Hearing this, Zhuque looked hesitant. After much hesitation, she finally said, "I've inquired. It's said that when the young master of the Jiang family was brought back, he was already dead. The prince was furious and wanted to execute Xiao You, but the emperor intervened and decided to discuss the matter later."
Dead. A pang of unease shot through Cheng Xiran's heart. The little boy's heroic appearance filled her mind. He had turned back to save her so that she wouldn't be bullied. In the end, he died because of her.
Cheng Xiran's mind was in a complete mess. Lying on the couch in a daze, she was already unconscious from illness by the time Zuo Yan brought the doctor.
She had originally planned to stay in the prince's mansion for just one night, but due to her illness, she ended up staying for several days. He Lian Duo invited a court physician from the Imperial Medical Academy for her, prescribed several doses of medicine, and had her well taken care of, so she was out of danger.
At night, it started to pour heavily. Loud thunderclaps rolled across the roof.
Cheng Xiran had gone to bed early after taking the medicine. Awakened by the thunder, she reluctantly opened her eyes. Seeing nothing, she dozed off again. From time to time, meows sounded in her ears, just like a baby crying.
She couldn't fall asleep because of the noise. Drooping her eyelids, she called Zhuque over.
Zhuque, who was waiting in the room, quickly walked over upon hearing the sound. She reached out and felt Cheng Xiran's forehead, asking in a soft voice, "Are you feeling better, miss? Do you still feel uncomfortable?"
Cheng Xiran shook her head and said softly, "I'm fine. It's just that the noise outside is keeping me awake. Go and see what it is."
Zhuque answered and pushed open the window. Leaning out, she saw a brown - yellow cat lying under the eaves. "Miss, it's a cat. Maybe the rain outside is too heavy, so it's taking shelter here."
"Take it away. Its meowing makes me feel a bit uncomfortable." Cheng Xiran wrapped herself in the quilt and turned over.
Zhuque found an umbrella in the room and went out with it. Faintly, Cheng Xiran could hear Zhuque cooing at the cat, but the sound soon faded away.
Woken up in the middle of the night and still ill, Cheng Xiran suddenly started to have a headache. She shivered all over with cold and reached out to wrap all the quilts around herself.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from the window and extinguished the candle on the table. The room instantly turned pitch - black. Frightened, Cheng Xiran sat up abruptly and shouted, "Zhuque, are you back, Zhuque?"
The sound of raindrops hitting the ground echoed outside. Cheng Xiran threw off the quilt and got out of bed. She wanted to find Zhuque to light the candle. The darkness really made her uncomfortable.
Suddenly, a thunderbolt flashed. The deafening sound was like the sky collapsing. Startled, Cheng Xiran quickly ran back to the couch and hugged the quilt tightly for a sense of security.
The door creaked open.
In the dim and rainy night, a gray figure appeared at the door. It seemed to be drenched in the rain, and water was dripping from it.
"Who's there?" Cheng Xiran called out tentatively. "Who's standing at the door? Is it Zhuque?"
The figure just stood at the door without coming in. By the light of the thunder, Cheng Xiran vaguely saw that it seemed to be a little boy.
"Sister Cheng..." A weak voice came from the door.
All the hairs on Cheng Xiran's body stood on end. This voice was... "Jiang Yulang?" She slowly got out of the couch and stood still, asking in a trembling voice, "Jiang Yulang, is that you? Aren't you already... already dead?"
Only to hear the figure fluttering and the voice faint. "Sister Cheng... I'm so cold. I'm freezing all over. I'm really so cold that I feel like I'm going to die."
Cheng Xiran froze as if struck by lightning. She couldn't help but shiver all over. Jiang Yulang had appeared in this haunted mansion, saying that he was about to freeze to death.