On a summer night, a cool breeze rustled through the air, causing the willow branches to dance haphazardly against the dark sky. The backyard of the Marquis’ Mansion was desolate, with only a few lanterns flickering dimly under the eaves. A servant stumbled out of a side room, clearly intoxicated from a night of revelry and gambling with his colleagues. Perhaps fueled by his winnings, he had been persuaded to continue the festivities with more alcohol, leading to a night of raucous revelry.
In the early hours of the morning, the servant stumbled out again, this time in search of relief. But in his drunken stupor, he lost his way and found himself near a cluster of trees. Desperate to relieve himself, he sought shelter behind a large tree and began to undo his trousers. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the trees, sending a shiver down his spine. His intoxicated state made the branches appear as though they were merging into a dark, fuzzy mass, resembling a swaying human head. Startled, he resolved to hurry and finish his business before retreating to his room.
As he pulled up his trousers, he heard rustling from the depths of the trees, as if something was struggling to break free. His heart pounded with fear as he called out, “Who’s there?”
There was no response from the darkness, but the noises grew louder, accompanied by what sounded like gnawing. With trembling hands, the servant hesitated before finally mustering the courage to peer into the shadows. To his horror, he was met with a pair of eerie eyes devoid of pupils, staring back at him like a snake fixating on its prey.
“Ahh!” he screamed in terror, scrambling to flee, but tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. As he lay there, trembling with fear, he dared to glance back, only to find his legs too weak to stand, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
A pale blue ghostly face emerged slowly from behind the tree, emitting a dim light in the pitch-black night sky. The face had no body or feet, suspended in mid-air, gradually drawing closer until it was almost touching the servant’s face.
Terrified, the servant’s nose began to run as tears welled up in his eyes. He briefly felt relieved that he had finished his business earlier, realizing he could have easily wet himself in fear. Suddenly, something seemed to entangle his feet, and a force pulled him sharply backward. Overwhelmed by fear, he didn’t even notice the pain in his feet as he scrambled several yards away, too terrified to look back, fearing the ghost would drag him into eternal damnation.
From that day forward, the servant fell seriously ill, and rumors of haunting spread throughout the Marquis’ Mansion. The servants embellished the tale with horrifying details: some claimed the ghost had bleeding nostrils and was fond of absorbing men’s vitality, while others described it as having a green face with sharp teeth, capable of devouring half of a person’s face. The rumors escalated until they reached the ears of the old Marquis, who angrily dismissed the servant’s drunken ramblings and punished him with a half-year deduction from his wages. He also issued a decree that anyone spreading ghost rumors would be punished, effectively quelling the gossip. However, the incidents persisted, with more and more people claiming to have seen the ghost. Many timid maidservants began seeking protective talismans at the temple, and no servant dared linger in the mansion after nightfall.
“Madam, do you think there are ghosts in the mansion?” Li Mama recounted the incident to Madam Yuanxi with vivid detail, her curiosity evident.
Yuanxi had just recovered from a serious illness and was still somewhat irritable. Today, she had been relieved of her confinement and was dragged by Li Mama and Anhe to the garden to enjoy the flowers and relax. She knew Li Mama was intentionally bringing up these matters to distract her from her boredom. Half-heartedly admiring a vibrant rose in front of her, she replied, “There are no ghosts in this world. Even if there were, there would be nothing to fear.” She had never been afraid of ghosts or corpses; her fears lay with people who lied, harmed others, and… hurt people’s hearts.
Suddenly, she lost focus for a moment, and her fingers slipped, pricked by a thorn on the stem of the flower. Anhe exclaimed in concern, hastily taking her hand and asking, “Did it hurt?” Yuanxi shook her head lightly, retracting her finger and casually wrapping it with a cloth, then smiled and reassured her, “See, it’s fine.”
Observing Yuanxi’s pale yet feignedly resolute profile, Li Mama suddenly felt her nose tingling. Despite her advanced age, she couldn’t help but understand the ephemeral nature of life. However, Yuanxi was still young; did she have to endure such hardships? She turned away discreetly, silently shedding a few tears.
Yuanxi knew Li Mama was worrying about her and felt even more distressed. She was about to offer some comforting words when she suddenly saw a petite figure dressed in goose yellow approaching from a distance. Recognizing her as Xiaozhen, she felt a genuine sense of relief. She quickly raised a smile and greeted her, but Xiaozhen merely nodded curtly and greeted her with a faint “Sister-in-law.” Then, without daring to glance at her again, she hurried past as if afraid of lingering for even a moment.
Yuanxi’s smile froze on her face, feeling a slight pang in her heart. Since her confinement, there had been many servants in the mansion who looked down on her, but she didn’t feel sad about it. It was just disdainful gazes, something she had grown accustomed to since childhood. However, she genuinely liked this little sister-in-law who always affectionately held her hand and called her sister-in-law. She had already considered her a true sister during her time in the Marquis’ Mansion. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but smile wryly; she still couldn’t understand human nature, and she deserved to end up in such a situation.
Meanwhile, Anhe was infuriated. Unable to contain herself, she muttered softly, “I can’t believe it. She acts so affectionate on the surface but hides at the first sign of trouble. She wears two different faces at such a young age. Truly a well-bred young lady from the Marquis’ Mansion.”
Yuanxi was taken aback, quickly interrupting her and asking, “Please don’t say such things!” Anhe, however, continued to express her indignation, muttering, “Exactly, Madam. The day before you were confined, she came to see you, claiming she had embroidered a purse for you. When she found you were not there, she waited in the room for a while before leaving. Now she seems to have completely forgotten about it.”
Frowning, Yuanxi quickly asked, “You said she came to see me the day before I was confined. Did she?” Something slid through her mind, grasping for it, but then she heard someone shouting outside, “It’s terrible! Someone drowned!”
Startled, Yuanxi rushed over with Li Mama and Anhe to the source of the shouting. On a bridge over the artificial lake, a crowd had gathered, many of them covering their mouths and turning pale after glimpsing into the water. Yuanxi arrived breathlessly and, as she caught sight of the body in the lake, felt a wave of dizziness, nearly falling into the water.
A cry of despair rose from the crowd, but Yuanxi felt a buzzing in her head, unable to hear anything. She had never before found a corpse so terrifying.
Just a few days ago, she had knelt alive before her, begging for help, her once bright eyes now forever devoid of hope, her beautiful face swollen from the water’s swell. Yet, her hands still protected her belly, determined to keep her unborn child safe, even in her final moments…
Yuanxi widened her eyes, retreating backward incessantly. Seeing her as pale as paper with scattered eyes, Li Mama was alarmed and quickly grabbed her arm, calling out, “Madam?” Yuanxi, however, shook off her hand and whispered, “I want to be alone for a while.” Li Mama and Anhe grew even more anxious and tried to follow her, but Yuanxi turned around sharply, shouting, “You’re not allowed to follow me!”
Both of them were startled, unsure of how to react. Yuanxi, clutching her skirts, ran off, desperate to escape, to get away from everything and hide where no one could see her. She ran aimlessly for a while until she found herself under the familiar gardenia tree. Breathing in the familiar scent of gardenia flowers, she finally felt safe and sat down, bursting into tears.
I’m sorry, I couldn’t save you! I’m sorry, I’m so useless!
She cried freely for a long time as if trying to cry away all the grievances, bitterness, and failures of these days. She cried until her eyes were sore and her head heavy, then leaned against the tree trunk, feeling drowsy. It was then that she heard a familiar voice in the distance, startling her awake. She lifted her head and saw Xiaodu and Zhou Jingyuan walking towards her, discussing something.
Panic and urgency filled Yuanxi’s heart again. She didn’t want him to see her in such a miserable state. She quickly hid behind the gardenia tree, silently praying that they wouldn’t come closer.
But how could Xiaodu not see her? He grew suspicious when he saw her sitting under the tree from afar. Later, when he noticed her hastily hiding behind the tree, he felt even more uneasy. He deliberately said to Zhou Jingyuan, “Uncle Zhou, let’s not go to the study today. Let’s talk under that shady tree over there.”
Zhou Jingyuan found it strange but still cooperated, accompanying him to the tree. Yuanxi felt a sense of panic: if they came closer, she wouldn’t be able to hide. She made up her mind and casually broke off a small branch, holding it above her head, and cautiously moved away, hoping to slip away unnoticed among the foliage.
So Zhou Jingyuan witnessed this bizarre scene: his wife squatting under a tree with a small branch over her head, tiptoeing through the bushes as if they didn’t exist. Astonished, he glanced at Xiaodu, who looked thunderstruck. Unable to resist, he tentatively called out, “Madam?”
Startled by his call, Yuanxi’s heart pounded wildly. She threw the branch away and ran outside, but she had only taken a few steps when she tripped and fell to the ground. Xiaodu, furious, strode over to her, squatting down and roaring, “Why are you running!”
Feeling the piercing pain in her ankle, Yuanxi felt both aggrieved and ashamed. She pouted and cried, “You said it yourself, that you didn’t want to see me anymore!”
Xiaodu blinked in confusion, then lifted his head to glare fiercely at Zhou Jingyuan, who was standing nearby and watching intently. Zhou Jingyuan only snapped out of his trance then, forgetting even to offer a polite greeting, and hurriedly fled as if on wings.
With a sigh, Xiaodu shifted his gaze to Yuanxi, who was sitting on the ground, angry and wiping tears away. Finally, he sighed and scooped her up, carrying her back to the house.