Jiang Yimian looked at the dilapidated courtyard with some surprise, never expecting that the Marquis's residence could have such a remote place.
Although it was the middle of the night, most of the courtyards in the Marquis's mansion had already turned off their lights, but a few small lanterns were left on so that the entire courtyard would not be completely dark.
But the courtyard in front of them was pitch black, and only the shadows inside could be vaguely seen. The moonlight was the only way to make out what was going on inside.
Several houses have collapsed, the walls are mottled and covered with cobwebs, and the yard is overgrown with weeds.
It didn't look like a mansion courtyard at all; rather, it resembled an abandoned house in the wilderness, completely out of place with the elegant courtyard of the mansion.
Lu Cijian stared at the collapsed courtyard for a while before looking away, without saying anything more.
Jiang Yimian realized something was wrong, so she quickly stepped forward, took Lu Cijian's hand, and said with a smile, "You still have me."
Lu Cijian simply smiled, grasped the soft little hand in his palm, and felt an unprecedented calm in his heart.
In fact, he had almost forgotten everything about the Marquis's mansion, and even his mother was only vaguely remembered.
But every time he came to the Marquis's mansion, some unwarranted expectations would arise in his heart, but all of those expectations would quickly fade away when he saw the collapsed courtyard.
Instead, I found the sliver of expectation in my heart laughable.
But today, he felt no extra emotions; he was very calm, so calm that it surprised even himself.
It seems that because the person I care about most is right beside me, all my expectations have been met.
He didn't say much, but simply took Jiang Yimian's hand and walked towards the ancestral hall.
I didn't feel uncomfortable at all during my first visit to the Marquis's residence.
If he hadn't known the purpose of this trip, he would have thought that taking a walk with Mianmian under the moon would have been nice.
Two figures, one tall and one short, stood close together. The shadows, elongated by the moonlight, were somewhat distorted, but their close relationship was evident.
The path that I had walked alone many times before now has one more person on it.
The two walked for a short while before they saw the rather empty ancestral hall.
There was no one outside the dark gate of the ancestral hall at this moment; only the lanterns under the eaves, swaying in the wind, emitted a dim yellow light.
Jiang Yimian and Lu Cijian exchanged a glance, then parted ways and walked toward the ancestral hall.
Inside the dark ancestral hall, moonlight streamed through the high windows, casting its rays onto the floor.
Chen Shuyu was sleeping in a cubicle in the ancestral hall, but the sense of crisis she had sensed during the day made her sleep restless.
Frowning as she lay in bed, she heard a rustling sound that instantly woke her from her light sleep.
She stared wide-eyed at the scene inside the cramped hut in the moonlight, but found nothing.
In such a narrow, easily visible compartment, if anyone had actually entered, she would probably be dead by now.
A mocking smile crept across Lu Chengyuan's lips. He was truly ruthless, abandoning her in the ancestral hall and leaving her to fend for herself.
Unfortunately, the servants were adept at treating people differently based on their status. If Lu Lin hadn't given her instructions, she probably would have been frozen and harmed by the gloom of the ancestral hall long ago.
In her dream, Li Qingmeng's pain and resentment before her death seemed to still linger in her ears, making her feel a chill down her spine.
She took a deep breath, and it took her a while to calm her heartbeat. She sighed softly and murmured, "She's just a pitiful person."
If Li Qingmeng hadn't been powerless and insignificant in the capital, she wouldn't have ended up in such a state.
When Lu Chengyuan insisted on marrying a merchant's daughter, it truly astonished everyone in the capital.
She was initially surprised, but later learned that it was because Lu Chengyuan had a conflict with that person, and because he thought Li Qingmeng was easy to manipulate, he married her, thus harming an innocent person.
Chen Shuyu was startled by her own thought. When did she become so kind-hearted, actually thinking that Li Qingmeng was innocent? It seems she was really confused from sleep.
It took me a while to clear my mind of the jumbled thoughts and I was about to lie down and go back to sleep.
The rustling sound appeared again, the previously indistinct sound now exceptionally clear in the darkness, seemingly coming from the door of the cubicle.
Chen Shuyu swallowed hard, staring at the dark door. After calming herself down for a while, she mustered her courage, put on a coat, and got out of bed.
The closer they got to the door, the clearer the sound became, as if someone was drawing something on the door panel, or as if someone wanted to open the door but didn't know how, and was knocking on the door panel.
She called out tentatively, "Granny, is that you?"
The rustling sounds outside the door paused for a moment, then resumed quickly.
Chen Shuyu's legs went weak from the sound. After hesitating for a long time, she still called out, "Granny, where have you been? Are you outside?"
However, all she received in response was that rustling sound.
The door began to shake slowly, as if something outside would break in at any moment.
Chen Shuyu felt her whole body was covered in sweat. She looked at the window behind her, which was tightly closed, with only moonlight shining through.
She gritted her teeth, mustered her courage, and suddenly opened the door.
However, the expected scene did not appear; there was nothing outside.
Apart from a few rays of moonlight falling on the ground, the ancestral hall was completely quiet.
She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go back to sleep when, as she turned around, a face covered in blood appeared before her.
She screamed in fright and fell to the ground, staring in disbelief at the white-clad woman covered in blood in mid-air.
The woman's hair was loose, revealing only her large eyes. Her face was covered by bloodstains, making her difficult to see clearly, yet Chen Shuyu felt a strange sense of familiarity towards her.
She mustered her courage and shouted, "Who, who is playing tricks here? Come out now! What do you want to do, Granny? Granny, where are you?"
The only response she received was the sound of the wind outside, like someone crying.
She felt a chill run down her spine as she stared at the blood-stained face that slowly moved toward her.
She screamed in fright, "No, don't come any closer, don't come any closer!"
She tried to stand up and run away, but her legs were too weak to move, and she could only retreat in fear.
However, he accidentally knocked over the table where the memorial tablets were placed, and several tablets fell to the ground with a few crisp sounds.
She grabbed the memorial tablet from the ground and threw it at the female ghost floating in mid-air, her face contorted with rage, saying, "I'll teach you to play tricks! I'll smash you to death, smash you to death!"
However, the female ghost suddenly disappeared in mid-air, and the memorial tablet she threw at the other party fell straight to the ground without hitting anything.
She stared wide-eyed for a moment, trembling as she looked around, but the female ghost seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
The only sounds in the empty ancestral hall were the wind outside the window and her trembling breaths.
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