarked curiously as he sized her up.

Chu Ling poured herself a cup of yesterday’s tea and drained it in one go, then let out a long breath. “When disaster strikes, everyone looks out for themselves. That’s normal. I want to run too.”

Ghost Scholar asked with interest, “You want to run? Where to?”

“I don’t know where, but I definitely have to run,” Chu Ling said with a deep sigh. Knowing how the plot would unfold, staying would only mean waiting to die.

Ghost Scholar lightly fanned himself and spoke with the air of earnest advice. “If you’re worried about being implicated in the Chu family’s affairs, I suggest you stay in Sishui County. Places like this rarely attract powerful nobles. With your official status as cover, it might actually be safer.”

“But Prince Rui will come,” Chu Ling said. She knew that—but not running still wasn’t an option.

Ghost Scholar’s expression tightened slightly. He drew his folding fan shut, gripping the handle as he raised his eyes to stare fixedly at her. “How do you know Prince Rui will come?”

“And how do you know about the Chu family’s affairs?” Chu Ling reacted at once. Just who had this man been in life?

Ghost Scholar smiled. “I’ve lingered here for a long time. I know all your secrets. Besides, that maid’s mouth had no restraint—there’s nothing I haven’t heard.”

Chu Ling licked her dry, cracked lips, feeling restless and uneasy.

“Master…”

“Your Excellency! Your Excellency!”

Outside, Qi Daxian was pounding hard on the door. Chu Ling stood up and yanked it open, her expression dark. “What’s all this noise?”

“A ghost! N-no—Your Excellency! Someone’s dead!” Qi Daxian was pale with panic. He swallowed several times before forcing out the words. “Your Excellency, Miss Cui Xi was found drowned by the river.”

Chu Ling froze on the spot, not even processing it at first. “You’re saying Cui Xi is dead?”

Qi Daxian nodded with difficulty.

Chu Ling’s vision swam. She barely managed to support herself against the doorframe as she looked at Qi Da. “Prepare the sedan. I’ll go see for myself.”

“Yes, Your Excellency… Your Excellency, your official hat,” Qi Daxian hurriedly reminded her.

Chu Ling went back to get her hat, slapped it onto her head without care, and strode ahead of Qi Da.

Only then did Qi Daxian notice the wound on the back of her head, and the large patches of blood staining even her official robes. He had no idea what had happened.

When Chu Ling reached the front of the yamen, the constables who were about to patrol were already waiting, along with an official sedan chair.

After she got into the soft sedan, the constables immediately lifted it and hurried toward the riverbank. A crowd had already gathered there, though most people kept their distance—after all, the dead was the county magistrate’s maid.

Upon arrival, Chu Ling got out of the sedan and headed straight for the scene.

The surrounding villagers immediately parted to make way. Seeing the large bloodstains on Chu Ling’s back, they couldn’t help murmuring among themselves. But before the whispers could go on for long, a sharp cry from the county magistrate startled them into silence.

“Ah—!”

Ghost Cui Xi stood there, crying miserably as she looked at Chu Ling, both frightened and incredulous.

Clenching her teeth, Chu Ling covered her mouth with her sleeve and said in a low voice, “Why are you trying to scare me?”

“I—I didn’t mean to scare you, Miss. I saw you and just rushed over,” Cui Xi said, her face crumpled with tears.

Chu Ling shot her a helpless glare, then turned her eyes to the body lying on the ground, her gaze sinking.

She quickly stepped forward and crouched down, decisively gripping the corpse’s chin and lifting it. The nostrils were clean, with no silt. The abdomen was normal as well, without any bloating from water.

“Miss, I wasn’t drowned. Someone struck me on the back of the head, and then I became like this,” Cui Xi cried bitterly. If she’d known her mistress could see ghosts, she wouldn’t have run even if it killed her.

“Who struck you? Did you see clearly?” Chu Ling asked in a low voice.

“I—I thought you were dead, Miss, so I took my indenture contract and the silver, packed my bundle, and ran. It was late at night. Earlier, that boatman’s son had feelings for me, so I’d arranged to meet him. Then—then I was struck. I didn’t see who it was,” Cui Xi finished, her mouth drooping as she began to cry again.

Seeing that there was no bundle beside Cui Xi’s body, Chu Ling guessed that the murderer had likely attacked her for the silver, then, afraid of being discovered, thrown her into the river. She was only found the next day.

“Who discovered Cui Xi?” Chu Ling asked loudly.

A boatman immediately shuffled forward, trembling all over. He didn’t dare look at Chu Ling and stammered, “I—I did.”

“Ah, that’s Xiao Sanzi’s father,” Cui Xi said in surprise.

Chu Ling understood at once. This was the father of Cui Xi’s beloved—the one who had found her and hauled her out of the water.

“Cui Xi asked me for leave to go home. When she left, she was carrying a bundle,” Chu Ling said coldly. As she spoke, she turned Cui Xi’s body over. Sure enough, there was a lump on the back of her head. As for the blood, it had long since been washed away by the river.

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency, I’ve been wronged!” the boatman cried, tears and snot streaming down his face. His thin, withered body shook so badly he could barely stand. “When I pulled her up, there was only Miss Cui Xi—no bundle at all!”

But who was Chu Ling? She’d been in office for a month already—who in the county didn’t know she was a muddle-headed official who never acted for the people?

“Stop crying and answer properly,” Chu Ling barked coldly, straightening up. “So when you saw her, there was no bundle?”

“No, no, Your Excellency! I’ve been wronged!”

“Where’s your son? You’re so frail—why are you the one out on the boat?” Chu Ling crossed her arms, clearly suspicious.

“Xiao Sanzi—he, he went up the mountain to dig medicinal herbs and broke his leg. He’s at home, lying in bed,” the boatman said with his head lowered, occasionally wiping his tears with his sleeve, his back bent even further.

“Oh dear, this boatman is really pitiful. His son broke his leg, he goes out fishing and catches nothing, then hauls up a corpse and still gets suspected.”

“Shh, that’s the county magistrate’s maid.”

“The magistrate herself has a head injury—who knows…”

“Who knows what?” Chu Ling turned her head and accurately picked out the gossiping woman from the crowd. After looking her over, she said, “You seem familiar with this boatman. Did his son really break his leg?”

The woman, carrying a basket, tightened her grip and replied indistinctly, “I’ve seen him around. How would a woman like me be close to him?”

“Oh?” Chu Ling said lightly. “You were awfully quick to speak up for him. I thought you might be next-door neighbors.” With that, she didn’t bother looking at the woman’s face, now black as the bottom of a pot. She only ordered the constables to send Cui Xi’s body to the charity morgue first and then summon the coroner for an autopsy.

“Miss, so Xiao Sanzi didn’t come to see me because he broke his leg,” Cui Xi said anxiously, crying. “Miss, I want to go see Xiao Sanzi one last time. Please help me.”

Chu Ling was taken aback—help her?

Her eyes then shifted, and she looked somewhat unnaturally toward a certain direction.

Sure enough, Ghost Scholar was standing not far away, smiling as he watched her. When he saw her look over, he even greeted her politely.