That day, the sky, which had been clear and sunny in the morning, became overcast and dark clouds gathered after noon, filling the air with a sense of oppression.

By evening, a fierce wind was blowing, breaking branches in the courtyard.

Inside the room, the old lady knelt on a prayer mat and chanted Buddhist scriptures.

She fiddled with the prayer beads in her hand very quickly.

Ever since the old lady mentioned the death of the late lady a few days ago, she has been feeling uneasy.

Nightmares plagued her every night, making it difficult for her to eat or sleep.

This is especially true today.

She kept chanting Buddhist scriptures.

Sudden.

The string on the purple jade Buddhist prayer beads in my hand broke.

One hundred and eight prayer beads.

It fell to the ground.

The crisp sounds rose and fell.

The old lady's face turned deathly pale.

Just as she was feeling anxious, the window that wasn't closed properly made a loud banging sound, which startled the old lady so much that her heart stopped.

When Mrs. Sun walked in, she saw broken Buddhist beads scattered on the ground, and a bad feeling welled up in her heart for no reason.

The old lady has been reciting Buddhist scriptures for decades and has never had her prayer beads break before. In addition, she has been restless these days... I hope something bad is about to happen.

The window was still rattling when Madam Sun scolded the maid, "How did you close the window? You startled the old lady! Do you want to get a beating?!"

The maid carefully avoided the prayer beads and quickly went to close the window.

Two more maids came in and knelt on the ground to pick up the prayer beads one by one.

Sun's mother went over and helped the old lady up, saying, "Reciting Buddhist scriptures won't make a difference of a day or two. You haven't been eating or sleeping well these past few days, so you should take care of your health. If you sincerely worship Buddha, the Bodhisattva won't blame you."

Sun Mama had served the old lady for decades and had never seen her so restless. She invited the imperial physician to the mansion and prescribed medicine to calm her mind, but it was ineffective.

The old lady was already anxious, and then the Buddhist prayer beads broke, making her even more uneasy. She couldn't eat dinner at all.

After much persuasion from Mama Sun, the old lady only managed to eat half a bowl of porridge; she couldn't eat another bite.

However, she didn't eat much porridge, but she drank every last drop of the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, even though it had little effect.

The old lady hadn't slept well for several nights in a row. Even when she was sleepy during the day, she would only take a nap to wake up. At this moment, she was extremely tired. After washing up a little, she took off her clothes and went to bed.

To ensure the old lady could get a good night's sleep, Mama Sun had Hongxiu light some calming incense and place it on the small table beside the bed.

As Granny Sun was staying in the room, the calming incense made her drowsy when a maid came in and said, "Granny Sun, the Marquis wants you to go to the outer courtyard."

Madam Sun was puzzled; why would the Marquis be looking for her?

It's one thing to look for her, but to look for her at this hour, with rain about to fall.

But if the Marquis summons her, even if it's pouring rain or knives falling from the sky, she has to go.

After giving Hongxiu a few instructions, Madam Sun left.

On rainy days, it gets dark very quickly, and with the strong winds, the lanterns on the corridors can't be lit.

The maidservant carried a lantern and led the way, but before they even left Qinghui Courtyard, the lantern was blown out, leaving them in complete darkness. The road was difficult to walk on, and Sun Mama felt extremely uneasy, wondering what urgent matter the Marquis had that required him to summon her at this time.

Inside the house, the old lady was asleep, but her sleep was very restless.

The wind rattled the windows, waking her up.

She called out a few times, but no one answered her.

The old lady was somewhat disoriented, wondering if she was dreaming.

She was never left alone, especially on stormy days like this, when it was always Granny Sun and her maids who kept watch over her at night.

The old lady propped herself up and sat up.

The windows were all wide open, and the strong wind was about to blow them apart.

Why aren't the windows closed?

Just as the old lady was wondering, suddenly...

The flowerpots on the high table next to the daybed fell to the ground.

The sound of the flowerpot shattering was deafening, but it was quickly drowned out by the rumbling thunder.

Lightning flashed outside the window, tearing the night apart.

In the instant of light, the old lady saw a figure in the room, but she thought she was seeing things.

However, at that moment, a second bolt of lightning illuminated the house, and the old lady saw that figure again, and the face was so familiar.

yes--

Madam!

Almost instantly, all the color drained from the old lady's face.

The figure approached step by step.

The old lady trembled with fear, her chilling voice piercing the air, "Why did you hurt me? Why did you want to kill me?!"

After asking several times.

"tell me!"

"you tell me!"

Overwhelmed by fear, the old lady suddenly laughed, her voice cold and sharp, "I dare to kill you? Do you think I'm afraid you'll come back to haunt me after you die?!"

"If you want to know, I'll tell you!"

"Why is it that we grew up together, yet you can become a high-ranking Marquis's wife, while I can only marry the son of a fourth-rank military officer?!"

"I'm not reconciled!"

"Only when you die can everything you have belong to me!"

"You died in the prime of your life, and the old Marquis remembered you for his entire life, but so what? He also respected me for his entire life!"

"The Marquis has been very filial to me, but no one will avenge you!"

"Poor thing, you died with your eyes wide open, and you had no choice but to come to me for your life..."

At this point, the old lady laughed heartily, "Even if I die today, my life will have been worthwhile. My only regret is not sending the Marquis to reunite with you and your son sooner!"

The old lady thought she was going to die, so she said whatever came to mind.

But just as she finished speaking, a light suddenly appeared in the pitch-black room.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!