After Failing to Influence the Protagonist Chapter 40
lazygirltranslations.com
Chapter 40 Zhang Qingshu
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Yu Qinglian said, “That’s interesting. No wonder I always felt a dark presence here. After spending too much time, one’s mind would become clouded.”
Pei Jing: “He also told me a bit about the origins of Shu Yan.”
Read Why Should I Stop Being a Villain - chapter-1 & 2
Yu Qinglian’s eyes widened in shock, “He knew about that too?”
Pei Jing: “He found many things in the Sect Master’s hall, including a book called ‘Yunzhong Chronicles.’ It recorded various strange events that occurred in Yunzhong over the past thousand years. The story of Shu Yan was also mentioned there. The author’s real name was Zhang Qingshu. He became an official after passing the imperial examination and spent ten years in military training in Ligu. However, he was falsely accused of treason when his power was at its peak.
“Committing such a crime in the mortal realm was grave. The emperor didn’t trust him, and many treacherous individuals in the court fueled the fire, resulting in him being tortured and mutilated. Oddly enough, he survived it all.
“Zhang Qingshu was covered in blood, stumbling in the imperial court. He managed to stand up and kneel before the emperor, desperately seeking to prove his innocence. The emperor was shocked and afraid, considering him to be a supernatural being. He was afraid to impose further punishment, so the emperor only ordered him to retire and return to his hometown.
“His hometown is right here. It was called Zhonglian Village back then. He was supposed to be his father’s pride, but when he returned, he became the village’s laughingstock. His father cared a lot about his reputation and had no emotional attachment to a son who brought him shame. One day, after drinking too much, he pulled Zhang Qingshu off his sickbed and plunged him into the water jar in the yard, covering it with a wooden board, drowning him alive.
“When his father sobered up, he didn’t regret it. He openly claimed to have killed Zhang Qingshu and even removed him from the family lineage and neglected his grave. The villagers, living in Zhonglian Village, praised this act, as Zhang Qingshu was considered unworthy of righteousness, loyalty, or filial piety in their eyes.
“However, the villagers didn’t enjoy their happiness for long. Strange occurrences started happening in the village. They would hear scratching sounds on the wooden boards at night, and as soon as water was poured into the jar, it turned red. The villagers realized it was the ghost of Zhang Qingshu causing trouble. They hurriedly went to Zhang Qingshu’s father seeking a solution, but when they entered the Zhang house, they found the father dead, strangled by someone, with five green fingerprints on his neck. The water jar that drowned Zhang Qingshu was still covered, and no one dared to open it.
“Terrified, the villagers wanted to move out overnight but encountered an earthquake and mudslide, burying all the households in a single night.
“Later, when the emperor investigated the truth of the past, he returned to reinstate Zhang Qingshu, only to find that the area was flattened. Some fortunate villager who managed to escape explained the events to the emperor. Overwhelmed by guilt, the emperor admired Zhang Qingshu’s immense talent, considering him a reincarnation of the God of the Literature, and thus, a temple was built on the flattened ground in his honor. A statue resembling Zhang Qingshu was placed there to console his spirit in heaven.”
