Chapter 830 Ghost Shadows in the Midnight
That was to say, if Shao Caihuan approved of the marriage offered by Shao Jie’er, she had probably been tempted by Chu Liuchen. Besides, even if Shao Wanru was reborn, she couldn’t deny that Chu Liuchen was so handsome, gentle and elegant, as if he were a young man only existing in a painting.
However, it was just the appearance.
Shao Wanru kept in silence for a while. Her long eyelashes cast irregular shadows under her half-closed watery eyes, which showed her slight tiredness.
“Miss, Qing’er has come!” Yujie’s voice broke the silence in the room. Shao Wanru raised her head and nodded to Nanny Yu to show that she had got it.
Seeing Yujie come in with Qing’er, Nanny Yu left, understanding that Shao Wanru needed to have a private conversation with others.
“Qing’er, do we have people available now?” Shao Wanru took a deep breath to suppress the displeasure in her heart, looked up and asked.
When Shao Wanru had been in the Yuhui Nunnery, it was easy for Qing’er to transfer the servants offered by Chu Liuchen. However, she was in Duke Xing’s Mansion now. She didn’t know whether it would be difficult for Qing’er to do the same or not.
“Miss, I can find someone for you as long as you send me to walk around outside the mansion!” Qing’er said.
“Good! Ask someone to come in the mansion at midnight.” Shao Wanru nodded and said. At least, it was not difficult for her to send Qing’er out.
“Miss, should we inform His Highness?” Qing’er said with anxiety.
“No!” Shao Wanru shook her head. Then she asked after a pause, “The people will surely get our message, right?”
“Yes, you can rest assured, Miss!” Qing’er said with a nod. Although it was inconvenient for the people, who were exactly the ones sent to protect Shao Wanru in the Yuhui Nunnery, to sneak into Duke Xing’s Mansion during the day, they had been always guarding outside the mansion in case their master was in danger. But they could creep in at night if their master ordered so.
“Go outside and buy some candied fruits for me. If anyone asks, just tell them that I want to eat some lighter, because those in the mansion are not to my taste!”
“Yes, Miss!” Qing’er took Shao Wanru’s order and left. She was not a first-class principal maid, so it was simpler for her to go in and out of the mansion than for others including Yujie.
“Miss, is something about to happen tonight?” Yujie looked at Qing’er’s back and asked cautiously in a low voice.
“They have had such a plot, and haven’t reached their goal yet. So I believe they will take another step to make it by forcing me. After a few days later, I will have come up with a solution, not to mention my grandma!” Shao Wanru said in a low voice. It sounded like she was talking to herself.
“Miss?” Yujie became increasingly confused. After thinking for a while, she asked in confusion, “Do you mean that Old Madam and Second Miss have a follow-up plan?”
Yujie had seen it clear when they were at Old Madam’s that what Second Miss said and did must have something to do with Old Madam. Every time Second Miss made up her mind to say something, she always glanced at Old Madam subconsciously.
Shao Wanru didn’t reply but slightly smiled. In fact, she was not very sure about the answer to Yujie’s question. But she was assured that tonight would be a key point for them. If they planned to pay a hostile visit to her, she could refuse them out with a “resting” reason. So what would they do to make her fail to reject?
Shao Wanru faintly smiled, with a bit of coldness on her beautiful face, which made Yujie have an ominous feeling…
Although it had been already the beginning of spring, the weather was still cold, especially in the evening when it was so freezing that it made people tremble. If there was nothing to do, everyone would go back to rest early. When there was a warm bed to lie in, no one was willing to stay outside. No sooner had the night fallen than the lights in many houses were lit up.
The room where Shao Jie’er stayed was lit up too. But as a wing room, it was not bright. The bridal room in the same house had not been well-decorated yet, hence it was so messy and it was difficult to find a place to stay.
The chamber was indeed not a good one. It was casually decorated, and there were no warming facilities in the wing room. Although Shao Jie’er was holding a hand-warmer, she was still trembling because of the cold. How was it possible for her to write?
She asked the servant girl to remove aside things around the room so that there was more space for another stove that was just brought there, which finally made the room a little warmer.
“Miss, are we really going to stay here for a whole night?” Her servant girl Liuxiang coughed a few times.
The charcoal in the stove was cheap. It made people cough, especially when getting close to it. She didn’t get the good one when she asked for some just now.
“Just stay!” Shao Jie’er seemed to have a much better mood now. Although she was trembling with cold, she was no longer as bad-tempered as before.
But Liuxiang remembered that the moment she went to fetch the coal, her master was still angry and kept speaking ill of the Fifth Miss and the Third Miss.
At this time, she should not be scolding anyone. Shao Jie’er, with her warmed hands, seemed to be going to do the copying job. Only a few things were copied on the paper on the table, and they were actually dotted ink.
Shao Jie’er narrowed her eyes, and then warmed her hands again. Then she moved her hands away from the stove, but felt freezing cold at once. She walked to the desk and picked up the writing brush, finding that her fingers were stiff.
Holding the brush, she stood before the desk for a moment. Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind and she began to scribble on the paper.
“Miss, you will be caught by Old Madam!” Liuxiang was totally scared by her master, and her face turned pale. Since Shao Jie’er was not favored, she, as her girl, was certainly not. Shao Jie’er’s mother, Concubine Lu, was given the right to help manage the domestic affairs of the mansion, and then Liuxiang would not be slighted any more as Second Miss’s servant girl. But, she had not adjusted her mind yet. At this moment, she rushed to hold Shao Jie’er’s hand with a panic.
“Miss, take it seriously. Otherwise, Old Madam will order you to stay here and copy books all the time!” Liuxiang pleaded, still holding Shao Jie’er’s hand.
Not only the Miss but also her servants would be punished. They might be beaten or even sold. Remembering that some former servant girls of the Second Miss had ended up being sold, Liuxiang was too frightened to be tough.
Every time Second Miss lost her temper and stirred up trouble, it was always them, her servant girls, who suffered a lot.
More hopelessly, Second Miss still knew nothing about the situation, and became complacent as soon as she felt a little proud for what she had done. In the end, both she and her servants unluckily got into trouble.
“What are you afraid of? Relax!” Shao Jie’er said indifferently. She shook off Liuxiang’s hand, continued dripping ink on the paper, and drew haphazardly.
Liuxiang trembled like a falling leaf in the wind. With a pale face, she said in a begging tone, “Miss!”
It was not the first time for Shao Jie’er to say that. Liuxiang did not believe her at all.
“Don’t worry. They will be burned soon, and no ink points will be seen. Who will know what I have done, copying it carefully or just doing some drawing casually?” Shao Jie’er became more and more impatient. Thinking of the old maid who had just come secretly to pass Old Madam’s message, she raised the corners of her mouth to show a very proud smile.
“Why… why can’t they be seen?” Liuxiang was not a very smart servant girl. In fact, she couldn’t be smart if she followed such a master, who had always lost the smart girls, and Jiang family never intended to leave any smart and responsible servants for her.
“In a while, the paper will be burned in the fire. Who cares what words I have written on it? We should bless that I will survive it then!” Shao Jie’er looked up at the horizontal beam above her head and clicked her tongue with pity. “This room doesn’t look good, but it’s not bad!”
Shao Jie’er’s words were still beyond Liuxiang’s understanding, but she was almost scared to collapse on the ground when hearing the word “survive”.
She stammered, “Why, why will Miss survive something? Is… is it because of a fire? Then, then we should run away right now!”
Liuxiang tried to guess what her master meant by picking several words and connecting them into sentences.
“Not now. In a while!” Shao Jie’er lowered her head and began to scribble again and again. She was enjoying herself, relaxed and calm without any panic, which was so unusual.
“How long should we wait? Miss… why will the fire start?” Liuxiang was still in confusion. She looked around cautiously and found that there were piles of furniture around them, untidied and all in a mess, looking like countless ghosts in the dark.
Liuxiang was scared, and cold too. That made her teeth start chattering.
“Miss… Miss…” Liuxiang called her master again as Shao Jie’er ignored her.
“Stop calling me. It’s annoying!” Shao Jie’er said unhappily. Of course, the fire would start, because she would personally set it up. And surely, she was not anxious and would wait for the right time, which was according to Old Madam’s order. The fire could not be set on the chamber too early in case that it would be put out at once after too many people noticed it.
“Miss… Miss…” Liuxiang called again, and her eyes timidly blinked. “What… what’s over there…?”
“What again?” Shao Jie’er said with annoyance.
“It’s over there… outside the window. Miss, I seem to see a white figure…” Liuxiang pointed to the outside of the window. Her teeth chattered louder and louder, and even Shao Jie’er could hear it.
Shao Jie’er subconsciously raised her head and looked out of the window. There was nothing but the dark sky.
“Miss… there’s something indeed… Look… look…” Liuxiang suddenly screamed and huddled up, hugging her head.
Shao Jie’er looked at Liuxiang first, and turned to the window immediately after understanding her broken sentences, but she still saw nothing. But that made Shao Jie’er become frightened, too. She could sense that her hand, the one with the writing brush in it, was cold and stiff.
“Nonsense!” Shao Jie’er tried her best to calm down and said harshly.
“Miss… Miss, I’m not talking nonsense. Indeed, there was a white shadow, a… a ghost face flashing past the window… and it is not far from you…” Liuxiang was so scared, crying, huddling together, and trembling.
Shao Jie’er also trembled. Liuxiang had never lied to her. But she saw nothing when she looked back. Suddenly, she remembered some rumors in the past about ghosts in the mansion. She sat in the chair in panic and didn’t even dare to raise her head, just trembling.
After a long while, she made a huge decision. She gritted her teeth and stood up, struggling to drag her feet to the desk where the oil lamp was placed. She picked up the oil lamp and lit up a fallen curtain…
She dared not to wait any longer…