Meng Wan suddenly raised her head.
If she remembered correctly, this was a birthday gift that Meng Junyao had prepared for her father's birthday one year. However, after she was kicked out of the mansion, these things were put away. How could they suddenly appear now, and even be among the birthday gifts prepared by Huangfu Mi?
Prime Minister Meng was also stunned. His original joy vanished completely after seeing the moon bottle. All that remained was the painful memory of his daughter's death. In the end, no matter what, Meng Junyao was still his flesh and blood. He could drive her away, but he couldn't bear to let her die!
Overwhelmed with mixed feelings, he lost all interest in having fun. He instructed Meng Wan and the others to attend to the guests before returning to his room on his own.
Meng Wan finally came to her senses and stared at the moon bottle, but she couldn't understand how it had appeared here out of nowhere.
With little interest in the conversation, Meng Wan finally waited until all the guests had left, leaving only her and Huangfu Mi. Then she told Huangfu Mi about the origin of the moon-shaped vase. Finally, she asked, "I remember you clearly prepared a wine vessel. How did it change to this moon-shaped vase? Didn't you go to get it yourself?"
Huangfu Mi nodded: "That's right, I did go to retrieve it in person and checked it carefully. It is indeed a wine vessel, but I don't know why it turned out like this."
"So, it was switched?" Meng Wan raised an eyebrow. "Where did you put it after you got it back? In your study?"
"No, it's in the carriage, the same one you and I used to come to the Prime Minister's residence."
Meng Wan frowned: "So, you mean the body was switched on the carriage?"
But then another question arises: who is doing this, and for what purpose?
The two of them thought it over and over, carefully considering the whole story, but they still couldn't figure it out. Instead, a series of questions were intertwined in a complicated and strange way.
In the end, he still couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it and ordered someone to find out if any suspicious people approached the carriage between when Huangfu Mi took the wine pot back to the Hengwang Mansion and when the couple left together.
It was already getting dark, and the rain was still pouring down. Because it was Prime Minister Meng's birthday, the two of them had originally planned to spend the night at the Prime Minister's residence. After visiting Prime Minister Meng and confirming that his mood had improved, they returned to the room that had been prepared earlier.
Lying on the bed, both were preoccupied with their own thoughts, clearly troubled by the matter of Yue Ping. However, as the night deepened, the two embraced and soon fell asleep.
Meng Wan was awakened by a series of shouts. The screams of a woman were deafening and echoing in her ears, sounding somewhat eerie in the quiet and dark night.
She suddenly sat up in bed and asked Huanyan, who was keeping watch in the outer room, "What happened?"
The door was pushed open, and Huanyan cautiously entered. She curtsied through the curtain, then rose and said, "It seems to be coming from the back courtyard, saying something about a ghost. I don't know who's shouting. Miss and Master, please rest. I'll go out and take a look—"
Meng Wan nodded. At this moment, Huangfu Mi also opened his eyes, looking at Meng Wan with sleepy eyes, clearly somewhat displeased: "What's all this noise in the middle of the night!"
Meng Wan shook her head, thinking about what Huan Yan had said about the ghost, and lost her sleepiness. She put on her clothes, got out of bed, and ignored Huangfu Mi's deep sleep behind her. She lifted the curtain and went out.
Outside, the lights were bright. When Meng Wan arrived, there were already quite a few people gathered there, seemingly watching a spectacle, whispering among themselves. When they saw Meng Wan, they were all taken aback, and then they all knelt down to pay their respects.
Meng Wan waved her hand, indicating that they didn't need to be so polite. Looking in the direction they had all been staring at, she raised her eyebrows: "What exactly is going on? Who's making such a racket in the middle of the night?"
"yes..."
A maid stepped forward, ready to answer, but suddenly the crowd parted to make way, and a woman dressed as a maid darted out, shouting as she ran, "Ghost! Ghost! Ghost!"
Her clothes were disheveled, her hair was loose, but she seemed to be possessed, completely unaware of it, just running for her life as if some terrifying thing was chasing her.
Everyone in the courtyard was startled. With her shouts, it was as if something terrifying was really around them, and everyone became apprehensive, with a chill creeping into the air.
Meng Wan frowned even more. Watching the maids running around in all directions, she gave a signal to the maids beside her. Several of the bolder ones went to chase after them. At this moment, Huan Yan had also run up to Meng Wan's side.
"Miss...Miss..." She was clearly out of breath from running, so Meng Wan patted her back to help her catch her breath. Once she was breathing normally, Meng Wan asked, "What happened? What ghost story?"
If she remembered correctly, the maidservant just now served Meng Junyao in Yingyue Pavilion. After Meng Junyao left the mansion, she was in charge of managing Yingyue Pavilion. Why did she suddenly go crazy like this?
After a moment of hesitation, Huanyan stepped forward: "According to the maids around, Cui'er suddenly shouted and rushed out of Yingyue Pavilion, insisting that she saw the Second Miss inside. She wouldn't listen to anyone stop her and ran for her life..."
Meng Junyao? It's her again?
Just then, someone grabbed Cui'er and brought her before Meng Wan. She was held captive there, but Cui'er still wouldn't stop, shouting, "Ghost! Ghost! Second Miss, don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"
Her desperate shouts sent chills down everyone's spines. Some of the more timid girls didn't dare to watch anymore and huddled in the crowd, trembling all over. But Cui'er continued to shout without stopping, still muttering to herself.
Upon seeing this, Meng Wan's expression darkened further.
This can't go on; it'll only cause panic throughout the entire household. It would be better to take this girl away as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, she straightened up and said to the men who were binding Cui'er, "This girl has lost her mind and is talking nonsense. Quickly find a doctor to take a look at her."
After saying that, he turned to Huanyan and lowered his voice: "Take her to our courtyard first."
Huan Yan nodded in agreement, and the group quickly dragged Cui'er away. Meng Wan also chased away the onlookers. Once everyone was out of sight, Meng Wan turned to Huan Yan and gave her a wink. Huan Yan understood, and the two of them walked together in the direction where Cui'er had rushed out.
Yingyue Pavilion has been vacant since Meng Junyao left, with only a few maids and servants left to clean it.
When Meng Wan and Huan Yan arrived, the few people who were there had all disappeared, clearly too frightened to linger. Meng Wan didn't mind; the absence of others allowed her to come and go as she pleased, so she led Huan Yan inside.
The room was furnished as before, and everything was clean and tidy. The two of them walked around the room, but they couldn't see anything that looked like it had been haunted. Meng Wan frowned and asked, "Did you ask what happened earlier?"
"According to the maid in the same room, Cui'er was on night duty tonight. While she was dozing off in the outer room, she suddenly shouted. Since she was alone, no one knows the specifics."
Meng Wan nodded, then looked around the inner room again, and indeed couldn't see anything unusual, before leaving with Huan Yan.
Since there's nothing strange about it, there are only two possibilities: either Cui'er is mistaken and scaring herself, or someone is playing tricks.
Thinking this, Huan Yan beside her suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a tassel hanging by the door, and asked, "Miss... what's that?"
I clearly didn't see this object when I came in, so how did it end up blocking my way in the blink of an eye?
Just then, the light inside the room flickered, and the already dim room suddenly became somewhat eerie, with a heavy atmosphere. Huan Yan, who was always timid, couldn't help but feel scared at this moment, clutching Meng Wan's clothes and trembling all over.
Meng Wan raised her eyebrows, patted Huan Yan's hand, then grasped her wrist and slowly stepped forward.
She didn't know if ghosts existed in this world, but she was sure she hadn't done anything wrong, so even if a ghost knocked on her door, she wouldn't be afraid. Therefore, she stepped forward without fear, wanting to see what was suddenly appearing!
When they got close enough to see it by the light, they were completely stunned.