As Xiangye let out a scream, the other three little maidservants also started wailing. Even the rough - working maidservants peeping outside were frightened.
Was there really a ghost?
In her panic, Bailu forced herself to calm down. "Stop yelling," she said, swallowing hard. "There's absolutely no such thing. If there were dead people, how come no one has ever mentioned any ghost sightings over the years? She's just scaring us!"
After Bailu said this, Xiangye and the others stopped screaming. Their frightened and suspicious gazes darted back and forth between Bailu and Caiyu.
"Sister Bailu is so smart," Caiyu shrugged leisurely. "Just assume I'm scaring you. You can stay here in peace and see if you'll meet that... "
"Lady Lin the Fifth," Caiyu added, holding her packed things. Before leaving, she flashed them a strange smile and calmly turned away.
Zhuyue timidly looked at Bailu. "Sister Bailu, could what she said be true? I'm so scared!"
Huaping also chimed in. "Sister Bailu, how about we don't stay in this room? There are still many empty rooms in the back - row houses."
Xiangye said impatiently, "In my opinion, we shouldn't even stay in the back - row houses. Since there aren't many people in the Lianyin Pavilion anyway, how about we move to the side rooms? The side rooms are more spacious and brighter!"
"Shut up!" Bailu scolded sharply. "What nonsense are you talking about? As servants, we have no right to live in the side rooms. Don't think that just because the prince is lenient towards his servants, we can do whatever we want!"
"But it's better to believe in it than not to," Taoyao said, still in a state of shock. "Caiyu described it so vividly. It doesn't seem fake. What if... "
"There's no 'what if'!" Bailu interrupted her fiercely. "I don't believe a word she said. Ghost sightings? She must be lying to us! I'm going to stay here tonight. I'd like to see what this Lady Lin the Fifth looks like!"
Since Bailu insisted on staying, the four little maidservants naturally didn't dare to oppose.
Although Bailu spoke fiercely, she was still scared. She didn't dare to stay alone in this room, so she forced the other four to sleep on a makeshift bed in the room with her.
After packing her things, Caiyu chose another most secluded room to live in.
It was already nightfall, and the sky was getting dark. But since she had just woken up, she was full of energy.
She quietly opened the window and peeked at Bailu's room. The room was brightly lit, indicating that they were still frightened and had lit all the lamps in the room to boost their courage.
She sneered, opened the door, and started bustling around on the veranda.
It was dark now, and Caiyu had just told a ghost story, scaring everyone into their rooms. No one dared to go out.
No one knew what Caiyu was up to. They only saw her busy for over an hour. When the moon was high in the sky, the Lianyin Pavilion was filled with the sounds of insects and birds, making it even more silent.
The candles in Bailu's room were almost burned out, and no one bothered to relight them. Caiyu knew that those people couldn't hold on anymore and had fallen asleep.
She went back to her room, rummaged through her bag, and took out a bronze mirror, rouge, and lead powder. Then she started putting on makeup in front of the creaking dressing table.
She applied lead powder and rouge.
Layer after layer of snow - white lead powder was patted on her cheeks. She was beautiful, and a light application would make her look breathtaking. However, a thick layer of lead powder made her look terrifying, covering her original beauty and making her face deathly pale.
She painted her face in a reddish - brown ochre color, which was extremely strange.
This was a makeup style that had been abandoned for two or three hundred years. If she hadn't been carefully taught various makeup methods by the madam, she wouldn't have known that the aesthetics of the ancestors were so peculiar.
Looking at the ghost - like woman in the bronze mirror, Caiyu showed a malicious smile on her face. She was happy and couldn't help singing softly while drawing her eyebrows.
"The autumn colors merge with the rippling waves, and the cold mist on the waves is green. The mountains reflect the setting sun, and the sky meets the water. The fragrant grass is heartless, stretching even further beyond the setting sun... "
Her eyebrows were drawn like the claws of a mountain beast, slanting into her temples. The flower ornaments on her forehead were like the flowers of the underworld, and the beauty marks on both sides of her lips seemed to be smiling even when she wasn't.
The faint singing sound came from the most secluded part of the back - row houses, flew into the sky, and then slowly crept into the ears of the five people who had just fallen asleep.
"What... what sound?" Xiangye was the first to wake up from her dream. She shook the other three vigorously.
Taoyao and the others also sat up in shock. They covered their ears in terror and looked around at the beams above.
"My soul is sad in a foreign land, yearning for home. Every night, only a good dream can comfort me... "
Caiyu painted the slanting red on her face, applied black paste, put on a white silk veil, and carried a dim lantern. Then she left the room and came to Bailu's room.
The singing got closer. Bailu let out a scream and woke up from her dream. She saw the long, slanting shadow projected on the window lattice.
The wind blew outside, and the shadows of the hair fluttered like ghosts in front of the oil - paper window.
"Ghost!" The five of them huddled together and screamed. They trembled like quails. "There really is a ghost!"
"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knocking sound on the door. Caiyu pinched her throat and said softly, "Sisters... It's so cold outside. Can you let me in to warm up?"
"She wants to come in!" Without saying a word, Xiangye fainted and slumped to the ground.
Bailu's blood seemed to be flowing backwards. She trembled as she refused. "Sister Lin... You're magnanimous. Please don't bother us. We're new here and don't know any better. After tonight, we'll buy some paper money and burn it to pray for your soul. Please... "
"No," Caiyu said impatiently. She was wearing thin clothes, and it was really a bit cold outside on this autumn night. "I don't lack silver. I lack company. Open the door quickly, or I'll come in myself."
Bailu panicked and shouted, "Sister Lin! Why don't you go to the other side? There's a Caiyu living in the corner. Didn't you go to play with her every day a few days ago? Go find her. She's waiting for you!"
Caiyu sneered.
Even in such a state of terror, they still tried to drag her into this!
Since that was the case, don't blame her for being ruthless!
She carried the lantern and walked around to the window. The window was pasted with oil paper. Caiyu wore long, thin false nails and easily poked a hole in the window.
Ten long nails painted with bright red nail polish reached in through the window, looking like the chaotic and terrifying shadows of trees in the cold moonlight.
"Aah!"
Everyone screamed again. Zhuyue was the first to run towards the door. Tears streamed down her face as she shouted, "I won't stay here anymore! I'll give the room to you. Please don't come after me!"
She fumbled to unlock the bolt, and Bailu and the others also rushed over.
The door swung open, and they came face - to - face with Caiyu.
The moonlight shone through the pale clouds, casting a strange shadow. The "ghost woman" in front of them had empty and cold eyes, like an abyss of endless darkness. A trickle of bright red blood flowed from the corner of her black lips.
When Bailu and the others met her gaze, a chill ran down their spines. The fear of a ghost's arrival enveloped their hearts.
Everyone let out a deafening scream and stumbled towards the veranda.
Caiyu stood behind them and said softly, "Don't run so fast... There's danger there... "
Before her voice faded, Bailu and the others tripped over a trap.
A bucket of cold, dirty water poured down on them, drenching them to the bone!
Bailu and the others stood there like wooden chickens. Then the pungent stench hit their noses, dispelling their fear.
Everyone finally came to their senses and let out another round of screams.
Caiyu stood in the distance, laughing uncontrollably.
Suddenly, a tall and slender figure appeared in front of the decorated gate. The man's voice was deep and tinged with mild anger.
"What are you doing?"