"No, no, no!"
Lord Lei quickly waved his hands. "Your Highness, you jest. How could we dare to act in such a manner?"
Mu Changxi nodded. "Have you arranged accommodations for us? The journey has been arduous, and I fear the Princess Consort must be exhausted."
In truth, Song Chaoyu had lived on the estate for such a long time; how could she truly feel tired?
"Oh dear, Your Highness truly dotes on the Princess Consort!"
Lord Lei, as if he had nothing else to say, told Mu Changxi, "The yamen is in disarray at the moment, so I have arranged for you all to stay at the best inn in Haizhou City. I beg Your Highness to grace us with your presence there."
An inn? Why not the yamen?
If Song Chaoyu were to believe there was no trickery in Haizhou City, she would be lying to herself.
Song Chaoyu looked at Mu Changxi, who also sneered, "Actually, there is a suitable place. Has Lord Gu's mansion not just been tidied up? I imagine it would be sufficient to house so many of us, wouldn't it?"
By rights, Lord Gu's mansion had been sealed, and no one else was permitted to enter.
But in Haizhou City, what "rights" were there to speak of now?
Lord Lei was stunned. He opened his mouth, wanting to refuse Mu Changxi, but the words of refusal would not come out.
He could only wipe the sweat from his brow and stammer for a long time, neither agreeing nor refusing.
"What? Is there something amiss?"
Mu Changxi looked at Lord Lei playfully. "Or perhaps, Lord Lei knows that there is still something in Lord Gu's mansion that cannot be seen by this Prince, something to be discovered?"
"No, no, no, Your Highness misunderstands."
Lord Lei quickly waved his hands to explain. "It's just that there is nothing left in that mansion now. I fear it would seem we have not taken good care of you. I thought the inn has everything, and it's also convenient to the yamen!"
"Heh—that is good then. Since there is nothing to fear, then this Prince and his party shall reside in Lord Gu's mansion."
Mu Changxi had no intention of heeding Lord Lei's words and simply instructed Ping Jiang to lead the way to Lord Gu's mansion.
Seeing that the situation had already gone beyond his control, Lord Lei could only let Mu Changxi have his way, daring not to say anything more.
Song Chaoyu walked ahead. Only when they reached the entrance of the Gu family mansion did she lower her head and whisper to Mu Changxi, "Just now, seeing how nervous Lord Lei was, I suspect there are secrets in the Gu family that we don't know about!"
Mu Changxi nodded. "We will find out once we investigate."
—
Their party entered the Gu family's grand residence. At first glance, the mansion did not seem to have anything amiss.
Except... the courtyard was excessively large.
According to regulations, Lord Gu was merely the prefect of Haizhou City and should not have resided in such a large courtyard.
This courtyard was about half the size of the Chang Prince's mansion. The Chang Prince's mansion was a residence personally bestowed by the Emperor out of affection for Mu Changxi, and it was considered one of the largest residences among the high officials in the capital! Therefore, the Gu family's courtyard, being nearly as large as half of the Chang Prince's mansion, was already a significant overstep of regulations.
Of course, it was not impossible that the Gu family was originally wealthy and this was their ancestral home.
Some local officials resided in their ancestral homes, which appeared extremely grand.
However, the Gu family's large courtyard looked as if it had just been newly renovated. It was likely that the landscaping alone would have incurred considerable expense.
Currently, most of the furnishings in the Gu family mansion had been "confiscated" by Ping Jiang.
The remaining items still allowed one to vaguely discern the former glory and splendor of the Gu family mansion.
But...
After entering the Gu family mansion, Song Chaoyu felt an indescribable sense of unease.
Moreover, a faint, unpleasant odor seemed to linger in her nostrils.
Seeing that everyone else appeared normal, she only asked Tiao Hong and Qiu Qing. Both of them said they didn't smell anything strange, but Song Chaoyu still harbored a doubt.
As evening approached, a wind once again blew through Haizhou City, and Song Chaoyu felt a chill all over.
Mu Changxi had confined himself to the study, discussing strategies with Xu Yuan and others, and also wanting to understand the current situation in Haizhou City.
He had let Song Chaoyu rest today, not "assigning" her any tasks. Song Chaoyu finally had a chance to rest, but for some reason, she felt uneasy.
Everything in Lord Gu's mansion was readily available, so Song Chaoyu did not have to worry too much.
After busying herself in Ping'an County for many days, sharing food and lodging with the disaster victims, Song Chaoyu had visibly lost some weight.
Tiao Hong had purchased some meat and grain at a high price from the market in Haizhou City, saying she would improve their meals today.
In fact, Lord Lei's mansion had also prepared food, but Mu Changxi had refused it.
Song Chaoyu also thought that it was a rare occasion for them to eat well, so she let Tiao Hong and Qiu Qing help in the kitchen.
For a moment, Song Chaoyu was left alone in the room.
She thought it would be good to rest for a while, but suddenly she felt as if a dark shadow had flashed past her window—
Song Chaoyu quickly stood up and walked towards the window.
A strong wind was howling outside, making the window rattle noisily.
She reached out and pulled the window, and thankfully, it was tightly shut.
But in the next moment, a dark shadow suddenly appeared outside the window!
It was a human figure, which startled Song Chaoyu.
She held onto the window tightly and sternly asked from the outside, "Who is it?!"
"Wuwuwu—"
It seemed to be a woman's figure, her hair blown about by the wind.
The sound from outside, like the wind, and like a cry, made the hairs on her back stand on end!
"Stop playing tricks!"
Song Chaoyu was not without fear, but she knew that in this world, there were no such things as wandering spirits. Moreover, she lived her life upright and proper, and she was not so afraid of the "thing" outside.
At the same time, she also reached out and gently placed her hand on the window latch.
But just as she was about to open the window, the dark shadow outside suddenly disappeared!
All that remained was the continuous sound of the wind, and the sound of Tiao Hong opening the door from behind: "Oh dear, Princess Consort, you shouldn't go out today. The wind outside is too strong!"
Seeing Song Chaoyu standing by the window, Tiao Hong was also puzzled. "I just told you, Princess Consort, please don't open the window. The wind outside is very strong!"
Song Chaoyu frowned slightly and then asked Tiao Hong, "You came from outside, did you see anyone?"
Tiao Hong shook her head in confusion. "People? What people? Are you referring to the guards outside?"