Yu'er, hearing the commotion inside the room, rushed in with the servants. The servants of Li Wan Pavilion surrounded the house, making it impossible for anyone, not even a fly, to escape.
"Madam, this servant..."
Yu'er, leading the charge, bravely burst in. The moment she saw the grotesque face that suddenly leaped out, her voice faltered, and she let out a piercing shriek.
The spectral figure vanished in an instant. Though the onlookers only caught a fleeting glimpse, this mere glimpse was enough to fill them with terror. It wasn't a nightmare the Madam was having, nor was someone playing tricks; there truly was a ghost!
Just as the people of Li Wan Pavilion were gripped by fear, a shrill scream, piercing the heavens, suddenly erupted from the backyard. The sound seemed to… seem to come from Nan Yuan'er's courtyard!
...
"Get out, get out!!"
Nan Yuan'er, facing the pale visage before her, hurled everything within reach at the figure in a frenzy. She had never imagined that everything her mother had said was true; there really were ghosts in this world!!
Cai Huan rushed in and, upon seeing the ghostly figure floating in mid-air, felt a chill creep into her heart. Nevertheless, she grabbed a nearby chair and hurled it at the specter.
The chair passed through the ghost and slammed against the wall, shattering into pieces.
Cai Huan rushed to Nan Yuan'er, hoisted her up, and swiftly fled out of the house. The servants in the courtyard had long been awakened by the screams and quickly lit the lamps.
...
The Nan mansion was haunted!
Both Madam Liu and Nan Yuan'er had seen the ghostly figure.
"Absurd!"
Upon hearing Cai Huan's account, Nan Zhao Yin scoffed repeatedly.
"But… it truly wasn't a person in disguise!" Cai Huan couldn't comprehend it. If it were truly someone playing tricks, how could the hidden guards stationed outside Li Wan Pavilion and her mistress's courtyard not have noticed?
It was impossible for both these courtyards to have informants planted by someone else!
Nan Zhao Yin was unable to figure out what was happening, but the notion of a haunting was utterly preposterous, and he absolutely refused to believe it!
"Keep a close watch. I refuse to believe we won't find any clues!"
"Yes!"
Hearing that both Nan Yuan'er and Madam Liu had encountered a ghost, Madam Wang laughed until she was breathless. She cursed them inwardly for their misfortune. However, recalling the matter, she called for Nan Yu Jin and inquired if he had done anything.
Nan Yu Jin shook his head with a wry smile. "It wasn't this child who did it!"
Even if he could plant people in Li Wan Pavilion and Nan Yuan'er's courtyard, he couldn't have accomplished such a feat without anyone noticing.
"That's strange. Could it be that they truly saw a ghost?" After her initial delight, Madam Wang couldn't help but feel perplexed. It wasn't her doing, nor was it Yu Jin's. Was there anyone else in the mansion who would target them? Even if there were, who could execute it so flawlessly? Could it be that they were truly possessed?
Nan Yu Jin was also utterly puzzled, but no matter how strange it was, he couldn't ascertain more details.
Who knew what ghost they saw!
However, as the mother and daughter were down on their luck, Madam Wang and Nan Yu Jin felt quite pleased. Madam Wang, uncharacteristically, had a bit of wine and went to bed early.
"Mother, Mother~~"
A faint, ethereal voice seemed to drift from a distant shore. In her daze, Madam Wang felt as though she had appeared in a white space that stretched as far as the eye could see. As the calling voice reached her ears, layers of white mist began to swirl around her. At the end of the mist, a familiar figure seemed to be drifting towards her, carried by the swirling dust.
Who, who could it be?
"Mother, Mother, I'm so cold, Qing'er is so cold~"
"Child, my child!"
Madam Wang saw the person within the swirling dust. It was her Qing'er, her Qing'er weeping and complaining of the cold.
Madam Wang cried out and rushed towards her. However, no matter how she ran or chased, the person before her always remained just out of reach. She couldn't touch her, couldn't catch her, and could only watch helplessly as she stood by the lake and then plunged heavily into the water.
"No, no, Qing'er, my child!"
Madam Wang's eyes snapped open, tears streaming down her cheeks, dampening the pillow.
She suddenly covered her eyes and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Mother, Mother..."
Just then, she heard calls by her ear. The voice, tinged with a smile, was the one that often echoed in her ears during her midnight dreams.
It was her Qing'er calling her!
"Qing'er!"
Madam Wang moved her hands away, propped herself up on the bed, and looked around eagerly.
Nan Yu Qing was as she remembered, wearing her favorite pink silk dress. She was sitting before the dressing table, trying on the hairpins from Madam Wang's jewelry box, and as she compared them, she asked with a smile, "Mother, do I look pretty?"
Madam Wang's tears fell like raindrops. Sobbing, she nodded vigorously. She tried to force a smile to her lips, but her stiff facial muscles refused to obey. She could only press her lips together, suppress the tremor in her voice, and nod, praising, "Beautiful, my Qing'er looks beautiful in anything!"
"Then, Mother, when I grow up, will you buy me these hairpins, the pearl ones, the jade ones, the gold ones, the ones made of precious stones? All the beautiful hairpins, Daughter wants them all. Will you buy them for me, Mother?"
Nan Yu Qing put down the hairpin and happily pounced towards Madam Wang.
"Yes, yes, Mother will buy you all the best things in the world, all for you!"
Madam Wang raised her arms, trying to embrace Nan Yu Qing. But as her arms closed, they embraced only empty air. Her arms froze mid-air, and her tears flowed like a broken string of pearls as she wept silently.
"Mother, Mother..."
"Mother, I'm so cold, so cold. It hurts, my whole body aches, my bones ache. Mother, I'm so scared. It's so dark down here, Mother. There are bugs biting me, Mother, Mother, Qing'er is so scared!"
The Nan Yu Qing who had vanished from her embrace reappeared before the vanity mirror. But this time, she was drenched, water dripping from her hair. She slowly lifted her head, revealing a pale and terrifying face.
She cried out, her voice like a cuckoo's lament, and Madam Wang's fear, after a brief flicker, was engulfed by overwhelming grief.
She clutched her collar, as if struggling to breathe.
Looking at Nan Yu Qing's current state, her heart felt as if a hole had been gouged out of it. The cold wind that swept through brought not only a piercing pain but also a chill that seeped into her bones.
She got off the bed and walked towards her Qing'er.
Ghosts, monsters, she cared not for any of them. She simply wanted to embrace her Qing'er again, to hold her close as she used to when she was sad.
But the moment she stood up from the bed, her Qing'er vanished.
"Qing'er, Qing'er, please, come out and keep Mother company for a while, or take me with you, take me to be with you, Qing'er, Qing'er..."