TGCFNM -Chapter 480 Who Killed You?

After listening to Prefect Yang, Chu Ling remained silent for a long while.

She was certain that none of this was in the book, so these events must have occurred after “Chu Ling” died, things that Chu Yue knew.

Since Chu Yue mentioned that there were rats stealing the supplies, then there must have been.

And the food that was “stolen” was most likely being used as provisions, which is why Chu Yue had orchestrated such a large operation and deliberately allowed Fu Qingyu and Young Master Xiao to come investigate together.

At present, the ones Chu Ling knew might attempt rebellion were one—the already dead General Chu—and the other, the Xiao Young Master from the book.

So, Chu Yue’s target this time… was Young Master Xiao?

Chu Ling furrowed her brow and looked at Prefect Yang. “Anything else to say?”

Prefect Yang thought carefully and shook his head. “Nothing else. And the reason I remember this so clearly is that young master’s certainty left me no choice but to believe… but in these three years, I haven’t seen a single rat.”

Ghost Scholar immediately asked, “You mean the food never decreased at all?”

Prefect Yang nodded. “Yes, although it was moved around, the total amount of grain never decreased.”

Chu Ling muttered, “That’s impossible… there must have been theft. How could the total have increased?”

Just as Ghost Scholar and Chu Ling fell into silence, puzzled by the situation, Bai Su grew curious and asked another question. “Why did you stay in the mortal realm instead of reincarnating? You’re a greedy official—what attachment keeps you here? Haven’t you been greedy enough?”

Prefect Yang looked at Bai Su’s fierce, terrifying expression and instinctively stepped back. “My ancestors’ spirit tablet… it’s in someone else’s hands.”

“What ancestors’ spirit tablet?” Chu Ling asked.

“It’s my ancestors’ tablet. Someone took it and told me to serve faithfully as prefect here, saying they would keep me safe,” Prefect Yang said, his voice quivering. “I can’t lose my ancestors’ tablet—it protects our descendants for generations to come…”

Chu Ling listened, speechless. She had thought it was their ancestral bones, but it was just a tablet… “Can’t you just make a new tablet for your descendants? Use fine wood, get a master to inscribe it, maybe have a Taoist perform a ritual, and you all respectfully bow a few times. Done.”

“That’s not the same!” Prefect Yang’s pale, ghostly face betrayed his urgency. “The marriage certificate hidden inside the layers of the tablet is the foundation of the Yang family’s existence. We can’t lose it!”

“Marriage certificate? Whose marriage certificate?” Chu Ling asked curiously.

Prefect Yang refused to say more, only revealing his urgent desire to recover it, hoping Chu Ling could help.

Ghost Scholar probed carefully, “If the tablet were still in your hands, you wouldn’t have died, right?”

“Of course! Someone would have protected the lives of all Yang family members!” Prefect Yang answered firmly.

Ghost Scholar glanced at Chu Ling and nodded slightly.

Chu Ling understood: whoever killed Prefect Yang did not know about the tablet.

“If you want me to help recover the tablet for your family, you should at least tell me what the person who took it looks like,” Chu Ling asked, frowning.

“An old man… his hair and beard are completely white. He’s skilled in medicine—the leg problem of my youngest son was healed by him,” Prefect Yang said anxiously.

Chu Ling froze: the classic “white-haired trick”!

“Did he ask for it, and you just gave it to him?” Bai Su asked coldly.

“It wasn’t asking—it was robbery!” Perfect Yang slammed his thigh and wailed pitifully. “I had so many guards, but they were all taken down in an instant. And all he wanted was the ancestral tablet, not my life. He just wanted me to stay put… They say a wise man yields to circumstances, right? So, so I handed over the tablet to save my own life.”

Chu Ling looked at Perfect Yang with disdain and spoke bluntly: “That person is dead.”

Perfect Yang froze. “Dead? He said that if he died, someone would return the tablet to me!”

Chu Ling raised an eyebrow. “Probably forgot.”

Perfect Yang wanted to cry but had no tears. “How could he forget?! That’s my ancestor’s tablet!”

Chu Ling pressed her temple, amused as she looked at him. “You’re really something. Your obsession isn’t finding the person who tried to kill you, but an ancestral tablet. Now the one who took your ancestor’s tablet is dead, and so are you—by suicide, no less. So can your family still use that marriage certificate?”

“Yes, yes!” Perfect Yang replied eagerly. “Master Chu, if you can help me recover it, that person will definitely be grateful to you. They will surely bless you to rise straight to the position of Prime Minister!”

Chu Ling was surprised. “Is this person really that skilled? Someone so high-ranking?”

Perfect Yang realized he had said too much but refused to explain further, instead switching topics: “Master, I know who killed me—it was that young master. He came straight to my door and even asked if I had caught the rats.”

Chu Ling froze, then stood up and demanded, “After she killed you, what did she do?”

“The account book,” Perfect Yang recalled. “She picked it up, looked through it, then put it back.”

“And then?” Chu Ling frowned. “Did she do anything else?”

Perfect Yang shook his head. “Nothing else.”

Chu Ling paced the room. So, Chu Yue had come once three years ago and then again recently. This time, she killed Perfect Yang but made it look like a suicide out of fear of punishment, and the account book was untouched—exactly as she expected?

Account book, account book!

Chu Ling grabbed Perfect Yang and dragged him out. “This is the government office. Take me to the account book! Hurry!”

Perfect Yang, needing help, obediently led the way. He brought her to a room sealed with official tags. Chu Ling tore off the seals and entered. Beneath the pillow in a hidden compartment, as Perfect Yang had indicated, she found the account book.

She opened it immediately and examined it carefully.

It was an ordinary bribery ledger and also evidence that Perfect Yang had committed suicide out of guilt—Chu Yue had no need to tamper with it.

But since this involved “rebels,” something unusual had to appear… such as this grain merchant named Wang.

This Wang received bribes far larger than others and exchanged grain for bribes more frequently.

Moreover, Wang’s hometown was Cangning County.

Cangning County was precisely one of Chu Yue and Heir Xiao’s bases in the story. There was indeed grain there, and a mysterious helper assisted them, enabling their advance on the capital and ultimately securing the throne.

So, the person Chu Yue was after must be this mysterious helper.

“Perfect Yang, why did you record where the grain shop owners were from?” Ghost Scholar asked. “That shouldn’t have been necessary, right?”

“Boss Wang asked me to,” Perfect Yang said. “He said everyone should report honestly and treat each other sincerely.”