Tang Ning was trembling all over as she cried, "It wasn't me... it wasn't me..."
"You're still trying to argue!"
Lu Zhinian rushed forward, grabbing the arm of the person on the bed and lifting the frail Song Tangning into the air.
"Laner defended you, but the people who serve her heard you curse her with their own ears. If you hadn't struck her, how could she have been injured like that? Song Tangning, look at your face—look at the wretched state you're in now. You don’t resemble what you once were at all. You make people sick!"
He threw the person on the bed violently to the floor, flipping the thick bedding off in the process. The twisted legs, the bony frame, and the foul stench that clung to Song Tangning's body made Lu Zhinian step back in disgust, pulling Song Zhulan aside as he retreated.
"You're vicious. You even tried to ruin Laner's face. Someone as evil as you should've died back at the mountain. You never should've been brought back!"
The room was unbearably dark, and Song Tangning lay on the ground, a mess of tears and misery. She desperately repeated, "It wasn’t me. I didn’t do it." But Lu Zhinian refused to listen, his heart full of revulsion.
He looked at the grotesque figure on the ground with disgust, covering his nose against the foul smell that permeated the air, all while holding the hand of the delicate woman beside him.
"There's no need to waste words with someone so wicked. Laner, let's go."
…
Shut up...
Shut up!
Lu Zhinian seemed trapped, forced to watch as the man in his vision showed affection to Song Zhulan while hurling insults at Tang Ning, who lay on the ground. He saw the despair in Tang Ning’s eyes as she looked up at them. Her once lively gaze grew dimmer by the second.
Stop it…
Stop it!!
He struggled with all his might but couldn’t move. He wanted to comfort Tang Ning but was stuck in place, as if trapped in a nightmare. His hands twitched uncontrollably.
"Lord…"
"My Lord!"
Song Mo hurried forward, frightened by the pained cries Lu Zhinian let out. He called his name twice but received no response.
In desperation, Song Mo pushed him hard, finally shaking Lu Zhinian out of the nightmarish vision. Gasping for breath, Lu Zhinian snapped awake, his body tense.
"My Lord, what's wrong?" Song Mo asked, deeply concerned.
But Lu Zhinian, drenched in sweat, could only breathe heavily, staring at the small, confined space around him. He realized this wasn’t Song Guogong’s mansion, not even close.
Song Tangning’s courtyard had always been the most precious in the Song family—its walls adorned with elaborate carvings, every detail meticulously crafted. Flowers and plants filled the veranda, and vines clung to the pavilion. Even a swing was tied to the garlanded trees. Tangning had always been pampered, unable to tolerate even a hint of dirt. She washed her hands constantly, her house always filled with incense, and her clothes and hairpins carried a light fragrance, pleasing to the senses.
But the place where Tangning had been just moments ago was covered in cobwebs, the walls peeling with faded paint, the bedframe broken and the door barely hanging on its hinges.
The courtyard was desolate, the veranda overrun with weeds. The support columns were riddled with rot, and a dead tree stood in the center of the yard, its bark pale and peeling, much like Tangning’s decaying body, left abandoned with festering sores.
Lu Zhinian’s face turned pale as paper, and his headache only worsened, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. He had no idea why he had seen such a vision. Tangning had returned, hadn’t she? She hadn’t turned into that wretched thing on the mountain. He’d always admired Song Zhulan but never crossed the line. He’d never treated Tangning with such cruelty.
But the Lu Zhinian in the vision had been cold and ruthless, calling “Laner” with sickening tenderness while showing only disdain and cruelty towards Tangning. He had lavished concern on Song Zhulan’s reddened hands but ignored the frail, injured Song Tangning entirely.
Lu Zhinian desperately wanted to believe it was all an illusion, a figment born of Tangning’s coldness toward him earlier. There was no way he could ever treat her like that. And there was no way she could ever become what he saw. But the increasingly severe pain in his head made him wish for unconsciousness, and the images he had just seen left him filled with dread at the thought of returning to Jiyun Alley.
Seeing his lord in such agony, drenched in sweat and groaning in pain, Song Mo panicked. "My Lord, maybe we should head back and have the physician take a look at you."
"Stop the carriage!" Lu Zhinian gritted his teeth, barely able to get the words out. When the carriage halted, he clutched his head and screamed, "Take me to Song Guogong’s mansion!"
"My Lord?" Song Mo was stunned. "The mansion has long since been seized. We can’t get in…"
"Go to the side door on Tongtai Alley," Lu Zhinian growled.
Song Mo remembered then—the mansion did have a hidden side entrance on Tongtai Alley, tucked away in Song Jinxi’s courtyard, known only to a select few. Lu Zhinian used it in the past when visiting the Song family’s eldest son, hoping to avoid gossip. But now the mansion was sealed and abandoned—what could they possibly do there?
Song Mo wanted to argue, but seeing his lord’s worsening condition, he quickly gave up. Supporting Lu Zhinian, he knocked hard on the side of the carriage, calling urgently to the driver.
"Change course to Song Guogong’s mansion. Take the path through Tongtai Alley and avoid attention."
…
Responding to the command, the carriage redirected toward the mansion. Upon reaching the hidden side door on Tongtai Alley, Song Mo helped Lu Zhinian down.
The door was nestled between two overlapping walls, hidden deep within a narrow alley. From the outside, it appeared to be just another passageway of the nearby houses, completely inconspicuous.
Finding no official seal on the door, Song Mo searched for the hidden latch they used before and unlocked it, allowing them to enter.
Song Guogong’s mansion, once the most prestigious of all, now stood desolate. The courtyard of Song Jinxi, the eldest son, had always been well-kept, but now it lay in darkness, eerily silent. The wind passed through, rattling the empty doorframes and causing them to creak.
Shivering, Song Mo pleaded, "My Lord, there's nothing left here. Let's leave."
But Lu Zhinian said nothing, continuing forward as though searching for something. Helpless, Song Mo followed, watching as Lu Zhinian strayed farther into the abandoned mansion, each step taking them deeper into desolation. The path beneath their feet grew more treacherous, scattered with stones and overgrown with weeds. It no longer resembled anything like the grand mansion it once was.
After narrowly avoiding a twisted ankle in a patch of bamboo, Song Mo caught sight of an old, run-down courtyard ahead. Shocked, he muttered, "My Lord, how could such a desolate place exist in the Song family’s estate?"
Lu Zhinian didn’t respond, dazed as he pushed open the dilapidated gate. The rusty hinges groaned as the gate swung open, revealing a twisted, half-dead tree in the courtyard, leaning just as it had in the nightmare.
Lu Zhinian froze, struck by horror, his face as pale as a ghost.
===========
Merry Christmas!!
You can read ahead to chapterr 200 here
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