Chapter 46: Spine-Chilling

Tan Qingjiu remembered the words spoken to her by Nanny Li six years ago, when she had just arrived in this world. At that time, Tan Yunge was convinced she would not survive and ordered Nanny Li to take her to the mass grave and abandon her. On the way there, Nanny Li had confided in her.

She told her that Tan Qingjiu’s mother had died because Chen Yueru coveted the position of the official wife, hiring someone to defile Tan Qingjiu’s mother. After the incident, her mother, unwilling to leave Tan Qingjiu behind and fearing she would be bullied in her absence, chose to endure the humiliation and continue living. Unexpectedly, Chen Yueru had someone switch the contraceptive medicine, and as a result, Tan Qingjiu’s mother became pregnant after that ordeal. Tan Yun, under the pretense of maintaining family honor, disposed of her.

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Tan Qingjiu’s eyes. Even though she was not the real Tan Qingjiu, every time these memories surfaced, an uncontrollable surge of hatred welled up inside her. Chen Yueru was, in truth, the real culprit behind her mother’s death.

Tan Qingjiu thought back carefully. In her memories, it was often remarked that she resembled her late mother more and more as she grew older. For this very reason, when she had still lived in the Tan household, Chen Yueru had repeatedly found excuses to give her trouble.

She raised her hand to touch her own face. Did she really look alike? Perhaps that could be put to use.

She beckoned to Qingdai with her finger. “Come closer.”

Curious, Qingdai hurried over.

Tan Qingjiu whispered a few words in her ear. Qingdai’s eyes lit up instantly and she grinned. “Playing tricks on others is my specialty, miss. Just wait, I’ll get everything ready.”

Tan Qingjiu nodded. “Good.”

Returning to the Cloud Courtyard, she entered her room, where Zisu helped her take off her outer robe and remove the hairpins from her hair.

“Miss, shall we rest now?” Zisu asked.

Tan Qingjiu shook her head. “Not yet.”

She was waiting for Qingdai to return.

After about half an hour, Qingdai came back to the courtyard.

“The constables have finished examining the body and searched the area, but found nothing useful. Tan Yun, Chen Yueru, and the other concubines have all returned to their respective quarters and gone to bed,” Qingdai reported. “Everything you wanted is prepared.”

Tan Qingjiu’s lips curled into a smile. “Excellent.”

“Help me remove the human-skin mask from my face.”

Previously, Tan Qingjiu had specifically had a human-skin mask made to look exactly like her own face.

Qingdai quickly obeyed, removing the mask.

“You and I are about the same height. You wear the mask and pretend to be me. As for myself…” Tan Qingjiu’s lips twitched with amusement. Tonight, since everyone was still awake so late, she might as well put on a good show for them.

The lights in the various courtyards gradually dimmed. After the night’s commotion, everyone returned to their quarters and quickly settled down.

In the main quarters, Chen Yueru sat on the edge of her bed in a peach-pink inner robe, biting her lip in frustration. “I don’t know why, but I feel like Tan Qingjiu has returned with some plot in mind.”

“Perhaps Yunge was right before—maybe she really has come back for revenge,” she continued. “The more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel, as if something is about to happen.”

Nanny loosened Chen Yueru’s hair and, hearing this, replied in a low voice, “Then why not find some excuse to send her away?”

Chen Yueru bit her lip. “But the master still needs Tan Qingjiu to treat his illness. And besides, she’s changed so much. She’s not as easy to control as before.”

“There’s no need to worry, madam. Back when you hadn’t yet solidified your position, you still managed to keep Tan Qingjiu firmly in hand. Now, both inside and outside the household, who would dare disobey you?”

“If she insists on staying, we can’t act openly, but can’t we do something in secret?”

“There are a thousand ways to make her miserable.”

“You’re right,” Chen Yueru said, taking a deep breath. “If I can’t act openly, I’ll do it in the shadows. Using others to do my dirty work—I’m best at that.”

She waved her hand. “That’s enough, you may go. I’m tired. Tonight’s events were strange; we’ve been up half the night, and nothing came of it.”

Nanny replied, watching Chen Yueru lie down, then lowered the bed curtains, extinguished the lamp, and quietly withdrew.

Too much had happened today. Chen Yueru truly felt exhausted. She soon drifted into a light, half-waking sleep.

Yet in her drowsiness, she seemed to hear faint footsteps behind her sleeping chamber, accompanied by a child’s plaintive cry: “Mother, mother, where are you going?”

Chen Yueru jolted awake, but the sounds ceased at once.

Was it a dream?

She was still pondering this when the soft footsteps sounded again—someone stepping on the dry leaves in the bamboo grove behind her chamber.

“Mother, mother, where are you going? Are you leaving me behind again?”

Chen Yueru awoke with a start.

It was not a dream.

The footsteps and the quavering voice, calling for her mother again and again, were particularly eerie in the silence of the night. A chill crept up her spine.

Someone was out there?

Who?

Chen Yueru sat bolt upright, flung aside the bed curtains, and called out anxiously, “Nanny? Nanny!”

No answer.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to remain calm. “Is anyone there? Anyone?”

Still no reply.

She gripped the quilt tightly.

That couldn’t be right. Every night, someone was stationed in the adjacent side room. Just a thin wooden partition separated the room from her chamber—usually, at the faintest sound from her, someone would answer at once.

She had called out so loudly—why was there no response?

Even if those in the side room couldn’t hear her, the courtyard was guarded at night. Could it be that no one in the courtyard heard either?

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became, biting down hard as she called out a few more times.

No one answered.

It was then that the voice sounded again, but this time it came from the front of her chamber, not the back: “Mother, what are you doing here? Turn around and look at me. I am your daughter.”

Chen Yueru’s hair stood on end, cold sweat soaking her back. She froze, unable to turn around, terrified of what she might see.

Just then, with a creak, the window of her chamber slowly opened on its own…