TGCFNM -Chapter 388 It’s Raining

At the estate, people gradually took their leave. Soon, only the group that had come to fish remained.

From the moment they arrived, they had been fishing by the river. When the incident occurred, they followed along to watch the trial. After the case was settled, they returned to their own courtyard.

They planned to follow Chu Ling’s example—eat before leaving. After all, they had caught the fish themselves; it would be a waste not to eat them.

Once they had finished their meal, Chu Ling and the others prepared to head back.

Wan Sanjin carried a small jar in his arms. Inside were the little fish he had caught, along with quite a bit of water.

Chu Ling glanced at it. “The water’s too full. It’ll spill on the way. Pour some out.”

Wan Sanjin did as he was told, emptied some of the water, then hugged the jar again. “My lord, Qingyu and I will share a carriage.”

Chu Ling hummed in acknowledgment, waved her hand, and got into the carriage with the others.

Zhang Dong urged Zhuifeng forward at a steady pace, and the other scholars’ carriages began moving as well. From a distance, they looked like a small convoy traveling together.

But halfway along the road, it started to rain.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, as if the sky had been punctured with a hole. Bean-sized drops pelted the roof of the carriage with loud, crackling thuds.

Zhang Dong flipped out the rain shields along the eaves of the carriage, but it was still no match for the downpour. The road was slick in the rain, so they couldn’t move quickly either.

At that moment, Wan Sanjin shouted through the rain, “My lord! Qingyu says there’s an abandoned house nearby where we can rest for a while. Follow us!”

Chu Ling responded from her carriage and instructed Zhang Dong, “It’s fine to go slowly—just follow the carriage ahead.”

Zhang Dong answered and guided the horse after them. The other scholars gradually followed as well.

When they arrived, Fu Qingyu stood at the entrance to receive them, arranging everyone into the main hall. He had Qingtong light the brazier so the group could dry their clothes.

“This place looks like it hasn’t been lived in for a long time. And there’s still firewood?” Chu Ling’s sleeves were slightly damp, but she was otherwise fine, so she didn’t crowd into the main hall.

Fu Qingyu gave a soft hum. “Good luck, I suppose.”

Chu Ling nodded. “Indeed. If not for Young Master Fu, this entire group might have ended up buried in the water today.”

Fu Qingyu chuckled lightly and pointed to a side room. “My lord, you should rest over there. Sanjin went ahead—he’s guarding his little fish.”

Chu Ling scoffed. “Don’t be fooled by how attentive he is now. Once those little fish are brought back, it’ll be Steward Liu raising them.” Saying that, she went off with Su He and the others to find the room.

Fu Qingyu remained behind to arrange the scholars’ rest. The carriages were also pulled under the wide eaves, safely out of the rain.

Su He handed his outer robe to Zhang Dong, telling him to dry it.

Zhang Dong took it and went to the main hall, where the charcoal brazier was larger and would dry it faster.

Chu Ling sat by the small charcoal brazier in the side room, warming her hands. “This weather really is something—raining the moment it decides to. Maybe it really is a bad omen!”

“Bad omen?” Fu Qingyu asked as he entered, having caught that last sentence.

Wan Sanjin set down his jar of little fish and pulled Fu Qingyu over to sit. “Come warm yourself, warm yourself. Those scholars aren’t going to get lost—you didn’t need to arrange everything for them.”

Chu Ling laughed and pointed at the small jar. “Clerk Wan, if you don’t move those fish farther away, we might end up having fish soup before we set off.”

Wan Sanjin immediately picked up the jar and placed it on a nearby table, muttering, “Be good, little fish. Don’t listen to my lord’s nonsense—he’s gotten silly from being caught in the rain!”

Chu Ling put her hands on her hips. “You’re the silly one!”

“Who is it?”

“Who else? Of course it’s you, Wan—”

Chu Ling cut herself off abruptly as a woman stepped out from the inner room. The woman wore her hair in a simple bun, secured with a wooden hairpin. She looked plain and modest.

But her eyes were exceptionally beautiful.

“Your Excellency, what nonsense are you talking about?” Wan Sanjin set down the small jar and hurried back, stretching out his hands to warm them by the fire.

Chu Ling stared as Wan Sanjin brushed past the woman—yet he behaved as though he couldn’t see her at all.

Ghost Scholar pressed a hand on Chu Ling’s shoulder and crouched beside her, lowering his voice. “Something’s strange. Fu Qingyu said this place had long been abandoned, but when we came in, we found it spotless.”

Chu Ling felt stunned. She looked at the woman several times, and the woman looked back at her in puzzlement.

Meanwhile, Su He glanced at Chu Ling’s odd expression and asked, “Your Excellency, what are you looking at?”

“I’m looking at… this screen, hahaha, it’s really beautiful!” Chu Ling forced out a smile.

“Your Excellency, are you crying or laughing?” Wan Sanjin scrunched up his face. “You really do seem a bit foolish. Could the rain be poisonous?”

The woman stepped a few paces forward.

Chu Ling instinctively looked again. No visible wounds. Plain but neat clothing. She looked gentle, with no apparent malice.

“Are you… friends of An’er?” the woman asked softly.

Chu Ling didn’t know how to answer. After all, they had barged in without permission. And that An’er—he should still be alive, right? This place was probably kept clean by him. When he came back and found them here, would he chase them all out with a broom?

“Your Excellency, what’s wrong?” Even Fu Qingyu found her expression strange—within moments, her face had gone through countless changes.

“I—haha, that screen is really beautiful!” Chu Ling forced a smile again.

Xiao Hua blinked. “Your Excellency, you just said that.”

Suddenly, Wan Sanjin strode over and smacked Chu Ling hard on the back with a loud smack. “Yah! Evil spirit, begone! Leave our magistrate’s body!”

“Spirits of heaven and earth, Grandfather Heaven, show your power!”

Caught off guard, Chu Ling staggered forward. Before she could recover, the woman carefully supported her and helped her sit down. “Are you alright?”

Chu Ling shot to her feet at once. Forget whether An’er would beat them with a broom when he returned—right now, she was going to beat Wan Sanjin!

“Master Wan, you’ve got some nerve!”

Wan Sanjin quickly darted behind Fu Qingyu, yanking him up to shield himself. “Qingyu, our magistrate has gone mad!”

Chu Ling fumed. “You’re the evil spirit! You are! Wan Sanjin, get over here!”

“Hah, no way!” Wan Sanjin poked his head out to retort before ducking back behind Fu Qingyu.

Fu Qingyu, caught in the middle, could only block Chu Ling. “Your Excellency did look very strange just now. Sanjin was only worried—truly worried.”

Chu Ling’s eyes widened in anger. “He was taking the chance to cause trouble!”

“How could that be?” Wan Sanjin peeked out again, unable to suppress a grin. “I’m such an honest man.”

Chu Ling was practically steaming. Today she was definitely going to teach Wan Sanjin a lesson!

Seeing the chaos unfold, Ghost Scholar sighed helplessly. He stepped forward and bowed politely, attempting to steady the situation.

“Greetings. I am a ghost. May I ask… are you a ghost as well?”

The woman froze, then suddenly gasped and covered her mouth. Bloody tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

“Am I… dead?”