......
For a moment, Inspector He couldn't tell who was actually possessed by an evil spirit.
Would a normal person write such nonsense?
What's even more terrifying is that one dares to write it, and another dares to acknowledge it.
He seemed as if he didn't exist.
But then again, Jiang Er has a background as a rebel.
It's not strange for a rebel to write such things.
However, the problem is that the young girl had a mystified expression as if some truth had been revealed.
Her terrified expression seemed completely genuine.
And the yellow fluid flowing from her nose, as if her brain was leaking?
Surely the brain can't leak fluid.
Although Inspector He had no medical knowledge, he did have a brain.
He didn't know why Jiang Er had invited him to participate.
Jiang Changtian invited Inspector He to participate because he knew that even if he understood what was in Jiang Wan's mind, it might not be of much use, but it would be different if Inspector He knew.
He was actually just making things up.
Jiang Wan had been living in Ming County without worry, but she had previously tried to leave Ming County unsuccessfully, and had been waiting ever since. Recently, she suddenly became impatient, as if backed into a corner.
She hastily chose a stranger and left with that person.
So something big must have happened.
Jiang Changtian had observed Jiang Wan.
Although she was a young girl, Jiang Changtian never dared to treat her as a real little girl, considering she was someone who wanted to kill him and harbored murderous intent.
There's no love without reason, and no hatred without cause.
There must be a reason.
To reach a life-or-death situation, the grudge between them must not be small.
However, Jiang Changtian believed that although he wasn't a good person, he wouldn't torture a young girl for no reason.
Although strange and incredible, some stories have been passed down, and they're not entirely non-existent.
Like the "Dream of the Yellow Millet".
That person, relying on a pillow, really dreamed of a life of great wealth and honor, children, grandchildren, official positions and such. How could a failed scholar possibly know so clearly about these things, even in a dream? But that's how the story was written. Where there's smoke, there's fire; there must be some truth to it.
Jiang Changtian wanted to know, had Jiang Wan also had a strange dream? Or had she also experienced death and rebirth? Or did she have some strange origin?
Of course, it's not easy for one person to know another's dreams or past life experiences. How would you know if what she's saying is true or false?
Jiang Changtian was just guessing based on Jiang Wan's decisions and actions.
She had become impatient recently, but why? Was there some change in the capital?
She seemed particularly familiar with the people in the Seventh Prince's household.
That Chu Yi he had killed also seemed to be someone she knew well, even though it should have been their first meeting.
He only found out after killing him.
And observing her daily behavior, she seemed to have great confidence in herself.
She should also be a winner.
She had managed to leave Ming County with Liu Tong with great difficulty, but then unhesitatingly left Liu Tong in Jingzhou. Who had she seen?
Jiang Changtian had just written down the most likely possibility based on his guesses about Jiang Wan, actually without any basis.
But Jiang Wan had panicked.
Things were getting interesting.
Jiang Changtian was a patient hunter.
After waiting for several years, he finally saw his prey become anxious and crawl out.
He looked at Jiang Wan as if she were a juicy bug, ready to be stepped on and burst.
Jiang Changtian had studied the secret drugs of Shangqiu Convent, similar to a kind of psychological suggestion and control.
Jiang Wan's mental fortitude was definitely not that of an ordinary young girl. An ordinary girl wouldn't be so calm and composed, able to run away from home alone.
Jiang Changtian brought Inspector He along because Inspector He was useful.
Jiang Changtian locked up Jiang Wan, using a combination of a dark room and Shangqiu Convent's secret drugs to control her. He and Inspector He interrogated Jiang Wan together.
Inspector He, being an inspector and error-checker by profession, was very sensitive to every contradictory point, scrutinizing every word and sentence.
Jiang Wan was in a daze, sometimes standing up or sitting down, changing her position, only to find yellow clear liquid flowing from her nose. She thought she was about to die.
She was terrified.
How could this be happening?
Her brilliant life hadn't even begun yet.
Her glory hadn't even started.
Was she really going to die like this?
Was it really just a yellow millet dream?
It couldn't be.
In fact, she had observed that, except for the variables of Jiang Changtian's family, everything else was roughly the same as in her dream. She had already confirmed this several times.
She wasn't stupid; she had already grasped the truth.
She felt that the first person in the Jiang family who should have died was Jiang Mianmian. Everything changed when Jiang Mianmian didn't die.
Unfortunately, her power was too weak at the moment.
She repeatedly went into the dark room, was repeatedly questioned, repeatedly felt dizzy and had headaches.
She finally couldn't bear it anymore.
She intermittently told about her dream, what she had seen in her dream.
The former Crown Prince would suddenly die next month.
The one who would ultimately ascend to the throne was the inconspicuous Seventh Prince.
But that would be next year's event, and the Seventh Prince would directly declare his eldest son Chu Xi as the Crown Prince upon ascending the throne.
How did the Emperor die? She didn't know either.
She could only dream about things related to herself.
Late at night.
In the cellar.
Unlike Jiang Wan's room which had a bed and table.
Outside there were chairs and tea-making equipment.
There was a thick stack of paper.
In the corner, there was also a pile of carrots and cabbages.
Jiang Changtian took a sip of strong tea and poured a cup for Inspector He as well.
Inspector He was a bit drowsy, but still struggled to stay awake.
He couldn't imagine there could be such a strange yet complete dream.
It seemed as real as seeing a past life.
A true "Dream of Yellow Millet".
To be honest, Inspector He was shocked by Jiang Wan's brief description of the changing political situation at court. She shouldn't be familiar with court affairs, she just knew what happened, not the specifics.
Unexpectedly, she was originally Meng Shaoxia's fiancée, and the current Mrs. Meng, Jiang Yu, was actually just Meng Shaoxia's concubine, who eventually committed suicide by hanging.
Later, she became the favored concubine of Crown Prince Xi.
Then step by step, she climbed to the position of Empress.
During this period, the He Family was actually her strong supporter.
Inspector He felt like banging his head against a wall.
The He Family was later sentenced to execution of the entire clan. He had been wise all his life, but because of his nephew's poor judgment, an entire family was destroyed.
But looking at Jiang Er in front of him, he was even more miserable. His entire family had died, leaving only him.
It was like listening to an absurd grand dream, like a paper full of nonsense.
They questioned, corrected, and recorded every word meticulously.
Jiang Changtian asked very detailed questions.
Mianmian died before reaching one year old.
Feng died at about fifteen years old.
Sister Xia went mad after Elder Sister Yu went missing and Feng and Mianmian died. She caused a scene at the Jiang residence and was beaten to death by the Seventh Prince's guards.
Elder Sister Yu hanged herself at the Meng family's house in the capital.
Jiang Wan was somewhat incoherent, being questioned over and over again. Each time it felt like someone was stabbing her head with needles, and each time when it came to the most terrifying part, perhaps she forced herself to forget, as it always ended in a blank.
At first, Inspector He thought that if this was a past life, then Jiang Er's family was too unfortunate.
It was heart-wrenching to hear, but later he didn't expect that there would even be matters concerning their He Family.
Just because his nephew He Chen admired her, nine clans were executed.
He, Inspector He, was also a prime candidate among the nine clans.
At first, he sympathized with Jiang Changtian, but later he began to sympathize with himself.
An undeserved calamity. After returning to the capital, he must give his nephew a good beating.
He heard that he didn't even wait for the beheading, but died directly from anger, coughing blood and dying of heart failure.
Inspector He looked at the thick book of interrogation about the dream's content with both amazement and horror.
Turning his head, he saw Jiang Er still calmly drinking tea, only his hand holding the cup was slightly trembling.
The two of them had actually stayed up all night.
At dawn.
They finally came out of the cellar.
Outside was a clear sky and bright day, with a gentle breeze.
The leaves were very green, with dewdrops.
The sunshine was bright and warm.
There were flowers in the courtyard, with thick, snow-white petals.
The air was fresh.
Jiang Changtian stepped out, as if stepping into a new world.
While another world was buried underground.
Jiang Changtian's body swayed slightly.
Inspector He was also somewhat tired, forcing himself to stay upright.
The two went to have breakfast.
Jiang Changtian saw that the whole family was there. He sat down with a thud, smiling at everyone.
He looked especially kindly at his son-in-law Meng Shaoxia.
Meng Shaoxia felt uncomfortable all over, the hair on his back standing up, not knowing why.
Jiang Yu looked at her father with a puzzled face: "Father, why are you staring at Brother Meng like that?"
Jiang Changtian smiled and said: "I'm just looking at young Meng, feeling close to him."
Meng Shaoxia felt as if his spine was protruding.
Jiang Yu chuckled and said, "Of course, a son-in-law is half a son. We've been living together for so long, we're definitely close. Father, eat this, the oil pancake is very fragrant."
Jiang Yu picked up a piece of pancake for her father.
She also politely offered a piece to Uncle He, their guest.
Then she began eating herself, but halfway through, she suddenly covered her mouth and retched.
Everyone was startled.
Elder Sister Yu's stomach had never been upset by anything she ate before.
Jiang Changtian stepped forward and held Elder Sister Yu's wrist, feeling her pulse for a moment.
He suddenly scolded Meng Shaoxia, "How have you been taking care of Yu? She's already two months pregnant, and you haven't even noticed. What have you been doing all day? You useless thing!"
Meng Shaoxia was bewildered by the scolding, but upon hearing "two months pregnant," he was so overjoyed that his hands began to tremble.
Faced with his angelic father-in-law's inexplicable outburst, he paid it no mind. Instead, he was overwhelmed with excitement – he was finally going to be a father.
Meng Shaoxia sat next to his dear Yu, treading carefully.
The whole family bustled about, looking at Jiang Yu as if she were some rare animal.
The dishes clinked with a crisp sound.
Everyone was busy fussing over her.
Jiang Changtian's eyes turned red, with hints of tears. He used his sleeve to wipe the corners of his eyes vigorously.
But the tears fell like a bursting spring, rolling down his cheeks.
Meng Shaoxia hadn't expected his father-in-law to be so emotional. Upon learning of Elder Sister Yu's pregnancy, he actually cried from excitement.
From now on, he would definitely treat his father-in-law even better.
Elder Sister Yu was also startled. Her father was really something – was he that worried she couldn't get pregnant? Learning of her pregnancy actually made him cry.
Jiang Mianmian, seeing her father's tears streaming down, quickly hugged his arm and comforted him, "Father, it's alright. Elder Sister will definitely give birth safely, to many children. Then you'll be able to teach your grandchildren to read, and you won't have to keep pestering me all the time."
Jiang Feng was also surprised by his father's intense reaction, wondering if something else was going on.
Qin Luoxia sat close to her husband, comforting him, "Brother Tian, it's okay, don't worry. We'll take good care of Elder Sister Yu."
Inspector He sat alone to the side, feeling a bit out of place.
The oil pancakes were quite delicious.
They were made with green onions and flour, fried in oil, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, fragrant.
Living is good. One should live long enough to see their children's children born, to experience life, with all its hustle and bustle, to live vividly.
