Jiang Zhao nodded slightly.
While Jiang Lanzhi was sizing her up, she was also sizing him up.
Her second elder brother looked quite good - looking.
He had a clear and upright face, a straight and rounded nose, and full and prominent temples, indicating that he was intelligent and talented.
However, although his temples were full, his forehead was a bit low and narrow, somewhat similar to their father, the Marquis of Ningyuan... Well, to put it simply, he was overly obsessed with power and status, cold - hearted, and a man of many schemes.
He might even end up in prison because of this.
Jiang Zhao lowered her eyelashes. She knew her second elder brother's personality.
He was too convinced of the teachings of sages, laws, and principles, and didn't believe in ghosts, gods, or physiognomy.
One could say that he was the most reasonable person in the mansion.
It was a pity that he just didn't believe in the supernatural.
Well, everyone had their own fates, and it was no use forcing things. She didn't want to cause trouble for herself just after returning to the mansion.
Jiang Zhao withdrew her gaze and bowed slightly. "Thank you, second elder brother."
Jiang Lanzhi was a bit surprised to see that she remained calm in the face of favor or disgrace, but he was quite satisfied with this younger sister in his heart.
She didn't seem to be the trouble - making child his mother had described. As long as she stayed out of trouble and didn't do anything self - defeating, he would surely treat her well.
Jiang Lanzhi glanced at the inner room. Seeing that there wasn't even a bed for her to rest on, he instructed the young servant beside him, "Go to the warehouse and get some daily necessities. Pick out the good ones."
"Also, tell the steward to find some rough - working maids and servants. Tomorrow, they will thoroughly clean this courtyard."
Jiang Zhao said, "By the way, I'd like to trouble second elder brother with something."
"There's no need to be so polite between us siblings. Just say it."
"I wonder if second elder brother could ask the steward to raise the ground level of this courtyard. The courtyard is in a low - lying area, and it has been raining a lot recently. I'm afraid it will flood."
Jiang Lanzhi thought it was something big at first, but he immediately agreed. "When the weather gets better, I'll ask the steward to send someone."
After giving his instructions, Jiang Lanzhi didn't stay any longer and left.
As soon as Jiang Lanzhi left, only Jiang Zhao and the two young maids were left in the room.
Peilan and Xiaoman nervously wrung their hands.
They were both quite young and newly arrived. They didn't know much about the affairs in the mansion.
At first, when they heard they were going to serve the eldest young lady, they were both anxious and excited, because it was always difficult to serve noble people.
They just didn't expect that the treatment of this legitimate eldest young lady was rather shabby...
Jiang Zhao glanced at the two of them. Xiaoman was obviously a simple - minded girl, while Peilan had a few tricks up her sleeve, but she didn't seem to be a bad person.
"There aren't many rules here. As long as you behave yourselves and do your jobs well, I won't treat you badly."
"But if you have any improper thoughts, I won't spare you."
Although she saw things clearly and had a lazy personality, she still had to set the necessary rules.
To prevent others from stepping on her in the future.
Hearing this, Peilan and Xiaoman quickly knelt on the ground. "We only recognize the eldest young lady as our master in this lifetime. We'll never have a second thought!"
Jiang Zhao waved her hand. "Get up."
"You can choose any of the other two rooms. Go."
"Yes."
Peilan and Xiaoman chose their rooms. They wanted to help the servant women, Li and Wang, clean up outside, but Jiang Zhao stopped them.
"You don't need to worry about outside. Just tidy up the things that have been brought."
...
That night.
The courtyard was completely silent. Only the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops could be heard.
Jiang Zhao and Peilan and Xiaoman had tidied up the room roughly during the day. She was tired by now.
So she went to bed early.
"Creak..." Suddenly, there was a noise outside. The sound was like something scraping against the wall and the tree trunk.
Jiang Zhao half - woke up, slowly opened her eyes, and sat up on the bed.
The noise stopped after Jiang Zhao got up. She looked out of the window by the moonlight, but saw nothing.
As long as it didn't cause trouble without showing itself, she could just pretend she didn't hear it.
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhao lay back on the bed.
But the sound rang out again after she lay down.
At first, she could bear it, but as the sound got louder and louder, it seemed to be lingering in her ear.
Jiang Zhao suddenly opened her eyes. Those who disturbed others' sleep deserved to die!
Jiang Zhao casually threw on her clothes, pushed open the door, and walked into the courtyard.
The rain had stopped. The weeds had been cleared by the two servant women during the day, and it looked much more pleasant.
Surprisingly, the teeth - grating sound stopped abruptly the moment she came out.
Jiang Zhao's gaze fell on the old locust tree. Under the pale moonlight, the shadow of the locust tree was stretched very long.
It sprawled on the ground like a monster, looking extremely eerie.
Jiang Zhao's black pupils were especially bright in the darkness. She sneered and stepped towards the locust tree. "Is that all you've got?"
Although she still hadn't seen the ghost, she could tell that there was something there based on the evil qi emanating from the locust tree.
Before she could get close to the locust tree, a wave of evil qi rushed straight towards her face.
Jiang Zhao frowned slightly and didn't move. She just stood there.
It wasn't because she was confident, but because the speed was too fast for her to dodge.
"Giggle..." As a soft laugh sounded, a cold wind blew from behind Jiang Zhao.
A red figure appeared in time to block this fatal blow for her.
Then, Jiang Zhao felt a cold chill on her fingertips. A blurry, delicate hand slipped into her fingers.
Their fingers intertwined.
In the moonlight, the red figure slowly emerged and clung to her back. Its cheek gently nestled in the crook of her neck.
A girl in a plain white dress, beautiful as a demon and yet also like a sorrowful bodhisattva, held hands with a faceless red - dressed ghost. Their hair was intertwined.
This scene looked extremely strange.
Jiang Zhao squinted her eyes. Her expression was calm, as if she had long expected the ghost to appear.
It was Qiniang.
She tilted her head slightly and whispered, "Thank you."
Qiniang let out two charming laughs and whispered in Jiang Zhao's ear, "Tsk, so you can also make mistakes. You almost got attacked by an insignificant ghost."
The old locust tree was inherently yin, which had covered up that evil qi. That was why Jiang Zhao hadn't noticed the existence of the vengeful spirit.
As soon as Qiniang finished speaking, Jiang Zhao stared fixedly at the locust tree.
A woman was hanging on the locust tree, swaying from side to side in the wind.
The noose was around the vengeful spirit's neck. Her mouth was wide open as if trying to push out the tongue in her throat.
Her eye sockets were wide open, and her eyeballs were almost popping out. She looked extremely terrifying.
"Die... You all have to die!" The vengeful spirit's voice was sinister, and the evil qi around her increased greatly.
Jiang Zhao wasn't unreasonable. As long as the vengeful spirits and evil ghosts could reason, she was willing to give them a chance.
"Why did you hang yourself here? If you have grievances, you can tell them. There will surely be someone to uphold justice for you."
Hearing this, the vengeful spirit was stunned. Her protruding eyeballs stared fixedly at Jiang Zhao, as if hearing the biggest joke in the world. "Justice?"
"Hahaha! If there really was justice, how could I have ended up like this!"