The Devious First-Daughter

Usually, no one dared to come here. It was said that the master who used to live here died for no reason, so she was always haunting this place. She had been drifting about all the time, and now she was looking for a substitute!

“What are you talking about? Why don’t you show us the way? I’ll talk to the Marchioness later.” The senior aunt said unhappily.

The crowd began to talk all at once. Being urged by so many people, the two maids had no choice, but to move forward. However, their faces were so pale, it was as if they were transparent. Their feet felt weak. The more they thought about it, the more afraid they became.

They moved slowly and came to the wall. After confirming that there was no one, they went forward along the wall.

“Ah!” Suddenly, they heard a scream beside their ears.

The two maids were already nervous. When they heard the voice, they immediately fell to the ground before the others could react. They screamed in horror, “Ah! There’s a ghost! There’s a ghost!”

Several madams standing beside the two maids were startled by the sudden scream, and their faces turned pale. They looked around and found nothing. Then they calmed down again. An older female servant came over and pulled up a maid who went limp and fell to the ground.

“What are you talking about? There’s no ghost in broad daylight!” The older female servant scolded.

“A ghost. There’s a ghost. There’s a ghost.” The maid was so frightened that she seemed to be in a daze. She pointed at the wall and said in a trembling voice.

It was just a wall. The crowds did not think there was anything inside. Some bold people even knocked on it on purpose, but they did not find anything unusual.

“Nonsense. How dare you talk nonsense. I’ll get the Marchioness to deal with both of you later,” one of the madams said angrily.

“Yes, there’s a ghost. There’s a ghost in the Cloud Reflection Courtyard. She will drag people into the water and kill them.” The maid’s hands trembled and she pointed at the wall again. Because of her fear, she became panicky and she spoke incoherently.

She wanted to say that the Cloud Reflection Courtyard was haunted, and someone had gone missing before. It was said that the Young Lady had drowned in the lake.

“Yan’er!” When she heard this, the madam, who could not find her son, became very anxious. She threw herself against the wall and burst into tears. Someone tried to pacify her, and someone came to pull her away. The scene was immediately chaotic.

The aunt was calm enough. She let the older female servant continue to ask the maid, “Where is the Cloud Reflection Courtyard? There is only a wall here. Where is the Cloud Reflection Courtyard?”

The maid had long been frightened out of her wits. She answered whatever they asked. Then, the older female servant dragged her around the wall and reached the back door of the Cloud Reflection Courtyard. They entered the courtyard, which had been empty for more than half a year. As soon as they entered the courtyard, everyone was shocked by the sight of the ruined and desolate courtyard.

Was this still a courtyard in the Lord Protector’s Manor? The weeds here were as high as one’s knees. One could tell at a glance that there was no one living here, and no one was maintaining it. Thinking about the wall outside just now, they knew that the courtyard had been hidden on purpose. They wondered if something bad had happened in this yard.

Everyone hesitated for a moment and stood at the door. No matter what happened, it was a private affair of the Lord Protector’s Manor. Although some of them were Ning Zu’an’s seniors, Ning Zu’an was still the leader of the Ning’s clan. Moreover, Ning Zu’an was the Lord Protector, and no one could compare with him.

The air suddenly became strangely quiet. Everyone looked at each other. For a moment, they did not know whether they should go in or not.

“Yan’er, it’s Yan’er’s.” The madam, who lost her child, suddenly saw a bright shoe beside the lotus pond, not far away. She pushed away the maid who was supporting her and rushed over. When everyone saw that she was already there, they dropped everything and hurriedly followed her.

His shoe was beside the lotus pond, and there were lotus leaves floating on the surface. They could not see anything. The madam rushed over to grab the shoe and burst into tears. While crying, she also tried to throw herself into the pond. The others around her were very anxious and tried to stop her.

“Hurry up. Ask the Marquis to come over and get someone to go down and have a look.” The aunt was anxious to get someone over. If they did not go down and have a look, how could they ever be assured?

The two maids who led the way were utterly useless now. They hid behind the maids, shivering and muttering, “Young Lady Ziying, she fell into the lotus pond and died at that time. It must be Young Lady Ziying, who came to capture the soul. It must be her.”

Hearing that, several madams around them looked pale and felt restless. The courtyard did not look like a good place. Perhaps it was really haunted.

Hearing that something had happened here, Ning Zu’an rushed over with some male servants. The Lord, whose child was lost, happened to be an official of the Ministry of Justice. He brought some people and several intimate officials with him, and hurried to the Cloud Reflection Courtyard with Ning Zu’an.

As soon as he saw his wife crying in front of the lotus pond, he did not wait for Ning Zu’an’s order. He immediately asked his people to go into the water to see if there was any child.

As these people dived into the water with splashes, the others were filled with anxiety. If the child had fallen into the pond, he would have died. The desolated courtyard had not been maintained for many years. Although the lotus pond was not deep, it would not be shallow either, if the silt had not been dredged for some time. A child was not tall, so he would not be alive.

Madam Ling also got the news at this time. She stumbled and ran over with her servants.

When she arrived with her servants, the lotus leaves on the lotus pond had all been cleared. Many people had gone into the water. Only the madam was at the side, crying from time to time.

“What’s the matter? Why did they come here?” Madam Ling looked around and saw the two maids lying on the ground. With a gloomy face, she immediately asked the older female servant to bring them over.

“First Madam, Young Lady Ziying must be unwilling to stay in... in the lotus pond. She must be pulling people inside.” At this time, the maid saw that it was Madam Ling in front of her, and said this urgently.

“Slap her in the face!” Hearing Ning Ziying’s name, Madam Ling became furious.

An older female servant came over and slapped the maid who was talking, severely. The maid’s mouth was bloodied. She covered her mouth and could not speak.

Seeing that, the other madams unconsciously kept a distance from Madam Ling. The gloomy Marchioness could not make a good impression on the others now.

“Skeleton, there are skeletons below.” Suddenly, a guard took out a piece of white bone from the lotus pond and shouted, as he stepped into the water.

“There are dead bodies below, there are two dead bodies.” Another person jumped up and said.

There were two dead bodies down there. Everyone was stunned and turned to Ning Zu’an.

He had not expected to find two skeletons in the lotus pond. And judging from the situation, things could be severe. But no matter what, since they had discovered the skeletons, they would continue to investigate. Furthermore, the man was an official of the Ministry of Justice. So, he had to investigate into this matter.

“Come on. Drain the water!” Ning Zu’an said in a low voice. There was no emotion on his face.

All the people immediately came out of the water. All those who were able to help came over. Several ministers, who came from outside, all this amounted to a certain number of people. They all got to work. Soon, they saw the bottom of the pond. The man from the Ministry of Justice had already sent someone to call the coroner over.

“Yan’er.” The madam, who was crying by the lotus pond, was supported by a maid and stood aside. Suddenly, she looked at the door and cried out in surprise.

No one knew when a boy of three or four years old appeared at the door. He looked inside curiously, and raised his head. When he heard the familiar voice, he hurriedly flung his hands out and said, “Mother!”

“Yan’er, Yan’er!” The madam pushed the maid’s hands away and rushed over. She hugged the child and cried sadly. Anyone who suffered this sort of an ordeal, could not possibly be calm. She thought that something terrible had happened to the child, but she did not expect that the child was still alive. How could she not cry with joy?

The man from the Ministry of Justice could not bear it any longer and ran over. He picked up his son, his eyes turning red.

“Yan’er, where did you go?” The Madam took the child from his father and asked, with tears in her eyes.

“Mother, don’t cry. Yan’er is fine. I found a beautiful butterfly here, but it flew away. I wanted to find a butterfly for you.” The child named Yan’er seemed to be a sensible boy. He reached out to wipe his mother’s tears away, and explained in a childish tone.

Everyone suddenly realized that the child must have seen a beautiful butterfly, so he chased after it. When they looked at the child’s feet, they secretly rejoiced that he had only lost one of his shoes. Fortunately, the butterfly did not fly over the pond, but ran out of the Cloud Reflection Courtyard. If it had flown near the water, the child might have had an accident.

“I won’t cry. Yan’er, if you do this next time, please tell me first, understand?” When she found her son, the mother also breathed a sigh of relief. So, she had to warn her own child.

After the pond water was drained, everyone went ashore. The skeletons were not too far away. After removing the thin layer of mud on the surface, they could see two skeletons. The coroner had gone down to check.

“Lord, the dead was a young woman, less than 18 years old. She seemed to have been beaten when she was alive. Two of her fingers were broken, and the leg bones were also cracked. She had been cruelly beaten before she died. And, the dead young woman was dragged down by a stone. She should have been thrown into the lotus pond and drowned.”

“The other is about the same age. This stone weighed her down and she drowned in the lotus pond.”

The coroner was talking about the two stones which were attached to the two skeletons. They were tied to the bodies with cloth strips and had dropped into the mud in the lotus pond. The two pieces of cloth were almost rotten. It was clear that they had been in the water for a certain period of time. In such a scene, everyone knew that the two people who died in the lotus pond, must have been have been murdered.

How could one explain about the stones on their backs and the strips of cloth? There were even marks of a severe beating. It was clear that someone abused them first, and then killed them.

Madam Ling’s face turned totally white. The maids who stood on both sides to support her, could feel her trembling slightly. Suddenly, a trace of panic flashed in her eyes. As she bit hard on her lips, a sharp pain immediately sobered her up. It was impossible. She had asked someone to take away the stones tied to the cloths secretly. How could they still be there?