Qingyun Tower.
Jiang Juncai was awakened by the sound of something chewing wood, and he could feel his bed shaking.
He opened his eyes and carefully sensed the creaking sounds coming from all directions, and the bed frame beneath him was shaking even more noticeably.
He suddenly saw a mouse dart across his blanket. He followed the mouse and found it brazenly gnawing on the wood at the foot of the bed. The mouse even bared its teeth at him arrogantly and made "squeak squeak squeak" sounds.
What he saw was alarming. He discovered seven or eight enormous rats gnawing at the wood at the foot of the bed, along with a swarm of ants—black, red, and white—deviously gnawing at the wood.
Not only did they gnaw on his bed, but the low table by the bed and the footstool next to the bed were also covered with rats and ants.
He instantly felt a chill run down his spine. Where did all these rats and ants come from?!
He instinctively jumped out of bed and grabbed his clothes from the hanger. Two red-haired rats crawled out of his sleeve, up his arm to his shoulder, and then jumped down his back.
Jiang Jun jumped up and found that the wooden floor was also covered with ants, making it impossible to find a place to step.
"Bang!" The clothes hanger was gnawed apart and collapsed with a crash. His clothes fell to the ground as well. Only then did he realize that his clothes had been gnawed by rats and had several large holes in them, making them unwearable.
He looked around and saw the wardrobe door wobbling. The next second, it detached from the wardrobe and crashed to the ground.
Looking at the display shelf again, one of its legs was bitten off, causing it to slowly tilt. The porcelain and books on it slid off and fell to the ground, making various noises.
Jiang Juncai felt his soul tremble.
He was so shocked by the sight before him that he forgot to call for help.
With a "squeak," something fell from the sky, and Jiang Jun felt something hit his head. He touched it and found it was a half-grown rat making a face at him.
He looked up and saw that the roof beams were covered with rats, which were gnawing happily as if they were having a wild party!
Jiang Jun had only lived for a little over twenty years and had never seen so many rats and ants. Tonight's events undoubtedly broadened his understanding; he had never imagined that there could be so many rats and ants in the world.
He leaped and bounded out of the house, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Rat—!"
He had only run a few steps when a loud crash sounded behind him, "Bang, crash—"
He froze there, slowly turned around, and found that the entire Qingyun Tower had collapsed.
If he had come out even a little later, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The loud noise and billowing dust startled many people and drew everyone's attention away from Plum Blossom Pavilion and towards Qingyun Tower.
Jiang Juncai and Jiang Bailu escaped death by a hair's breadth, and while they were relieved, they were also afraid.
Aside from the house collapsing, no servants were injured at Jiang Juncai's place. However, things were not so good at Jiang Bailu's place. The maid who was on night watch was burned, but fortunately, her life was not in danger.
Everyone in the Jiang family was searching for the cause of the incident. They all found it strange; it couldn't possibly happen to two people in one night, could it? Was it a coincidence or was it deliberate? Was there a mole within the family?
Yuan Qi stood at the front, watching everyone chatting animatedly. She yawned and said, "I'm going to sleep now."
Her voice wasn't loud, and everyone's attention was focused on the jade pendant Jiang Bailu was wearing around her neck. The perfectly good jade pendant suddenly cracked. Old Madam Bai said that the jade pendant had saved her from a calamity. If she hadn't been wearing the jade pendant, she would have had half her face burned like that night watch maid.
Even so, Jiang Bailu looked at her hair and cried sadly. Her hair, which used to be longer than her buttocks, had been burned off by more than a foot. After some trimming, the length was barely past her shoulders.
For a woman, hair is more important than life. If this gets out, I wonder how many people will laugh at her. What if she loses her chance to become the Crown Princess?
Jiang Bailu cried even more bitterly upon hearing this.
"Grandmother, Father, if the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince find out about my hair, will they still allow me to become the Crown Princess?"
Jiang Songlu was also worried for her: "But hair doesn't grow back overnight. What can we do?"
Grandma Bai said in a deep voice, "It's just that your hair is a little shorter, it's not like you've been burned bald. Don't cry, Grandma will help you find a solution. There are plenty of poor girls out there who sell their hair to make a living, and there are also craftsmen who make wigs in the countryside. You don't need to worry about anything."
Old Mrs. Bai was a woman of great experience and knowledge. What was a devastating blow to Jiang Bailu was nothing more than a trivial matter to her.
The fire at Plum Blossom Pavilion may have been an accident, but the collapse of Qingyun Tower was definitely not.
Grandma Bai and Jiang Zhengqing dismissed the younger generation, and he began discussing the Qingyun Tower with Grandma Bai.
No one noticed when Yuan Qi left.
Back at Peony Residence, Shen Xun was already waiting on the roof beam. When Yuan Qi came in, she flew down and landed at her bedside.
Yuan Qi was too lazy to open his eyes to look at him: "I know it was you who did it. They cut down the paulownia tree, leaving you nowhere to build your nest. It's perfectly normal for you to retaliate a little."
Shen Xun immediately deflated: "This is so boring. You could at least guess twice. You didn't even give me any face."
Yuan Qi patted him perfunctorily: "Since I promised to let you stay here, I won't go back on my word. Tomorrow I'll have them build you a place by the window under the corridor."
Shen Xun returned to the birdcage under the eaves with great pride and even closed the door herself.
The next morning, Yuan Qi heard that Jiang Bailu was temporarily staying at the Orchid Pavilion with Jiang Songlu, and would move back to the Plum Blossom Pavilion once it was repaired.
Just as she was about to go out to set up her stall, Granny Wang came to her door.
Before Granny Wang even entered the house, she noticed a small, square wooden box under the eaves of Peony Residence, with a magpie busily carrying branches around.
She glanced at it a few more times and felt that the magpie looked very familiar. Wasn't it the one that defecated on the Fourth Miss's head yesterday?
They actually intend to stay at Peony Residence for an extended period?
This is outrageous! She must report this to the Fourth Miss immediately.
Granny Wang turned around and went back to report the situation to Jiang Bailu.
Jiang Bailu immediately walked outside: "I'm determined to catch that bird today!"
Jiang Songlu pulled her aside and advised, "This bird is a bit strange, don't you think? Ever since we made things difficult for Yuan Qi yesterday, this bird has been haunting us. First, it pooped on your head, and then your Plum Blossom Pavilion caught fire. We've never encountered so many unlucky things in our lives. How many did we encounter yesterday?"
"You mean Yuan Qi is manipulating that bird? She couldn't possibly have that kind of ability, could she?" Jiang Bailu never expected a bird to have such a strong desire for revenge, and she immediately blamed everything on Yuan Qi.
However, Jiang Bailu felt that Yuan Qi didn't seem like someone with such great abilities, so she decided to observe him further.
She can't even tolerate a bird? She's very broad-minded.
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