ebookland Chapter 357: The Protectorate General's Mansion
Chapter 357: The Protectorate General's Mansion
Murong Ling'er felt her head buzzing as she listened to the Golden Eagle King and the Snake Demon arguing with each other!
She waved her hands in annoyance and simply ignored the two jokers, letting them quarrel until they were red in the face and unable to stop. She turned and walked towards the house behind her that was dim in the night.
Twenty years ago, after the shocking family massacre, the General Protector's Mansion was ruthlessly crushed by the wheels of history and has since become a dead place.
Looking from the outside, most of the mansion's walls had already collapsed, revealing jagged broken walls. The tops of the walls were overgrown with weeds, shivering in the north wind.
The vermilion gate has become rotten, and the peeling paint is like withered leaves, telling the story of the past rise and fall, glory and disgrace.
Murong Ling'er stood at the gate, staring quietly at the cracked plaque that had fallen to the ground.
Twenty years of wind and rain have made the five words "General's Mansion of Protector of the Country" blurred and only some vague outlines can be seen.
She stood there for a long time, her thoughts drifting back to that turbulent yet tragic period.
This former mansion was so magnificent, with flying eaves, brackets, carved beams and painted buildings, every detail shows dignity and glory.
But now, the building is empty, things have changed, and everything has become a bubble.
She couldn't help but wonder why Emperor Zhao had allowed the mansion to fall into disrepair instead of giving it to someone else. What secrets were hidden in this?
Murong Ling'er did not reach out to touch the plaque, but jumped lightly and climbed over the wall to enter the mansion.
As soon as she landed, a strong smell of rotten wood hit her in the face. She walked forward cautiously, raising a cloud of dust with every step. The dilapidated house was pitch black. The north wind blew in, rustling the window paper, as if countless wronged souls were crying.
There was a gloomy atmosphere all around, which made people shudder.
Murong Ling'er paced slowly, and the scene that Chu Lingfeng had described kept appearing in her mind: the wife of the national defense general, that tough and noble woman, after giving birth to a child, faced with the sad news that her husband died in the battlefield, she resolutely chose to hang herself in her room, to express her determination to die, and not want to be forced into a military prostitute.
Afterwards, those loyal maids and servants, either to follow the lady or to preserve their own innocence, also ended their lives in this house.
For a moment, the entire general's mansion was flooded with blood and the cries of grief were deafening.
Murong Ling'er was walking when she suddenly stopped.
She keenly noticed a faint breathing sound coming from a servant's room. The breathing was rapid and disordered, as if someone was struggling in extreme fear.
Murong Ling'er frowned slightly, a hint of curiosity arose in her heart. She turned around gently and walked towards the room.
"Have mercy... Please, don't kill me... We are really being wronged..." A little girl's voice came from inside the house, crying, full of despair and fear.
"Little sister... don't go... Second brother will come to save you soon..." Then, there was another cry of pain, as if fighting for something with the god of death.
Murong Ling'er paused, wondering what kind of pain and torture the person in this room had endured. Was he a survivor of the former general's mansion, or just a poor soul who had stumbled in by mistake?
As she approached the door, she heard a fierce struggle and painful groans from inside.
Murong Ling'er hesitated for a moment, but still gently pushed open the door.
The room was filled with a pungent musty smell. In the faint moonlight, she saw a ragged man huddled in a corner, his head in his hands, shaking constantly.
His face was full of fear and his eyes were empty, as if he was being chased by something terrible.
Murong Ling'er looked at the poor man in front of her and felt a surge of pity in her heart.
She realized that this man was just a beggar who was driven into desperation by life. Perhaps he chose this forgotten place because he had nowhere else to go.
Murong Ling'er sighed softly, turned and left the room. She decided not to disturb this poor man's life anymore.
After leaving the servants' room, Murong Ling'er continued walking towards the inner courtyard.
Relying on her vague memory, she finally found the main courtyard of the general's mansion. She pushed open the half-open door and a faint fragrance wafted towards her.
Murong Ling'er was slightly startled and looked up. She saw a ginkgo tree standing quietly in the moonlight in the corner of the courtyard, its golden leaves swaying gently in the breeze, like golden butterflies dancing.
The ground was already covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, like a golden carpet covering the earth.
In this dilapidated and deserted courtyard, this ginkgo tree is particularly eye-catching, like a shining pearl.
Its existence seems to be a silent commemoration of past glory, and also like a ray of hope burning in the darkness.
Murong Ling'er slowly walked to the ginkgo tree, reached out and gently stroked the rough trunk, and a warm feeling surged in her heart.
She stood under the ginkgo tree for a long time before turning and walking into the room.
However, the scene before her disappointed her greatly. The room had been completely ransacked, leaving only four bare walls and a rag fluttering in the wind on the beam.
Murong Ling'er's heart tightened. She knew that this piece of cloth was most likely the one the general's wife used when she hanged herself.
Murong Ling'er slowly walked under the cloth, reached out and touched it gently, feeling a lot of emotions in her heart.
When I returned to my hometown twenty years later, everything had changed beyond recognition. The laughter and joy of the past had now turned into dead silence, and the former glory and wealth had now disappeared.
Murong Ling'er slowly closed her eyes and softly recited the Sutra of Rebirth. She hoped that through her recitation, she could bring a little comfort to the souls of those who died in vain.
Just as Murong Ling'er was immersed in chanting scriptures, a figure quietly appeared outside the main courtyard.
The man's steps were unsteady and he was staggering. From time to time, he made some unclear sounds. His eyes were blurry, sometimes clear and sometimes confused.
When he walked to the gate of the yard, he seemed to be attracted by something and suddenly stopped.
His gaze passed through the half-open courtyard door and fell on Murong Ling'er.
For a moment, a hint of confusion and bewilderment flashed in his eyes.
However, this state of clarity did not last long. Soon, his eyes became cloudy again. He mumbled something incomprehensible, turned around and staggered away.
Murong Ling'er noticed someone approaching, but she just raised her eyes slightly and continued to recite the Sutra of Rebirth.
She didn't care about the madman who suddenly appeared and left. In her opinion, he was just another lost soul in the mansion.
"Strange, who was that person just now? Why did he appear here?"
Murong Ling'er pondered secretly in her heart, but soon she focused her attention on chanting scriptures, hoping to bring final peace to the deceased souls in this mansion.