Nan Yuan'er looked at Liu Shi's appearance and withdrew her gaze with a hint of impatience. She mused, if everything was man-made, then by what method and at what time did the other party manage to affect the vast majority of people in the Nan Residence?
What means did they employ?
Nan Yuan'er suddenly recalled something and asked, "Mother, when Father stayed in your room that day, you didn't encounter a ghost, did you?"
"Ah, yes!"
Liu Shi quickly looked up at Nan Yuan'er, not quite understanding why she was asking this.
"Then Mother, do you remember if there was anything different about your courtyard or rooms that day compared to usual?" Nan Yuan'er felt that if she could figure out why her mother hadn't encountered a ghost that day, she would be one step closer to the truth.
Liu Shi racked her brain but couldn't recall anything different. She shook her head and said, "There really wasn't anything different. Otherwise, should we call Qing'er and the others in to ask?"
Nan Yuan'er nodded, then added, "Just call Qing'er alone!"
Liu Shi, though perplexed, still nodded. "Your mother understands!"
Qing'er was called back. With half her face swollen, she knelt respectfully before the two of them.
"Let me ask you, when the master stayed in the madam's room the day before yesterday, was there anything different in our courtyard or my mother's room?"
Qing'er was slightly stunned. She hadn't expected the young lady to call her in to ask about this. Knowing the young lady's methods, Qing'er dared not be negligent. She tried her best to recall, fearing that if she failed to assist the young lady, she would receive another slap.
Something different, something different, no...
Qing'er grew more anxious the more she thought, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead. She muttered inwardly, something different, what was different? The several head maids who served were by the madam's side according to the rules. The second and third-class maids were always in the courtyard tending to it. No maid reported illness, and nothing untoward happened. Meals were served according to regulations, even the potted plants... wait, potted plants?
If there was anything different, it was the potted plants!
The madam didn't have a favorite flower, so she changed the potted plants every two days. However, that day, it seemed something had delayed the replacement, so the potted plants weren't changed!
"Young lady, if there was anything different, it was that the potted plants weren't changed!"
"Hmm?"
Nan Yuan'er's brows furrowed. A sudden flash of inspiration struck her. Potted plants? It was the potted plants? .oγg
She suddenly stood up and walked to the potted plants, inspecting them meticulously. However, she found nothing amiss on the potted plants. But this was normal; if it were that easy to spot a clue, why would they have been toyed with for so long.
Nan Yuan'er suddenly said loudly, "Mother, the potted plants in your room are blooming so beautifully. Daughter really likes them. Would you give them to me?"
Although Liu Shi didn't know what she was up to, she cooperated and said, "If Yuan'er likes them, then take them!"
When Nan Yuan'er left Li Wan Pavilion, she took a potted plant with her. The servants in Li Wan Pavilion overheard her conversation with Liu Shi and assumed she simply liked it.
She had Cai Huan place the potted plant in the dismantled room and instructed Cai Huan, "You will stand guard tonight!"
"Yes!"
...
After the sun set, the moon hung on the branches.
Qing'er did not sleep in the outer room but leaned by Liu Shi's bed, keeping her company.
With someone by her side, Liu Shi dared to close her eyes.
Deep in the night, Liu Shi woke up again in a dream. She turned her head and saw Qing'er, who had fallen asleep with her head on the edge of the bed. She let out a soft sigh of relief.
She turned to go back to sleep but felt as if her foot had plunged into icy lake water. A bone-chilling pain instantly surged through her. She tried to lift her foot, but her ankle felt as if it were being firmly grasped by something.
Her neck stiffened as she looked down, only to see a pale blue-black hand on her fair ankle.
"Ah..."
A piercing scream erupted. Qing'er was startled and immediately jumped up from the ground. Her groggy mind instantly cleared upon seeing the scene on the bed.
"Quick, quickly pull my foot out!" Liu Shi grabbed Qing'er's skirt and yelled with wide, bloodshot eyes.
Qing'er felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. Her hands and feet no longer felt like her own, and she was frozen, unable to move. Liu Shi's heart-wrenching shouts echoed in her ears, stretching infinitely, as if from a distant land, shrouded in mist, making it difficult to hear clearly.
But in the next second, she reacted. Her first instinct after her soul abruptly returned was to turn and flee. But this thought flashed through her mind and was gone. She gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and pulled Liu Shi's body, dragging her off the bed.
The servants guarding the door burst in. Upon seeing the scene in the room, they were stunned with fear.
Qing'er turned and shouted with furious eyes, "Why aren't you coming to help? Do you all want to die?"
Hearing Qing'er's angry roar, someone shouted, and then, led by someone, the servants rushed in. Some pulled Qing'er, others protected Liu Shi, and working together, they began to drag her out.
Suddenly, the ghostly hand gripping Liu Shi's ankle disappeared. The force abruptly shifted, and everyone tumbled to the ground, one after another.
Liu Shi was pinned down!
She was almost crushed to death!
However, after this incident, Liu Shi was thoroughly convinced that the mansion was haunted. All talk of no ghosts or man-made interference was nonsense. The Taoist priest from Qingshan Temple was definitely overrated. No, she had to go to Linyin Temple.
Not only Liu Shi, but Nan Yuan'er also encountered a ghost again.
Hearing the screams from Li Wan Pavilion, Nan Yuan'er, still shaken, held her teacup, her hands trembling.
She looked up at Cai Huan and asked, "Do you think the Taoist priest from Qingshan Temple was wrong, or is the person behind this too cunning?"
Cai Huan pondered for a moment and replied, "This servant does not know. This servant merely hopes that the Qingshan Temple was wrong!"
Nan Yuan'er was slightly stunned, and the next moment she understood Cai Huan's meaning. If it were a ghost, it would only be terrifying. But if it were a person, and they had managed to create such a disturbance without revealing any flaws, then their scheme and methods were even more terrifying and daunting than ghosts.
This matter had to be investigated quickly, otherwise, the palace banquet would definitely be disrupted.
Wait... disrupted?
Could this be the reason why Wang Shi handed over the management of the household back to her mother?
Was it Wang Shi, was it Nan Yu Jin??
Nan Yuan'er suddenly stood up, wanting to find her father. But she then recalled her mother mentioning her father's hesitant expression, and a thud echoed in her heart.
Did Father know about this? Did Father tacitly approve?
...
The Nan Residence was in chaos, and Nan Shiying was so happy she could wake up from her sleep laughing.
Nanny Wang, please wait a little longer, soon, very soon!