Wang Tu Fu transmitted his voice, saying, "Ye Yang's sword hasn't been used with full force. That woman isn't an ordinary fierce ghost either. They're testing each other's bottom line. Don't interfere with Ye Yang yet."

Ghosts don't just kill people; they also deceive.

The moment you think a ghost in front of you is pitiful may be the moment it reveals its hideousness.

Ye Yang's fourth sword, fifth sword... he chopped down one sword after another.

The red-clothed woman's body was repeatedly split in half, then reunited time and again. She pleaded with Ye Yang to let her finish speaking, but Ye Yang remained unmoved and delivered the ninth sword.

Just as Ye Yang said, the woman couldn't withstand Ye Yang's tenth sword.

After her body gathered for the ninth time, the woman's figure had become exceptionally weak, as if she could collapse at any moment. Yet, she still knelt on the ground, begging Ye Yang to let her finish speaking.

When Ye Yang turned the hilt of his sword for the tenth time, Xia Mengying finally couldn't help but say, "Ye Yang, can you let her finish speaking?"

Ye Yang slowly sheathed his sword and said, "Speak. I'm listening."

Ye Yang no longer attacked, but the woman trembled and couldn't speak.

The woman seemed unable to bear the intense pain caused by the nine sword strikes. She curled up on the ground, as if trying to alleviate the pain, and also as if she was gathering her last bit of strength to say what she wanted to say.

Xia Mengying wanted to get up, but Wang Tu Fu held her back, "Don't go over there. She can't withstand the Yang energy from your body. If you go over, she'll die even faster."

After a while, the woman weakly began, "My name is Kong Li Shi. My husband, Kong Qian, is a concubine's son in the Kong family."

"Although my husband was well-read and full of talent, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose, he never managed to pass the imperial examination. He only obtained the title of Xiucai (the lowest degree) in his entire life."

There was an old saying: "Thirty years old for Ming Jing, fifty years old for Shao Jinshi." This phrase vividly illustrates the difficulty of the imperial examinations.

Moreover, there was a strange phenomenon in the Qing Dynasty: the more talented a person was, the harder it was for them to pass the examination. On the contrary, the more someone crammed, the more likely they were to pass.

Pu Songling, Cao Xueqin, and Wu Jingzi of the Qing Dynasty were all brilliant and talented, yet none of them passed the imperial examination.

It wasn't that they lacked talent, but that they didn't cram.

The imperial examinations in the Qing Dynasty required knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics. Other poetry and prose were regarded as minor paths.

At that time, there was a joke: several Jinshi (successful candidates) were chatting idly when someone mentioned Su Dongpo. One of them asked, "Which year did Su Dongpo become a Jinshi?"

This was a joke in the Qing Dynasty, but it also wasn't a joke. There were indeed scholars in those days who didn't know who Su Dongpo was because it wasn't required for the exams! They only needed to learn how to write the eight-legged essay. There was no need to know who Su Dongpo or Li Bai was.

The red-clothed woman's words revealed at least these pieces of information to Xia Mengying.

Her husband, Kong Qian, although talented, was neither the eldest son of the family nor had he passed the imperial examinations. His status must not have been high.

Perhaps, because of his wide range of interests, he was even regarded as not pursuing proper endeavors by the Kong family. If you added that he had a wide circle of friends, then Kong Qian would be seen as a complete playboy in the eyes of those feudal patriarchs.

However, this setup would surely win Xia Mengying's favor!

Kong Qian's persona was too similar to the experiences of Cao Xueqin, Wu Jingzi, and others.

They left behind masterpieces for future generations, but they also left behind lingering regrets.

Sure enough, the red-clothed woman continued, "Because my husband had a wide circle of friends and was somewhat chivalrous, he became a lawyer through a friend's introduction."

Lawyers were also called litigators. In short, they were people who specialized in helping others with lawsuits.

Lawyers had to be familiar with the law and also have a certain network of contacts. Otherwise, they couldn't win lawsuits.

Because lawyers could use incredible and skillful means to win victories in lawsuits, they were also despised by scholars.

The red-clothed woman said, "My husband was different from other lawyers. He never did anything that violated the law. He would even pay out of his own pocket to help the people, so he was very famous in this area."

"At that time, although our lives were simple, my husband was very respected."

"Until one day, a ghost came to my husband late at night, begging him to help seek justice."

"My husband learned that a family had been 'slaughtered like a white duck' and then denied their money. Not only did they fail to recover their money, but the whole family was beaten to death. He was immediately filled with righteous indignation and was about to write a petition to seek justice for that family."

The red-clothed woman stopped here. Wang Tu Fu was also curious and asked, "What does 'slaughtered like a white duck' mean?"

Xia Mengying explained in a low voice, " 'Slaughtering a white duck' doesn't refer to killing a duck. It refers to wealthy and powerful landlords who, when a family member committed a capital crime, would use a large sum of money to buy a living person from a poor family to replace the person who actually committed the crime and be beheaded."

"According to records, 'slaughtering white ducks' first appeared during the Qianlong era, and later became increasingly rampant. By the late Qing Dynasty, it had become a common occurrence."