I manage female characters in all the heavens.

With a slight movement of her power, the jade comb traced an elegant arc in the air, circled her twice at high speed, and then landed steadily back in her hand.

"I've mastered the basics of sword control!" She grinned and casually put the jade comb back.

A jade comb is certainly not as heavy as a sword, but since I don't have a sword on hand right now, I can only use a comb to satisfy my craving and confirm that the ability is still the same.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a maid's timid voice: "Miss, are you awake? This servant will help you with your washing and dressing."

"Come in."

Nie Yaoguang put away her excited expression, sat upright on the edge of the bed again, and put on a gentle and demure demeanor.

This act lasted for 20 years, and the young girl couldn't see through it at all.

A young maid, about fifteen or sixteen years old, pushed open the door and entered, carrying a copper basin and a towel. Seeing that her mistress was already dressed, she was slightly taken aback: "Miss, you got up very early today..."

She usually has to come in and help me get dressed, but she didn't today. I'll probably have to wake up a good amount of time earlier than usual.

This was absolutely devastating news, meaning that she, who was already getting up early enough, would have to get up even earlier from now on.

After all, as a maid serving the young lady, what use is she if she can't serve her because she doesn't get up early enough?

The prefect said that the Nie family does not support idlers. If you don't want to be driven away, end up on the streets, and die a miserable death, you can only work harder.

In order to survive, the maid has decided to get up half an hour earlier starting tomorrow and wait in front of the young lady's door, compressing her already limited sleep time of three and a half hours into three hours.

She refused to believe that she couldn't serve the young lady after doing all this!

"I couldn't sleep, so I got up."

"Nie Yaoguang" replied casually, using the reflection in the bronze mirror to examine the little maid whose face had suddenly become resolute.

According to my memory, this maid was named Qingluo. She had been with Nie Yaoguang since she was a child and was her personal maid. They were very close.

As Qingluo helped her wash and comb her hair, Nie Yaoguang asked, seemingly casually, "Qingluo, has anything interesting happened in the city lately?"

"Interesting stories?" Qinglu tilted her head, thought for a moment, "There aren't any interesting ones, but there are a lot of scary ones. Would you like to hear them, Miss?"

Nie Yaoguang's eyes lit up: "Tell me!"

"Let me tell you a recent story... The night before last, Wang the butcher's house in the east of the city was haunted. It tore up his pigsty, scaring Wang so much that he didn't dare to go out all day. He said he saw a blue-faced, fanged monster carrying his pigs and flying into the sky, smashing a big hole in the pigsty!"

Nie Yaoguang was speechless. What kind of nonsense is this, wanting pigs but not people?

She pressed further, "And then what happened?"

"Later, the government sent a constable to investigate. He said that Butcher Wang was drunk and his vision was blurred. He had climbed up to the pigsty while drunk and fell down, breaking through it. The constable scolded him and left."

Qingluo pursed her lips, "But I think this might not be a case of seeing things. Strange things like this happen every now and then. It would be too much of a coincidence to say that they are all fake."

Then, she told the young lady a lot of stories about demons and monsters causing trouble. Of course, these were all rumors. She solemnly stated that she had never seen them with her own eyes and absolutely did not want to see them.

Nie Yaoguang nodded in satisfaction.

Very well, there are indeed many such rumors about demons and monsters.

Moreover, this maid was quite knowledgeable, able to notice the logic that "it happens every now and then, so it can't all be fake," which shows she had some intelligence.

Alas, neither the investigating constables nor these two idly chatting master and servant seemed to care about the pig's whereabouts.

The pigsty was destroyed by Butcher Wang himself, so did the pig actually fly into the sky?

Just as she was about to ask something else, she suddenly heard a commotion coming from the front yard, along with faint cries and shouts.

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and stood up: "What's wrong in the front yard? Let's go take a look."

Qingluo quickly followed, "Miss, you haven't finished combing your hair yet..."

My job, please don't leave me!

"I'll comb it when I get back."

Nie Yaoguang strode out of the room and walked along the corridor to the front yard.

Although she deliberately slowed her pace and maintained the graceful demeanor of a well-bred young lady, she was still decisive and efficient, leaving Qingluo panting as she chased after her.

"Miss, please slow down. If you walk too fast, your skirt might kick up and you'll expose yourself!"

Nie Yaoguang immediately stopped and lifted her skirt to see that she was wearing pants underneath.

She turned around and scolded, "Qingluo, you're talking nonsense! How could this be considered a wardrobe malfunction?"

Qingluo, her face flushed, rushed over and pressed down on her mistress's skirt, saying with a hint of distress, "My dear mistress, your undergarments must not be exposed either!"

"Luckily, the master didn't see it, otherwise you would definitely have been locked up for half a month!"

Although Nie Yaoguang was Nie Yan's beloved daughter, Nie Yan was always strict with her education.

As she came of age, various rules and regulations followed. How she spoke, how she walked, how she laughed, even the time she spent relaxing in the garden every day was regulated, and who she met was strictly controlled.

This is certainly not because Nie Yan doesn't love his daughter; in fact, it could be said that this is a manifestation of his deep affection for her. However, this kind of love is undoubtedly suffocating and full of the autocratic characteristics of a feudal patriarch.

If Nie Yaoguang were to actually lift her skirt in front of Nie Yan, even just to reveal a bit of her undergarment, it would be completely inconsistent with the image of a well-bred young lady that he had always taught her. The prefect would probably be so angry that he would faint.

Nie Yaoguang's eyes darted around, and she seemed to have a sudden urge to cause trouble.

Upon arriving at the front courtyard, they saw a crowd gathered at the gate of the mansion, including yamen runners, onlookers, and several ragged, blood-covered people kneeling on the ground, kowtowing towards the mansion.

Nie Yan, the father of this body, a middle-aged man in his forties with a gaunt face, was standing on the steps, his face ashen and his hands trembling slightly.

"Please, Your Excellency, save our Hongtang Village!" cried a man covered in blood.

"That monster...that monster is back! Last night, it devoured more than a dozen people from our village, sparing neither the old nor the young! We really have no other choice!"

"What we need is not investigation and the truth, but the exorcism of demons! Please, my lord, send troops immediately to slay the demons and eliminate evil!"

Nie Yan took a deep breath and said in a sorrowful voice, "The government is deeply saddened by the tragedy in Hongtang Village, but that is no excuse for you to use demons and monsters as a pretext."

"Whether you call them refugees or bandits, even if you call them jackals and tigers, I might believe you to some extent, but monsters..."

Nie Yan glared angrily: "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits! This government has already sent people to your village to investigate. Once the matter is confirmed to be true and the real culprit is found, this government will arrest the person who is pretending to be a ghost!"

"When the time comes, we will suppress bandits and apprehend criminals, and we will give you justice."

"Until then, if you attempt to interfere in the court's military affairs in the name of demons, this court will absolutely not allow it!"

After a pause, Nie Yan added, "Moreover, instead of seeking help from the local magistrate, you've gone over his head and come directly to this prefecture to cause trouble. What are you trying to achieve?"

"Do you think the local magistrate is incompetent, or that he's in cahoots with the so-called demons you claim? Or perhaps there was no serial murder at all, and it was all just a conspiracy by you to deceive this prefecture into mobilizing troops, with ulterior motives?!"

"Is this a solution you came up with yourselves?"

The villagers kneeling on the ground trembled, some of them too afraid to raise their heads.

"Hmph!" Just by looking at them, Nie Yan knew something was wrong. He immediately ordered, "Men, take these people to the jail. We'll interrogate them after the investigation results are released!"

Several villagers got up and tried to run away, but the constables immediately pinned them down, tied them up, and took them to the prison.

"Disperse, disperse! Otherwise, we'll all be locked up and put in jail for a couple of days!" The yamen runners helped the prefect disperse the crowd, and soon the area in front of the yamen was calm again.

Watching the constables escort the man away, Nie Yan's expression gradually grew serious.

"Demons... the evil in people's hearts is far more terrifying than any demons..." he sighed softly.

Although he didn't believe in demons, the tragedy in Hongtang Village was most likely true.

In order to fabricate the illusion of demons and monsters committing crimes to lure him into sending troops, Hongtang Village will likely suffer heavy casualties.

These villagers who came to cause trouble are just being used; the real mastermind behind it all will never show up, no matter how hard you investigate.

He has encountered this kind of thing too many times over the years and has long been used to it. He can do nothing but lament the wickedness of people's hearts.

He didn't know how long the Changming Dynasty could last if things continued like this, or even more than ten years.

Turning around, Nie Yan was preparing to return to his room to continue handling official business.

Suddenly, he saw his daughter peering curiously from behind a pillar in the front yard porch.

Nie Yan's face hardened, and he scolded, "Yao Guang, instead of doing your lessons today, what are you doing running around here so early in the morning?"

"Is it time for you to relax?!"

He walked over while cursing, and when he got closer and saw "Nie Yaoguang's" messy hair, he became even angrier.

"You scoundrel! I've told you so many times, you're a young lady, you should always be mindful of your image as a refined young lady. What kind of talk is it to come out looking so disheveled?"

"If this gets seen and spreads, people will think you're an ill-mannered person, and it will be difficult for you to marry into a wealthy family in the future!"

Nie Yaoguang stood with her hands on her hips, exuding arrogance: "Then I won't marry her!"

Nie Yan was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage: "So, you dare to talk back? What kind of etiquette and moral principles have you learned all these years that make you dare to disobey your father like this? Who taught you that?!"

Nie Yaoguang chuckled: "I learned whatever my father taught me, and I don't know how I ended up like this. Perhaps you should reflect on that?"

Nie Yan was speechless, his face turning ashen as he stormed off.

After he left, Qingluo, who had been keeping a low profile like a quail for a long time, finally dared to make a sound.

She grabbed her mistress's hand, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Miss, it's all over! Master is furious! You're definitely going to be severely punished! Solitary confinement, forced kneeling, starving... it's too painful!"

Nie Yaoguang said with amusement, "It's not like you're the one being punished, so why are you in pain?"

Qingluo sobbed, "The punishment is on Miss's body, but the pain is in Qingluo's heart!"

"Are you my mom?" Nie Yaoguang almost blurted out.

Sure enough, a short while later, Nie Yan announced the punishment of confining "Nie Yaoguang" to her quarters for a month.

Several maids and servants invited "Nie Yaoguang" into the room, and then immediately stood guard at the door.

For the next month, let alone leaving the government office, even leaving one's room required an application.

Before, I could at least stroll around the garden in the afternoon and evening to relax, but now that's all canceled. I'll just have to stay in my room and copy books.

Nie Yaoguang scoffed at the punishment.

It's just like going back to my senior year of high school, and it's not even as intense.

She had easily gotten through her senior year of high school, so what was a mere house arrest?

Moreover, let alone a few servants and maids who have no martial arts skills, even if you, Nie Yan, summon a dozen or so martial artists of Yan Nantian's level to guard the gate, how could you possibly keep an eye on a young lady from a prominent family who has accumulated 5,600 years of internal energy?

Chapter 162 A Chinese Ghost Story, but Xiaoqian has over five thousand years of internal energy.

That evening, "Nie Yaoguang" quietly slipped out of the room.

She pushed open the door, and a night breeze carrying the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms from the courtyard wafted in. The two servants by the door leaned against the pillars, their heads bobbing up and down, their snores rising and falling.