Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 54 - 50 Wife’s Help

Chapter 54: Chapter 50 Wife’s Help

When Jiang Shouzhong hurriedly came to Liushan Division to find Li Nanshuang, he coincidentally encountered Nalan Xie, who was just about to leave.

Nalan Xie looked much healthier and wasn’t as dispirited as before.

"Good morning, Jiang."

Upon seeing Jiang Shouzhong, Nalan Xie did not engage in the warm greetings as last time, casually saying hello, pointing to a few members of the Iron Cloth Hall behind him and smiling, "I’m off to handle a case, why don’t you join me and offer some advice?"

Jiang Shouzhong shook his head, "No, I have other matters."

"Okay, then next time we’ll collaborate."

Nalan Xie did not insist and kindly reminded him as he was leaving, "Are you looking for Mr. Li? She’s not at Liushan Division, she left early in the morning. Why don’t you try the streets, she might be playing chess."

Not here?

Jiang Shouzhong furrowed his brows but wasn’t very surprised.

This elusive boss of his, who appeared so rarely, made him feel extremely lucky to have met her last time.

However, the situation was urgent and he didn’t have time to search all over the streets.

Jiang Shouzhong reluctantly prepared to leave.

Just then, a carriage slowly stopped in front of the main gate of the Liushan Division.

The curtain of the carriage window was lifted by a slender and delicate hand, revealing a strikingly cold and beautiful face.

The woman looked at Jiang Shouzhong, "Is there something you need?"

Jiang Shouzhong paused, not expecting Ran Qingchen to initiate conversation.

He glanced at the guard at the gate, straightened up to offer a formal greeting, and spoke, "Jiang Mo pays his respects, my lady. I was just wandering nearby."

"What do you need with Li Nanshuang."

The woman asked again, her sharp phoenix eyes closely scrutinizing him.

Clearly, Ran Qingchen was not easy to deceive.

Jiang Shouzhong opened his mouth, his mind racing through numerous lies, but in the end, he couldn’t equivocate and bluntly admitted, "We found a demon, and for safety, I planned to report to our leader."

"A demon..."

Ran Qingchen tilted her delicate neck and slightly furrowed her brows, "Is Li Nanshuang always so negligent? Does she always leave you to deal with capturing demons by yourselves?"

Just as Jiang Shouzhong was about to speak, the woman alighted from the carriage.

Ran Qingchen coldly asked, "Where is the demon, take me there."

Seeing Jiang’s perplexed expression, Ran Qingchen spoke softly yet irritably, "Don’t overthink it! As the newly appointed head of the Liushan Division, I naturally have the authority to handle all matters concerning demons. What’s wrong with helping to capture one?"

Having someone as skilled as Ran Qingchen help was naturally a good thing.

Yet Jiang Shouzhong was quite troubled.

After all, the current case involved some unspeakable internal details, and the fewer people who knew, the better.

"Lord Ran, actually we can handle it ourselves—"

"Take me there!"

"..."

Indeed, he knew he shouldn’t have come.

Jiang Shouzhong sighed inwardly and reluctantly nodded with a bitter smile.

...

On the way, Jiang Shouzhong briefly described the case.

He only mentioned the demon that had killed Ge Dasheng and extracted his heart, luckily it had been discovered. As for the other incidents related to demon energy involving Zhang Yunwu and his wife, he did not reveal a single word to the woman.

Even though she was his wife.

When the two arrived at Zhao Wancang’s house, they discovered the door was surprisingly open.

Lu Renjia, clutching the iron rod he always carried, was anxiously pacing back and forth at the doorway of Zhao Wancang’s house, occasionally stamping his feet and muttering something under his breath.

"Jia, what happened?"

Jiang Shouzhong felt a sinking feeling and stepped forward to inquire.

Seeing Jiang Shouzhong, Lu Renjia’s expression relaxed, and he hurriedly said:

"Some unexpected complications arose, and Zhang and I were trailing someone. Suddenly, Zhang heard a scream from within the house, and we hurried over to check. We found Zhao Wancang lying in a pool of blood, severely injured; the demon had escaped! Damn it, I——"

Jia’s voice abruptly stopped.

He stared blankly at Ran Qingchen, who had appeared behind Jiang Shouzhong, his whole body stiffening like a statue.

Jiang Shouzhong cleared his throat and said, "I went to the Liushan Division to find the chief, but the chief was out, and I happened to meet Lord Ran. Learning that we were hunting a demon, Lord Ran kindly offered to help us."

Seeing that Lu Renjia was still dumbstruck, Jiang Shouzhong kicked him irritably.

Lu Renjia then snapped back to reality, hastily made a respectful bow, and stammered, "This... this humble official, Lu Renjia, greets Lord Ran."

Ran Qingchen ignored him, entered the room to look around, and asked, "From what you said just now, you have another colleague. Where is he?"

"Old... Old Zhang went chasing after the demon, leaving me here to wait for you."

Lu Renjia’s nerves made him sweat profusely.

No wonder he was nervous—the woman in front of him was not only the young mistress of the Ran residence, a renowned beauty in the Capital,

but also a sworn sister to the Noble Consort.

Moreover, she was designated by the court as a future leader in demon extermination.

Just speaking half a sentence to her was like striking it rich for ordinary people.

Ran Qingchen took out a dark yellow talisman, folded it into a paper crane, bit her fingertip, dropped a bead of blood on it, and then threw the paper crane into the house.

The moment the paper crane was thrown, it seemed to be possessed by a spirit. It twirled adeptly around the room several times, tracking the trail of residual demon energy. Then, flapping its wings, it darted out of the back door.

"You two wait here!"

Ran Qingchen chased after the talisman paper crane and vanished in an instant.

It was a long time after the woman had left that Lu Renjia finally exhaled deeply, as if coming back to his senses, then abruptly pulled Jiang Shouzhong aside and whispered urgently, "Jiang, have you lost your mind? How could you involve Lord Ran in this case at such a time?"

Jiang Shouzhong coldly scoffed, "If I could have dealt with it, would I need a reminder from you?"

Overtaken by anxiety, Lu Renjia could think of no good solution. Suddenly recalling something, he whispered, "When Zhang was chasing the demon, he told me that the demon’s energy is very similar to the one that injured you half a month ago. But it’s uncertain whether it’s the same one."

Jiang Shouzhong’s gaze sharpened abruptly.

Could it be that his previous speculation was correct?

The reason the demon didn’t kill Zhao Wancang right from the start was because it had ulterior motives.

And this motive involved the vial of Demon Energy on Zhang?

Jiang Shouzhong entered the room and saw Zhao Wancang sitting hopelessly in the corner, covered in blood and completely pale-faced.

He walked up to him and coldly asked, "Zhao Wancang, did you kill your wife?"

Zhao Wancang’s expression was numb, as if he hadn’t heard.

"Yesterday, I tracked you to Cloud Lake..." Seeing a flicker in his eyes, Jiang Shouzhong continued, "You went to confirm whether your wife’s body was still there, right?"

"Why...why won’t she leave me alone even after her death!"

Zhao Wancang’s expression suddenly contorted with pain and anger as he exclaimed, "That wretch! Why won’t that wretch leave me alone!!"

His emotions agitated his wounds, causing him to burst into a violent cough.

After a long bout of coughing, Zhao Wancang recovered slightly, a trace of red highlighting his wan cheeks he bitterly said, "You are right, I killed that wretch. That day, Wen Ba mentioned seeing someone having an affair in Ms. Zhang’s mill shed, which made me suspicious.

When I went to check it, it indeed was my wife. I didn’t want to kill her, but..."

Zhao Wancang covered his face, his voice choked with sobs, "How she insulted me daily, looked down on me—I could endure all that. But she shouldn’t have... she shouldn’t have cheated on me with another man!"

Zhao Wancang looked up at Jiang Shouzhong, tears streaming down his face, and said:

"I wanted to forgive her, but... but I couldn’t hold back! She insulted me, saying I wasn’t a man! Criticized that I was even worse than a worm in bed...

I could endure all that, but she said she didn’t want to live with me anymore, that she wanted to elope with that man!"

Zhao Wancang suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, his face a mixture of self-mockery and anger, "So I strangled her! I sunk her body into the lake!

After all these years, I indeed wronged her, but as husband and wife, how could she not cherish any old affection!"

Jiang Shouzhong crouched down, softly asked, "Who was she having an affair with?"

"I don’t know."

Zhao Wancang shook his head, "At the time I went to catch them in the act, he ran away. That wretch refused to say, but he must not be from nearby. However, I heard that wretch calling him ’Qing’."

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