In early spring, willows sprouted green.
Travelers filled the roads.
Shortly after the distraught young man set off, the Gu family carriages also made their way one after another to the river port.
The carriages jolted, and cold seeped through the cracks.
The young woman sitting inside had dark circles under her eyes and looked very tired.
"Miss, what's wrong?"
Wan Niang glanced at the carefree Bao Niang and sighed.
She had hardly slept last night.
Everything was packed, and she had already informed her family. She repeatedly thought over whether she had missed anything, and before she knew it, it was midnight.
A wind rose outside. Her eyelids drooped, and a sudden chill crept over her.
Following the direction where the candle flame leaned, the young woman looked at the rear window.
The place that should have been locked at night was actually wide open!
She hurried to close the window.
The wind kept battering the window, the wood nearly unable to withstand its force, making her heart pound as if it would jump out of her chest.
Wan Niang was baffled. She turned to call for Bao Niang. But after calling several times, there was no response from outside.
Frowning, Wan Niang draped her robe and went out to check.
She thought the maids were slacking off, but when she opened the door, the corridor was empty. It would have been fine if it were pitch black, but the red lanterns hung at the wedding were still there, now emitting a faint, eerie red light that reflected on the windowpanes, blurry and strangely ominous.
Wan Niang instinctively felt something was wrong and wanted to find someone.
She mustered her courage and then cautiously walked toward the stairwell.
The only sound around was her footsteps.
Dong, dong, dong—
Her slender figure was soon swallowed by the red light. Staring at the dark opening downstairs, she wanted nothing more than to turn and run back.
She had lived here for months, so why had the building become so terrifying today?
Suddenly she remembered the coffin placed in the back and silently cursed Gu Lang twice.
It must be her aunt who had come.
When she finally got downstairs, she saw that the polished stone floor was wet.
It was like the weather had turned damp.
Wan Niang continued searching for Gu Lang.
Outside, it began to drip, and in an instant, a downpour fell, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Wan Niang became even more convinced that her aunt was angry.
She bowed to the surroundings pleadingly.
When she looked up again, there was a vague figure behind a door.
She approached, knelt, and begged, "Please, Aunt, be magnanimous and don't hold it against Gu Lang. He must have been confused to do such an absurd thing."
A string of laughter squeezed out from behind the door, startling her so that she fell back.
Wan Niang held back her tears, her fingers trembling as they touched the door panel.
She must not have been sincere enough; only by apologizing in person would her aunt forgive him.
So she pushed the door open.
Inside the door was like another world.
White scrolls hung from the beams and railings, pages whirling like butterflies. The elegant ink rose like mountains, hiding the people and objects within. Only by constantly climbing over those mountains could she glimpse a few figures.
"Gu Lang?"
In the flickering lightning, Wan Niang accidentally knocked over an inkstone. Things on the table clattered to the floor. In a panic, she picked up the writing brush, ink stick, paper, and inkstone.
A damp sheet of paper was illuminated by lightning for a moment, and she saw her own image.
Gu Lang had actually painted a portrait of her.
Wan Niang stood there, her brows relaxing, her fear slightly abated. She continued deeper inside.
The floor was a mess. After a few steps, she nearly tripped over a piece of cloth.
She picked it up to look... it was a woman's skirt.
A crimson pleated skirt with golden flowers and scattered gold thread, damp in her hands.
Suspicion arose in her heart. The deeper she went, the more something felt wrong.
From the innermost part came faint, shameful sounds.
She recognized Gu Lang's voice, and as for the woman—