A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 85 The Secrets of the Liu Family (1)

These words left everyone confused.

Song Shuyu said in a deep voice, "Liu Xiao, as things stand today, this is no longer just a case of Li Yunyao and her unborn child dying, but involves three people and four lives! You must give a detailed account from beginning to end, without concealing or deceiving a single word!"

Liu Xiao, no longer displaying his previous arrogance, solemnly recounted the hidden story: "It all started two and a half years ago. I was never favored by my father, so I acted eccentrically and always went against him. After my father arranged a marriage for me with a compiler from the Hanlin Academy, I vehemently opposed it and ran away with the girl I loved. Unexpectedly, when I returned home six months later, I learned that my elder brother had married Li Yunyao in my place! From then on, one strange thing after another began to happen."

“My wife, Huang Yiyi, was once a courtesan at Shuanghua Pavilion. She was quite beautiful and talented. My father initially disagreed with Yiyi entering the family, but later, for some reason, he suddenly relented and made us kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights. The marriage was not made public, and there was no wedding banquet. We only signed a marriage certificate and entered it into the family genealogy. I thought to myself, let's first establish her status. After Yiyi gives birth to a son or daughter in the future, I will ask my father to officially recognize Yiyi’s status.”

"But from then on, Yiyi was like a different person. During the day, she was cold and indifferent, never showing me any affection. Only at night did she regain her former tenderness. But what was even stranger was that many times I woke up in the middle of the night to find no one beside me. I searched the outhouse, the front yard, and the back yard, and asked the servants on night duty, but no one knew where Yiyi had gone! It wasn't until dawn the next day that the gatekeeper found Yiyi lying unconscious outside the gate. Afterwards, Yiyi had no memory of what had happened. My father ordered everyone not to say a word, fearing that she had been possessed by an evil spirit!"

"I took Yiyi to Yuntai Temple to pray to Buddha and exorcise evil spirits. I also invited a master to come to our house to perform a ritual. Finally, we were able to live a peaceful life. However, the good times didn't last long. When my mother went out to pray to Buddha, she was bitten on the face by an unknown bird! My mother's face was ulcerated and there was no cure. My eldest brother begged my sister-in-law to find a solution. My sister-in-law, who was always filial and polite, smashed her dowry in anger and scolded my brother for being despicable and shameless! But not long after, my mother's face miraculously healed. However, my eldest brother and sister-in-law developed a rift and their relationship became increasingly cold."

"After that, every few months, strange things would happen in the manor. Either the maids would develop sores on their faces, or the old women would have pus oozing from their faces. Even Yiyi was not spared. Her face was covered with painful and itchy rashes. Just like before, no doctor could cure her. I asked my mother how she recovered, but she wouldn't let me ask. She just told me to live in peace. A few days later, Yiyi's face inexplicably disappeared. I couldn't understand it at all. I felt like there was an invisible hand controlling our Liu family!"

"Six months ago, my eldest brother died without warning. My father said it was a sudden onset of tuberculosis and that it shouldn't be publicized, so his body was placed in the mortuary, and the funeral was postponed. He also kept quiet about it from everyone in the household, including the prefectural government, and didn't send anyone to report it. I always felt something was off and had a vague unease. One night three months ago, I unexpectedly saw my sister-in-law coming out of my father's room. I angrily confronted her, and she slapped me! She said that I had ruined her life, not only hers but also her father's!"

"Soon we discovered that my sister-in-law was pregnant. Judging from the months, it was definitely not my brother's child. My father said that my sister-in-law was carrying a ghost child and begged her to commit suicide to protect the reputation of the Liu family. I suspected it was... but I couldn't say. My sister-in-law refused and insisted on waiting until the child was born to find out the truth!"

(End of this chapter)