A master of comedy!

Chapter 31 Judge Lu
"More than a month ago..."

After hearing Cuicui's words, Zhou Sheng's heart stirred, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

This happened precisely when Shen Jinhua was singing "The Tragedy of Dou E" and died on the stage.

Shen Jinhua lost her head, while the magistrate's wife changed her face.

The biggest beneficiary of this was Magistrate Zhu, who transformed his wife from a plain-looking woman into a beauty of unparalleled grace, thus enabling him to legitimately enjoy a life of luxury and indulge in sensual pleasures.

The fog has gradually dissipated, and the whole matter is about to come to light.

But what Zhou Sheng heard at that moment was Shen Jinhua's lyrics before her soul was scattered.

"It cannot tolerate the June snow burying the pure bones—"

Why did you teach me to spend half my life in the limelight... to play the role of Dou E...?

The tragically deceased Shen Jinhua probably never dreamed that her tragedy was simply because a county magistrate wanted to give his wife a beautiful face.

……

"Cuicui, how much do you know about Magistrate Zhu?"

Zhou Sheng's gaze turned slightly cold as he continued to press for answers.

An ordinary county magistrate would naturally be unable to command ghosts and gods to do such a thing; clearly, this Magistrate Zhu is extraordinary.

Cui Cui thought carefully for a moment and said, "I joined the manor late and don't know much, but I've heard the old folks in the manor talk about it. They say that Magistrate Zhu was a poor scholar in his early years, with no talent and living a life of poverty and hardship, but suddenly he had a breakthrough and passed the imperial examinations one after another..."

Zhou Sheng's heart stirred, and a cold smile appeared in his eyes.

This is probably not enlightenment, but a change of mindset.

If you can exchange your wife's head, why can't you exchange your own illiterate mind?
He suddenly remembered a story from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio called "Lu Pan".

The scholar Zhu Erdan accidentally met Judge Lu of the underworld. He was slow-witted and lacked talent, so Judge Lu gave him a clever heart, which greatly enhanced his talent.

Later, Zhu Erdan was dissatisfied with his wife's ugly appearance, so he asked Lu Pan to give her a new head that made her look young and beautiful.

Even after Zhu Erdan died, he became a high-ranking official in the underworld, and often went to the mortal world to teach his son, just as if he had never died.

When he read this story back then, he found it quite interesting. But when the bloody events actually happened to him, he realized that he only found it interesting because the events hadn't happened to him.

Some people lost their hearts, and some people lost their heads.

But who can speak up for them?
This Magistrate Zhu, perhaps like Zhu Erdan, has an extraordinary relationship with some important figure in the underworld.

"Cuicui, how did you die?"

Seeing that the incense stick was almost burned out, Zhou Sheng asked one last question.

Upon hearing this, Cui Cui trembled, her eyes flashing with pain, struggle, and fear.

“That night, after my father was beaten out of the mansion, Magistrate Zhu came to find me and tried to force himself on me. When I refused, he beat me and left me with a hairpin.”

Soon, a servant said that I had stolen the lady's hairpin. The lady seemed to believe it, was very disappointed in me, and stopped paying attention to me.

"Then……"

"Those servants... they raped me..."

"Who are the servants?"

"……all."

Zhou Sheng was suddenly taken aback.

"All the male servants in the mansion participated. They said it was a pledge of loyalty, and anyone who didn't would be considered a traitor and disloyal to the master."

"I cried and begged my sister and aunts who used to take care of me for help, but they pretended not to hear me even though they could hear me."

"I felt an intense, excruciating pain, like my whole body was being torn apart. Later, my voice became hoarse, I couldn't shout anymore, and I fainted from the pain, so..."

"I don't know how I died, it seems... I died from the pain?"

Zhou Sheng's face remained calm, but his hands, clenched tightly in his sleeves, turned white.

This poor little girl ultimately died from the pain.

"Brother, I don't know what I did wrong? Why are those kind uncles, aunts, and sisters treating me like this?"

"Brother, I miss Grandpa so much." ...

After leaving Granny Cui's house, Zhou Sheng remained silent the entire way.

Having cleared away the layers of fog, he finally saw the truth of the whole matter, but the truth was far too heavy.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn is very short. Cui Cui's soul quickly returned to the underworld, and perhaps in the future, she will be reincarnated.

The Meng Po soup could make her forget the pain of this life, but Zhou Sheng felt that he would probably never be able to forget the questions she asked at the end.

Upon returning home and seeing his apprentice's distracted state, Yu Zhensheng sighed softly.

“Every outstanding ghost storyteller has experienced many joys and sorrows that are unimaginable to ordinary people. Therefore, a ghost storyteller’s heart must be hard and cold enough to survive on the stage of ghosts and gods.”

"Master, I understand."

"No, you don't understand."

Yu Zhensheng shook his head, then suddenly asked, "Now that you know everything, are you still going to perform that shady act by Lao Xu?"

Just as Zhou Sheng was about to speak, he was interrupted by a wave of his hand.

"Now that things have come to this, I will not hide it from you anymore. Although Magistrate Zhu has no cultivation, he has a powerful background and is connected with important figures in the underworld. Those mad soldiers should have been sent by those important figures to protect him."

“He had already seen through our identities. That day, he used water as ink and drew a pattern on the table, which was the Gate of Hell in the underworld.”

"In two more months, you will graduate. At that time, on the Ghost Festival, you will have to pass through the Gates of Hell and perform for the ghosts and gods in the underworld. It will be a life-or-death situation."

"If you offend a powerful figure in the underworld again, and that person secretly uses some underhanded tactics, you'll be in even greater danger on the stage!"

Yu Zhensheng gave him a deep look and said, "Think it over carefully before making a decision. If you decide to give up, I will not blame you. After all, what are the rules compared to life?"

"Yes, what do rules matter compared to life?"

After listening to his master's words, Zhou Sheng's face showed a complicated expression.

“Master, as the saying goes, good people don’t always get good rewards.”

"Shen Jinhua was a good person, often using the money she earned from singing to help orphans, yet she was beheaded; Uncle Xu was a good person, yet he was strangled and drowned in the river; Cuicui was also a good person, yet she died in excruciating pain..."

"It seems that good people really don't get good rewards."

"But should good people really not be rewarded?"

Zhou Sheng slowly raised his eyes, his dejection gone, replaced by a sharpness like a sword being drawn from its sheath.

The youthful energy in the boy's eyes seemed even more dazzling than the sun outside the window.

"On the way back, I kept thinking about the last question Cui Cui asked me: Why did those people treat her like that?"

"I can't answer this question, but then it suddenly occurred to me that I shouldn't be the one to answer it in the first place."

He paused, then grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth. A hint of menace flickered in his eyes, and his eyebrows shot up like sharp blades.

"Since I can't answer that, I'll send them down and answer it myself."

"Let's also see if they have a place in the eighteen levels of hell?"

Sensing the boiling killing intent emanating from his disciple, Yu Zhensheng offered no comment, only asking calmly, "Have you decided?"

"Decided."

"No regrets?"

"No regrets."

"Alright, then I'll teach you a few more new plays."

"Since you've decided to sing, then sing it well. If it's not a good show when the gongs and drums sound, it will be a disgrace to my Yu Zhensheng."

……

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(End of this chapter)