Upon hearing this, Ouyang Yue raised her eyebrows slightly: "Call her over for lunch."
"Meiju?" Chuncao was clearly taken aback, but in the end she didn't ask any more questions. However, she was puzzled and slightly disapproving. Wasn't it a bit like inviting Meiju here at a time like this?
Mei Ju was taken aback when she heard Ouyang Yue's message. She frowned and thought for a moment, then changed into a light chrysanthemum-colored dress embroidered with proud plum blossoms, and wore a pair of gold and ruby plum blossom hairpins. She gracefully approached Ouyang Yue. Her figure was incredibly supple, and her appearance alluring. Being the daughter of an official, she naturally possessed a certain air of elegance. Even among the wealthy young ladies of the capital, she wouldn't be completely overshadowed. Such a woman was a rare beauty. However, Ouyang Yue found it intriguing. As far as she knew, the place called Xiuge, though it claimed to be a place where people only sold their art and not their bodies, was not an ordinary person. Whether in her past or present life, Ouyang Yue had encountered many extraordinary individuals. She knew very well that those who held high positions often knew many untold scandals. Those who claimed to only sell their art and not their bodies were merely using a facade. There had been rumors that outsiders were chaste and virtuous women, while in bed they were promiscuous and wanton—a description, to some extent, of their pretense.
Even if Mei Ju is truly still a virgin, Ouyang Yue doesn't think she's a particularly self-respecting woman. If Baili Chen's standards are really that low, she'll just pack up and leave immediately.
Meiju appeared with a beaming smile, and upon seeing Ouyang Yue, she immediately kowtowed and bowed, saying, "This humble concubine greets Your Highness."
Ouyang Yue lowered her head slightly, looking at Mei Ju's black head. Her submissive appearance made her seem obedient and sensible: "From now on, you don't need to refer to yourself. After all, the prince has not yet returned, so you can't be considered a person of this prince's mansion."
Upon hearing this, Meiju's body trembled violently, and she swayed sadly as if about to collapse. When she raised her head again, tears were welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall but making her even more pitiful, yet stubbornly endearing. What a lovely sight! Ouyang Yue gently stroked the white jade bracelet on her left wrist, her smile becoming even more amiable: "What's wrong with Miss Meiju? Why does she look like she's about to cry? She looks so pitiful. It's a pity there are no outsiders or male guests in the room right now, otherwise, Miss Meiju would surely have bewitched me."
Meiju was taken aback, but a hint of anger flashed in her eyes: "Your Highness, although I am of lowly status, I have my own pride. I would never do such a thing as seducing others and betraying Your Highness."
"Oh, so you're still the same loyal person. The Prince has truly found a treasure. The person he brought out from that Xiuge Pavilion is so proud. No wonder the Prince is so infatuated with you. Even when he went missing, he still remembered to send you back first. This affection is something even I, the Princess Consort, greatly admire." Ouyang Yue spoke calmly, making it impossible to tell whether she was being sarcastic or genuine.
A moment of deep thought flashed across Meiju's face, but she quickly recovered, kneeling on the ground and saying, "Your Highness is magnanimous and kind, and possesses both beauty and noble status. His Highness also deeply respects and loves you. His Highness's greatest wish is for me to learn more from Your Highness. In His Highness's heart, Your Highness is irreplaceable." At that moment, an expression of admiration and adoration also flashed across Meiju's face.
A hint of mockery flashed in Ouyang Yue's eyes, but she smiled and said, "Your Highness is very thoughtful, but it's a pity that you haven't returned yet. Does Miss Meiju know Your Highness's whereabouts?"
Mei Ju's eyes welled with tears, and she shook her head repeatedly, looking as if she was too heartbroken to even cry. Ouyang Yue questioned her for a while, but couldn't get any useful information out of her, so she had Mei Ju taken away. Turning to Dong Xue, she said, "She doesn't need too many people around her, but those already there should be more vigilant. We might be able to find the Prince's whereabouts from her." Ouyang Yue had this feeling; Mei Ju's arrival was too coincidental. However, this woman was also very cunning, and according to Ouyang Yue's calculations, this woman had a considerable force behind her. She had many ways to kill Mei Ju, but that wouldn't solve anything. On the other hand, she had a way to gradually break Mei Ju down.
Ouyang Yue tapped the chair arm lightly with her fingers, her eyes flickering slightly.
Mei Ju's expression flickered as she left the room. In the past, Ouyang Yue would always see her in the main hall. This time, although she seemed too lazy to pay attention to her, she was received in the master bedroom. Was this a test, or was she really not so averse to her anymore? Mei Ju carefully considered the furnishings and layout of Ouyang Yue's room, and her mind was already filled with other thoughts.
That night, the night was quiet, the stars twinkled in the sky, and the trees and flowers were rustling in the wind, like a beautiful and soothing lullaby in the night.
Meiju's courtyard was in the center of the backyard. The front courtyard belonged to the main and secondary princesses, so she was not entitled to it. Since there were no extra women in the mansion and no one had ever lived in the back, Meiju had no choice but to live in the center. However, the front and back rooms were empty, and she did not bring any people with her. Only two maids assigned by the Prince Chen's mansion accompanied her. There were only the three of them in this huge place, and it was still a bit too empty at night.
Meiju, as usual, went to bed early to rest. The two maids in the room also left, one leaving and the other lying down in the outer room to keep watch, and then the two took turns.
With a "whoosh!", Meiju, lying on the bed, suddenly felt a strong wind blow across her face, bringing a deep chill. Half-asleep, she was startled awake by the cold. She abruptly opened her eyes, looking around and wondering where the chill was coming from. Suddenly, she saw a dark figure at the window. Moonlight streamed through the window frame, creating a hazy, shimmering glow. Through that light, Meiju suddenly saw a dark figure standing indistinctly beneath the window. The shadow seemed to float and flicker, making it difficult to see clearly, yet it was unmistakably a person there—a very eerie sight.
Meiju sat up abruptly, and at the same time she felt a chill run through her body. A strong sense of tension choked her: "Who are you? Turn around!"
The dark shadow flickered and seemed about to disappear. Hearing Meiju's voice, it slowly turned around. Meiju finally saw the person's face, but before she could ask any questions, her face contorted with extreme terror as she screamed, "Ah! A ghost!"
"Thump!" Mei Ju twisted her body in terror, lost her balance, and rolled off the bed.
"Bang!" A maid who was sleeping in the outer room rushed in and quickly helped Meiju up, asking anxiously, "Miss Meiju, what's wrong?"
"There...there's a ghost there!" Meiju pointed tremblingly to the window. The maid looked in that direction, then widened her eyes and stammered, "Mei...Meiju...Miss, are you telling the truth...?"
“There he is, there he is! He’s all black, but his face is blank. He’s a faceless ghost! He’s right there!” Meiju screamed, trembling, pointing towards the window.
Ghostly figures flickered there, appearing and disappearing intermittently, sending chills down anyone's spine. The maid's hand, which was stroking Meiju, trembled violently, her face filled with terror: "I...this servant...didn't see anything...ghosts...ghosts..."
The maid's behavior was far from fake. She trembled as she looked straight at the window, seemingly seeing nothing. Her grip on Meiju's hand tightened with fear, and soon Meiju was sweating profusely from the pain. Yet, she seemed oblivious to everything, stammering, "You didn't see him?! He... he's right there!"
The hand, trembling like a chicken claw, extended a finger pointing towards the window.
"Whoosh..."
"hehe……"
A chilling sound echoed through the room as the faceless, dark figure kept flashing towards Meiju. Meiju's eyes widened in terror: "There...it's right there...!"
The maid's reaction was even stronger than Meiju's; she trembled and cried out anxiously, "A ghost? A ghost? It really is a ghost?!"
“There…” Meiju screamed anxiously, grabbing the maid’s hand tightly as if afraid she couldn’t see it, and pointed forward hastily. The maid was so frightened that she trembled more violently than a sieve.
"Hiss... Ugh!" The maid gasped, rolled her eyes, and collapsed to the ground with a thud, fainting from fright.
Meiju was now increasingly terrified. She could see a headless ghost floating by the window, but the maid beside her couldn't see it. Instead, she was so frightened by Meiju's words that she fainted. Meiju's fear was even stronger than before. Just then, she clearly saw the headless ghost's shadow flying rapidly towards her. Its entire body rushed towards her at high speed. Meiju screamed in terror and swung her hand out, instinctively trying to resist out of fear. However, she only grasped air, which passed through her without any resistance. Meiju's hand trembled, and her whole body fell backward in fright.
With a loud "bang!", Meiju fell to the ground, her head hitting the ground. She screamed in pain and then fainted.
The night was clear and the stars were few. It was a sleepless night. A few rays of moonlight shone through the window and into the room. Two people could be vaguely seen lying on the ground, fast asleep.
"Ugh... Ouch, that hurts." Meiju grimaced, rubbing her head which was still throbbing with pain, and slowly woke up. She was groggy for a moment, not quite sure what she was doing. After staring at the rafters for a while, she suddenly screamed, "Ah, a ghost!"
"Bang!" The door to the inner room was pushed open, and a flustered figure rushed in. It was another maid of Meiju. She asked anxiously, "Miss Meiju, what's wrong?" The person's face showed some panic due to excessive fright, but she was stunned when she saw the person on the ground.
"Miss Meiju, why are you lying on the ground? What happened?" The maid said to herself, "When I came to relieve you, I didn't see Daya outside. I thought she was slacking off. That wretched girl is really troublesome. She doesn't even know how to take care of Miss Meiju. Not only did she let Miss Meiju lie on the ground to rest, but she also slacked off and lay down. Although it's hot now, it's not good to sleep on the ground. It's cold on the ground at night. How can you sleep there? Miss Meiju, I'll help you up right away." The maid kept scolding Daya, as if she had just remembered that she should help Meiju up.
Meiju's whole body was limp. When the maid helped her to the bed, her heart was still pounding wildly. After the maid helped her sit on the bed, she reached out to call the maid called Daya, but Meiju grabbed her arm, which startled the maid. Meiju said urgently, "You... no... at night... a ghost!"
The maid was startled by Meiju's reaction and blinked, saying, "Miss Meiju, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare last night? It's all the fault of that maid for letting you sleep on the floor. Or are you feeling unwell? Hmm, your head doesn't feel hot. I'll inform the steward to find a doctor for you. It would be terrible if you caught a disease sleeping on the floor for just one night. I'll go get someone right away, Miss Meiju, don't worry."
Meiju listened with a look of horror. What was going on? Only she could see ghosts, while the maids couldn't see anything. Why was the ghost only targeting her?!
Mei Ju was filled with doubt and apprehension. Soon, the doctor was summoned. Mei Ju, being of such status, could not possibly have access to the imperial physician. She had instead spent some money to hire a resident doctor at a pharmacy. However, the doctors hired by the Prince Chen's residence were all quite renowned. After examining her pulse, the doctor found nothing seriously wrong, but Mei Ju's complexion remained poor. The maidservant kept urging the doctor to examine her thoroughly. The doctor examined her repeatedly and said that although the young lady's heart was beating a little fast, it was due to her excessive nervousness. Everything else was fine, and Mei Ju was in good health and did not need any medicine. Only then did the doctor take the money and leave.
However, a huge wave of emotions surged within Meiju's heart.
She had her suspicions: were the two maids beside her sent by Ouyang Yue? Were they lying? Even if they saw it, were they denying it? Or perhaps the ghost was something Ouyang Yue had deliberately created? She clearly felt that was the case, yet she was still terrified by what she had seen last night. She felt those scenes constantly materializing before her eyes and in her mind. The image of the faceless ghost rushing towards her was so vivid, making her heart leap into her throat at all times. Even a single word from one of the maids could startle her.
When night fell, Meiju stared wide-eyed at the window, and sure enough, the ghost didn't come.
Although Mei Ju's face was still pale with fright, a cold glint of mockery flashed in her eyes. This was indeed a trap deliberately set by that bitch Ouyang Yue to scare her. Was she trying to frighten her away or did she have some other purpose? Mei Ju sneered. No matter what, she was not stupid. To think that she could scare her with such behavior was simply wishful thinking and utterly foolish.
Just then, with a "whoosh," all the candlelight and other lights in the room went out in an instant. Mei Ju's cold expression suddenly froze, and her eyes widened. In that instant, a dark shadow suddenly flashed by the window, which had been empty, and with a "whoosh," it blocked half of the window. Mei Ju gasped, and before she could even recover her expression, she had already forcibly changed from disdain and sarcasm to terror. Her expression became even more bizarre and terrifying, showing a more ferocious and horrifying look.
"You...you shouldn't come looking for me..."
Hearing the sound, the dark shadow turned around, still a faceless ghost, and slowly floated towards her. Meiju trembled with fear, her face pale and bloodless in the flickering moonlight, not much better than the ghost's complexion.
The ghostly figure paid no heed to Meiju's words, only flashing and appearing in front of her, its entire face slowly pressing against hers. Imagine a ghost constantly approaching you; that face, devoid of color and features, is already terrifying, but now, as it slowly draws closer, every pore on your body opens up, and cold sweat pours down from head to toe. How terrifying that must have been!
At this moment, Meiju had already forgotten her suspicions about Ouyang Yue's scheme. She had already accepted her genuine fear, her mind went blank, and she was trembling uncontrollably as if in a spasm.
"Ah! Don't come any closer! Ah!" Meiju watched as that face suddenly accelerated and rushed towards her. Her whole body shuddered violently, and she fell backward with a thud, collapsing to the ground unconscious.
The next day, Meiju got up from the ground again. She was clearly not in good spirits. She seemed dazed and listless throughout the day, and couldn't muster any energy at all.
"Miss Meiju, what's wrong?" Daya asked softly, but Meiju seemed a little dazed.
The two maids exchanged a glance and said, "Let's go find the Princess and ask her how to handle this. It seems like Miss Meiju is being bewitched."
"Hmm, I think Meiju isn't acting quite right either. She kept talking about ghosts yesterday. I hope something bad has really happened to her."
"I...I was right there that day. Meiju kept pointing at the window and yelling about ghosts, but I didn't hear anything. It was terrifying! I ended up lying on the ground all day, and I haven't felt well for the past two days. It was really awful." Daya, who had fainted that day, was still feeling lingering fear. Her words also revealed a hint of resentment towards Meiju for causing her to be affected by her fright.
The two maids left after saying this, while Meiju's eyes darted around, and she frowned as she watched the two maids leave.
Although she was quite frightened, her fainting spells over the past two days were due to falling headfirst and being caught off guard. She was quite brave; although she was scared, she wasn't scared enough to faint. She pretended to be scared just to see if Ouyang Yue had really done this.
She entered the Prince Chen's mansion with her own purpose, and it was an absolutely confidential secret. After Baili Chen left the Xiuge Pavilion, she had never seen him a second time. The rumor that she was being kept by Baili Chen was obviously a deliberate illusion she created so that she could be brought into the capital and infiltrate the Prince Chen's mansion. Although she knew that Baili Chen would be held back until her plan succeeded, she hadn't thought about Baili Chen dying. However, it was undeniable that the rumor of Baili Chen's death was very beneficial to her. She didn't have to worry about her identity being exposed in a short time. Moreover, the way Baili Chen had insulted her back then had made the proud Meiju very angry. Baili Chen's death could be considered a relief to her anger.
When she entered the Prince Chen's mansion, she never expected that Ouyang Yue, a notoriously jealous woman, would accept her so easily, and even try every means to prove that she was an imposter and force her to leave the mansion. After the incident with the faceless ghost, she was almost certain that it was something Ouyang Yue did to scare her. However, her original confidence was shaken by the repeated threats, and she was no longer sure.
Instinctively, she felt that Ouyang Yue was responsible, but seeing those things still filled her with fear, and she even began to doubt the truth. Moreover, from the conversation between the two maids, she felt that they genuinely didn't know anything. Meiju thought that the two maids might be acting, but in her interactions with them over this period, she could tell that they were straightforward and naive. What she had initially believed without a doubt was beginning to waver as multiple suspicions arose.
Before long, the two maids returned. Looking at Meiju sitting blankly on the bed, they couldn't help but sigh slightly: "The princess doesn't believe in ghosts at all. It seems that Miss Meiju can only endure it for now."
Da Ya said, "There's nothing we can do. Even we haven't seen it. If we say more, the Princess will think we're spreading rumors and disturbing the peace of Prince Chen's mansion. We'll all be in trouble then. Mei Ju is really something. Maybe she's just pretending to be a ghost and scaring us."
“It doesn’t look like it to me. Miss Meiju was quite frightened,” another maid said more objectively.
Daya scoffed and said, "Who can say for sure? How can you know what she's thinking? I heard she comes from a place like that, so she can't be from a good family."
"Don't talk nonsense, Miss Meiju heard it."
"What are you listening to? Look at her, she's scared out of her wits. If I really said that and it made her feel better, that would be great. I'll just tell her I deliberately provoked her, that it was for her own good. Why can't I hear nice things?" Daya said dismissively, looking quite disgusted by Meiju's actions. She said with a hint of sarcasm, "I heard she comes from a prestigious family. To go to a place like that and be a lowly slut who's ridden by a thousand men and slept with by ten thousand men, and she's supposed to be from a good family? If word gets out that she comes from a prestigious family, it'll be a disgrace to her family. I also heard she's connected to our prince."
Such matters, once they came to the attention of the Prince Chen's residence, would naturally be investigated. Any other household would have done the same. It wasn't surprising that the Prince Chen's residence knew about the situation at Xiuge. However, Meiju felt a surge of resentment. She was pure and innocent; if it weren't for that incident, why would she have gone to Xiuge? How dare these lowly maids speak to her like that? But Meiju gritted her teeth, forcing back the words that were about to escape her lips. She didn't know if these people were saying these things to her face intentionally. In any case, she was pretending to be frightened by a ghost, and she couldn't be conscious, even if these people suspected her at the same time.
"I've heard about that too. It's said that Miss Meiju refused the Bai family's help because she had a strong sense of pride. She's survived until now entirely on her own, which is quite remarkable."
"Hehehe, pride? What pride? Shameless, inhuman slackers who sleep with men?" Daya's words were even more sarcastic. Meiju's forehead twitched visibly, but she still didn't say anything.
Another person exclaimed in shock, "Alright, stop talking! That's too harsh. Miss Meiju is an honest official!"
"What 'honest official'? Our prince is just inexperienced. You can't pretend to be honest. I heard it from Mama X and Mama XX in the kitchen. This Meiju is extremely shameless. The reason she became the top courtesan there is because she slept with every man she could find. Who knows how shameless she is in bed, seducing men. Our prince was just fooled by her for a while. Compared to our princess, she's inferior in every way. Humph, she deserves to be so scared now. She shamelessly came to beg for mercy without even knowing what kind of person she is. If the prince really takes her into his household, who knows how much people will laugh at him." The head maid said viciously.
Another maidservant was silent for a while before saying, "What you said isn't without reason. Our princess is outstanding in every way, and is a hundred times better than a woman of such humble origins. It's a pity that the prince was infatuated for a time, and now he has disappeared and there are even rumors of his death. If I were the princess, I would just beat this person to death. Why would I need to keep her here to cause trouble?"
"Ah, I heard that the Princess Consort did consider it, but she was concerned about her reputation. Besides, the rumors about the young prince were bad at the time, and the Princess Consort couldn't very well add to the trouble. That's why she spared her life. Now that the young prince's reputation has been restored, it wouldn't be good to kill her now, since she's already in the mansion. If something happens to her now, wouldn't it be the Princess Consort's fault?" Daya shook her head and said.
The maid paused and then said, "If this Miss Meiju becomes mentally unstable, are we going to have to stay here with her forever?"
"How could that be? I've already sent someone to talk to him. I don't want to spend my whole life with such a fool. I'm leaving tomorrow," Daya hurriedly said.
"I also need to find someone to smooth things over."
"Never mind her, let's go first. My mother knows the head of the kitchen, she's a favorite of the princess. Let's go talk to her and talk to her, then we won't have to stay here and suffer."
"I'll go and try to persuade them too..."
The two talked for a while and then left. Mei Ju's eyes shifted slightly, filled with a ferocious, piercing hatred. Her chest heaved with anger. The feeling of being right next to someone talking badly about her, yet having to pretend not to know, while actually feeling internally hurt, was terrible. Her heart was about to explode with hatred, but she was completely helpless.
After sitting for a while, Meiju finally recovered. Listening to the conversation between the two maids, she became increasingly uncertain. Were these two people really sent by Ouyang Yue? If so, their behavior was a bit excessive. Moreover, she had heard that Ouyang Yue didn't dare to openly deal with her, as she was concerned about her reputation. Because of Baili Su's bad reputation, she didn't dare to do anything unnecessary and let all her previous efforts go to waste. Therefore, it was unlikely that the maids would deliberately insult her in front of her; that would be mistreating her.
Meiju was uncertain and her mind became increasingly confused. The two maids never returned, which made her doubts weaker and her fears stronger. For five consecutive nights, the ghost would come out at the same time every day, and no one else could detect it. The ghost was clearly coming for her!
For five days, Mei Ju slept very poorly, constantly in a daze while lying in bed. One night, she was so frightened that she fell into a deep sleep. At the same time, light footsteps were heard in the room, and a woman dressed in white slowly walked in. She stood at the head of the bed and spoke in an extremely faint voice, as if it were drifting from the horizon: "Tell me, is Baili Chen really dead or not? What is your purpose in coming to the Prince Chen's mansion?"
Meiju was drowsy on the bed, but then she slowly began to move...
☆、278、Cruel Punishment of the Scumbag Woman (Erotic)
Meiju's eyes darted around, and her mouth opened slightly, but with great difficulty. She tried to speak several times but could not. She made a few gurgling sounds in her throat, and then her eyes returned to normal.
The person by the bed smiled faintly and said, "You've seen Baili Chen. Tell me, where is he?" The woman in white sat down by the bed and even reached out to gently stroke Meiju's face. Meiju felt the tenderness in that instant and unconsciously rubbed her cheek against it, as if with a hint of longing.
After a while, Meiju recovered, her breathing was a little heavy, and she muttered, "Hmph, Baili Chen is dead!"
The woman in white's expression immediately darkened: "Dead? Are you sure? You saw it with your own eyes?"
Meiju fell silent, her forehead furrowed, and she twisted and turned on the pillow: "Who knew that he was no good? He actually insulted me. It would be better if he died."
I haven't seen her since.
"Who asked you to do these things?" the woman in white continued to ask.
Meiju fell silent, her throat making a hoarse sound, but she couldn't make a sound even with her mouth open, appearing dazed. The woman in white stood up and looked at Meiju coldly: "Take her away."
As soon as the woman in white spoke, two men in black rushed into the room, grabbed Meiju, and lifted her up. Meiju made soft moaning sounds of discomfort, her eyes unable to open, and she appeared dazed.
A woman dressed in dark green walked in and asked, "Your Highness, what should we do with this woman?"