Old Madam Liang lectured: “Enough, stop thinking about this and that. The child is gone—what’s the point of remembering now? You shouldn’t have been so impulsive back then. It’s all your own fault, so what’s the use of regret now? A grown man who’s so mighty leading troops into battle, yet once you return to this inner courtyard, a few words can make you lose your composure. How did your father teach you?”
Liang Yunshan felt somewhat embarrassed being scolded by Old Madam Liang.
“This inner courtyard isn’t a place for you men to meddle in at will. There are so many matters awaiting you at court—go on.”
“Mother…”
Old Madam Liang’s expression turned stern: “What now? Still being indecisive and entangled like an old woman? I haven’t even questioned you about today’s events yet. The eldest girl merely played a little trick, and you’re someone who’s weathered countless storms—how could you let her cause such chaos? I don’t stoop to arguing with children, but you actually took it to heart and insisted on questioning me? What do you want to ask? Ask away!”
How could Liang Yunshan dare to ask? He hastily apologized and retreated.
Old Madam Liang watched Liang Yunshan’s retreating figure with tremendous satisfaction.
Fool!
It seemed she had played her aloof and elegant character quite well.
Two clowns jumping about—did they think this would make Liang Yunshan suspect her? How laughably overconfident!
Old Madam Liang smugly picked up her chopsticks again and took a bite of food.
After eating, she recalled Qin Shuying’s mention of Empress Wen. Old Madam Liang smiled again—she hadn’t gained the upper hand back then, so what could she do now?
One and all, just clowns jumping about!
That night, in the middle of the night, Old Madam Liang, who was sleeping soundly, was suddenly awakened by strange noises.
She never liked having servants attend too closely when sleeping, so the several maids slept in the outer room, unlike ordinary households where they slept on couches in the same room.
She opened her eyes and looked through the bed curtains, immediately widening her eyes in shock.
Someone was there!
It was now mid-month, and though the weather wasn’t great with clouds covering the sun, the moonlight at night was decent enough to make out shadowy figures in the room.
Old Madam Liang never believed in ghosts or spirits. After the initial surprise, she scolded: “Who’s there, playing tricks and pretending to be supernatural!”
A figure slowly approached: “Old Madam, it’s me, Zao’er.”
Old Madam Liang didn’t believe it at all. She pulled open the curtains and spat: “Playing tricks to frighten me? Not a chance!”
After opening the curtains, she saw the woman before her—indeed very plain-looking, with a ghastly pale complexion, wearing ordinary coarse servant’s clothing. Old Madam Liang didn’t recognize her at all.
Old Madam Liang snorted coldly: “Playing supernatural tricks, just a clown jumping about!”
The woman didn’t seem to care whether Old Madam Liang was frightened, only saying: “Old Madam, your Ning Garden killed me. I’ve come to claim your life.”
With that, the woman approached, still smiling faintly.
Old Madam Liang wasn’t afraid at all—these clowns jumping about, she didn’t take them seriously.
In that instant—
The woman’s face suddenly changed, transforming into a monster with bared fangs and a gaping bloody maw, made even more hideous and terrifying by the moonlight.
Old Madam Liang was no ordinary person. Knowing the person before her was performing tricks, she wasn’t afraid at all.
But the sudden transformation still made her recoil instinctively as she shouted: “Someone! Come quickly!”
Outside was deathly silent—not a sound.
That hideous face suddenly changed back to Zao’er’s pale visage.
Hmm, just as the young master had guessed—this old witch was not only skilled and ruthless but also extraordinarily bold, unafraid of death or ghosts. Her courage was truly exceptional.
What a waste that he had endured the awkwardness of female disguise and brought out his best face-changing techniques from the bottom of his repertoire, yet this old witch wasn’t scared at all. She might as well have slapped the table and chair and pointed at his nose to scold Liang Yanjun’s makeup skills!
Having done so many evil deeds and reached such an advanced age, she was still so shrewd and formidable. If not for pushing her to desperation today, she probably wouldn’t have revealed her trump card—there was actually another world beneath her bed!
Though others couldn’t see clearly what she did inside, Liang Yanjun had the military’s best telescope. Following orders, he had crawled onto the roof and used the telescope to clearly observe Old Madam Liang’s movements.
Liang Yanjun rubbed the pill in his hand. Damn it, why bother with pills? Why not just smother this old witch with a quilt and be done with it?
Forget it—the young master said this old witch couldn’t die yet, so let her have a good sleep.
“Old Madam, at your age, having such good energy and such great courage isn’t good at all. So I’ve prepared a medicine here. Old Madam, please try it and see if it tastes good.”
With that, the “woman” picked up a pill and approached Old Madam Liang again.
Old Madam Liang retreated several steps to the innermost part of the bed and angrily scolded: “What do you want to do? Liang Yunshan will know about this and won’t let you off!”
Ha! Did he fear Liang Yunshan? The young master was so mighty now, and with him in front as protection, why would he fear some worthless Liang Yunshan?
The “woman” shook her head: “Old Madam, you’re wrong. It was people from your Ning Garden who killed Zao’er. Zao’er has come to claim souls from your Ning Garden!”
With that, the “woman” stepped forward and suddenly reached out, gripping Old Madam Liang’s chin and shoving the pill into her mouth.
Old Madam Liang naturally resisted, but the “woman,” being extremely angry, used tremendous force. After gripping her chin, Old Madam Liang had no power to resist, and the pill was stuffed into her mouth.
Then the “woman” lifted her chin and patted her back, forcing the pill down Old Madam Liang’s throat.
Old Madam Liang stared in terror, realizing who the person before her was…
Unfortunately, just as she became aware, the pill smoothly entered her system.
Then the “woman” forcefully flung her aside and laughed: “Has Old Madam recognized me? Good that you recognize me, Zao’er. Remember this face clearly!”
Old Madam Liang frantically clawed at her throat, trying to extract what was in her stomach. How could the “woman” let her succeed? One hand held down her hands while the other lifted her chin, forcing Old Madam Liang to raise her head obediently.
“People from Ning Garden killed Zao’er. I, Zao’er, am unwilling to accept this. Give me back my life… give me back my life…”
After speaking, the “woman” smiled lightly. After confirming the pill in Old Madam Liang’s stomach could never come out again, the “woman” turned and left.
Old Madam Liang immediately crawled to the bed’s edge and vomited desperately, but how could she possibly expel the pill?
After futile efforts for a long time, Old Madam Liang viciously grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it to the ground: “Wretch, wretch, wretch! Playing supernatural tricks, playing supernatural tricks…”
Liang Yanjun had never appeared before Old Madam Liang, so she didn’t recognize him. But Old Madam Liang was cunning with age and could tell the person before her was male.
Liang Yanjun had been captured by Liang Zhe to impersonate Zao’er—who told him that like Liang Zhe, he could mimic others’ speech perfectly.