"No mercy for anyone," Ye Siheng said, "Do what needs to be done."
Qing Feng accepted the order.
These people had spread rumors that the prince was a homosexual and incapable even if his legs healed. Worse, they claimed the princess was defiled in the countryside, hence the prince’s reluctance to consummate their marriage.
Ye Siheng, a seasoned warrior, had never been merciful. Despite his restraint in the past year or two, these people were reckless to the point of daring to speak such slander.
He wouldn’t tolerate anyone speaking ill of A’Li. Those who did would pay dearly.
At the scene of the accident by the moat, a crowd of onlookers lamented the tragedy.
A child had fallen into the water, and the father, in a bid to rescue him, had drowned alongside his son.
The officials retrieved the bodies, and the sight of her husband and son’s pale faces caused the wife to faint.
The bystanders tried to help her, but she was inconsolable.
"I’ll handle this," came a clear voice from the crowd.
Nanli finally made her way through, giving the woman a pill and pressing several acupoints.
The woman’s faint breath strengthened, and she opened her eyes, initially confused. Upon seeing the corpses, she realized the nightmare was real; her husband and son were dead.
She began to wail, "Why am I still alive? I should die too!"
The people tried to comfort her, but she couldn’t hear them.
Seeing her distress, Nanli used a binding charm to prevent her from self-harm.
"Please accept my condolences," she said, avoiding platitudes. "Your husband and son were ensnared by a water ghost, their souls taken. I will retrieve their souls and ensure they pass on peacefully."
Some of the bystanders, though unfamiliar with Nanli, guessed her identity from her words and the talisman bag she carried.
They had heard about the water ghost haunting Duke of Ming’s Mansion but hadn’t expected one in the moat too.
"Princess, please do something about the water ghost. We can’t live in fear."
"Yes, we’re afraid to cross the bridge now."
"This water ghost is too vicious, taking souls like that."
Everyone begged Nanli to deal with the water ghost promptly.
The woman, upon hearing that the souls of her husband and son were taken, cried even harder.
"But money..." Her family was extremely poor.
"No charge," Nanli reassured her. Seeing the woman calm down, she removed the binding charm.
The woman, both sorrowful and grateful, wiped her tears, "Thank you, Princess."
Examining the drowned bodies, she found them completely drained of soul and essence, their bodies already withered.
Puzzled, she wondered why the water ghost, typically seeking a substitute to reincarnate, had taken two souls and all their essence at once.
When her brother and sister-in-law fell into the water, she had dealt with one water ghost.
There had been no recent deaths near the moat, so why another water ghost?
Could it be the one from Duke of Ming Mansion?
This water ghost was powerful enough to travel to the moat, despite the distance.
Nanli placed a waterproof charm on a paper crane and released it into the water to detect any lingering ghostly presence.
As she suspected, the water ghost had hidden after the attack.
Seeing Nanli’s efforts yield no immediate results, the crowd grew anxious.
"Princess, is this water ghost too powerful for you to handle?"
"What should we do? I have a business near the river."
"What can we do? Close shop and save our lives."
Nanli remained calm, "Don’t worry. I’ve set up a charm array in the water. If the water ghost returns, it will be captured."
Despite the recent incident with Sun Yaozu, she had been busy creating an array specifically to capture water ghosts.
While it couldn’t cover the entire city’s waterways, it was sufficient for the moat.
The people sighed in relief.
Nanli began setting up the array, placing charms at intervals along the riverbank.
As the charms connected, the array took shape.
Night had fallen by the time she finished. Exhausted from drawing so many charms, Nanli returned to Prince Yu Mansion, barely eating before collapsing into bed.
Her fatigue was evident.
Ye Siheng watched her for a long time, his heart aching.
Unfortunately, he was powerless in this regard and couldn’t help her.
However, he had an idea and instructed Qing Feng, "The construction plans for the moat are stored in the Ministry of Works. Take my token and fetch them."
"Yes." Qing Feng, without question, took the token and rode to the ministry, returning within an hour.
The moat construction had taken years, encircling the palace and extending in all directions.
The plans were extensive.
Qing Feng helped spread the plans on the floor and placed several lotus lamps around to protect Ye Siheng’s eyes.
Ye Siheng studied the plans carefully, then suddenly stopped.
"Bring my sword and gather some men. We’re heading out."
Though puzzled, Qing Feng quickly brought Ye Siheng’s sword and gathered the black-armored guards at the gate.
By the moat, where a tragedy had occurred earlier, no one dared approach. But as night deepened, a few drunkards wandered by.
One misstep, and with a splash, a drunkard fell into the water.
The cold water sobered him up, and he floundered, shouting for help.
The late hour meant most residents were asleep.
Those awakened cursed the disturbance but didn’t bother to investigate.
Far off, ripples appeared on the water’s surface.
The ripples swiftly approached the drunkard.
Suddenly, he was yanked down, water filling his mouth and nose.
A female water ghost swam up, stopping in disgust.
"This one’s soul and essence are too foul," she grumbled, compared to the child earlier.
But she couldn’t afford to be picky, given the urgency.
She reluctantly ensnared him with her hair, face-to-face, ready to take his soul and essence.
At that moment, something stirred in the water.
Before she could react, several beams of golden light shot toward her.
In an instant, the array restrained her, binding her limbs. The array burned like a fiery inferno, causing her intense pain.