Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 769 Storms
After the lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, followed by the sound of cold raindrops.

The wind blew open the window, and the cold air, carrying raindrops, was blown into the room and into the dreams of the person on the bed.

A series of noisy sounds came from outside the door, finally waking the person on the bed. Xie Yuyan opened his eyes, picked up the oil lamp on the table, and immediately went to the window to check.

Many unfamiliar faces entered the courtyard at some point. They moved between the rooms, carrying books and other items they had found. Several servants knelt on the ground, trembling.

From a house not far away, faint screams could be heard, sending chills down one's spine.

Xie Yuyan instinctively reached for the door to leave, but at that moment someone rushed in in a panic.

"Second Mistress, something terrible has happened! The Old Madam has passed away."

Xie Yuyan's mind went blank, and then she heard her own bewildered voice: "How is that possible? Grandmother was perfectly fine just now."

The maid continued, "It's true, I saw it just now." By the end, she was choking up.

A wave of sadness and anxiety washed over Xie Yuyan in an instant. Without thinking of anything else, she immediately ran outside.

"Where is Grandma? What happened to Grandma?"

"Let me see my grandmother, I want to see my grandmother."

Her shrill voice echoed throughout the courtyard, as if trying to tear through the darkness and break free completely.

But instead of someone leading the way, several figures emerged from the darkness and blocked her path.

"What are you doing?"

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Xie Yuyan wanted to stop screaming and carefully consider the situation, but she found that her body was not under her control at all. Her mind was filled with endless sorrow and an unsettling emotion.

She wanted to see her grandmother.

All she wanted to see was her grandmother.

She was the most important person in her life; without her grandmother, nothing would have any meaning for her.

The crying grew louder as she desperately pushed at the people in front of her, trying to find a way out, but to no avail. She looked around frantically, calling out all the familiar names, hoping for their help, but no one appeared.

She was dragged into the house.

The moment she was locked in the room, she saw a familiar figure emerge from the darkness, but the dim light in the corridor made it difficult to illuminate his face.

But she already knew who he was.

……

"Ayan, Ayan".

Xie Yuyan vaguely heard a voice calling her.

Who is Ayan?

Just as she was feeling puzzled, a cat's meow suddenly brought her mind back to normal.

The fog and dreamscape before my eyes gradually dissipated.

Xie Yuyan also opened her eyes again and saw the people around her clearly.

“A-Yan”.

Zhang looked at Xie Yuyan anxiously, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Xie Yuyan had opened her eyes: "Were you just bewitched?"

Xie Yuyan nodded; now she could clearly tell that she had been dreaming.

Something fluffy brushed against her cheek. Xie Yuyan looked over and saw Yu Chen's big cat head. So the meow just now was from Yu Chen.

Unexpectedly, Yu Chen would help her completely escape that nightmare. Madam Zhang brought over hot tea and handed it to Xie Yuyan. Xie Yuyan took a sip and completely came back to her senses.

Yesterday, Xie Yuyan and Zhang talked in the house until very late. It happened to rain during the night, so Zhang simply rested in the house.

This morning, after Zhang got up, she was about to go out to arrange various matters when she heard a sobbing sound coming from the bed.

Zhang was startled and rushed forward to check. She saw Xie Yuyan with his eyes closed, his face full of grief, and tears streaming down his face.

That's why there were those anxious calls later on.

Sensing that Xie Yuyan had calmed down, Zhang asked, "What did you dream about just now?"

Xie Yuyan shook his head: "It must have been a nightmare, but I forgot about it as soon as I woke up."

“Since it was a nightmare, it’s best to forget it,” Zhang said with a smile, looking at the cat that Xie Yuyan was holding in his arms. “It really worried us a lot.”

"No wonder you like it. It's a smart thing. When it heard me call you, it came running over to help."

Xie Yuyan reached out and stroked Yu Chen's big head.

Zhang continued, “When you’re not home, it comes over at any time. We feed it dried meat and dried fish, but it sniffs them and refuses to eat. Qin’er wanted to keep it in the house, but it refused and ran out in the blink of an eye. But it will come back after a few days, sneaking into your room when we’re not looking and sleeping on your bed.”

After saying this, Zhang seemed to have thought of something: "Is it that the fairy's cat only likes clever and quick-witted people?"

Xie Yuyan was puzzled by this question: "Does Mother know the origin of this cat?"

Zhang said, "I heard it from Madam Lin. When Wang Langjun was a child, he got lost in the mountains and met a little girl who was holding this cat."

Zhang told Xie Yuyan everything that Madam Lin had mentioned about Wang Yan's encounter with the immortals.

"After Wang Langjun came out, he immediately led his family back into the forest to search for the girl trapped inside. However, after searching for many days, they could not find any trace of the girl."

"A perfectly healthy person just disappears all of a sudden. Isn't that strange?"

"Because of this incident, people spread the rumor that Wang Langjun had encountered an immortal."

Xie Yuyan's hand, which was on Yu Chen's back, had frozen in place at some point.

"Mother means," Xie Yuyan said, "that Yuchen is that little girl's?"

Madam Zhang nodded: "That's what Madam Lin said."

Fearing Xie Yuyan might misunderstand, Zhang continued, "Young Master Wang has always found it hard to forget this matter. He must feel that there are many strange things. He clearly felt that only a short while had passed, but the people outside had been looking for him for several days."

"Only this cat can make him feel that the experience was real."

Xie Yuyan lowered his head to look at Yu Chen in his arms again.

The first time she met Yu Chen in Daming Prefecture, Yu Chen suddenly jumped into her arms, showing her the same extraordinary intimacy she showed now. She liked Yu Chen because it was so similar to her first raccoon dog.

When she was a child, she once got lost while staying briefly at her family's estate. Her family said she had been trapped by a mandrill, and it was only thanks to the raccoon dog in her arms that she was able to escape. She returned home safely, but the raccoon dog was nowhere to be found.

Why is her experience so similar to Wang Yan's encounter with the immortals?
She lost her cat, but Wang Yan found one.

Xie Yuyan frowned slightly, a blurry image seemingly forming in his mind.

“Madam,” Mama Yu interrupted Xie Yuyan’s thoughts.

Xie Yuyan looked over and saw that Madam Yu had a solemn expression on her face: "A letter has arrived from Ciyun Nunnery."

Xie Yuyan immediately thought of the Cining Palace.

Madam Yu handed the letter to Xie Yuyan, who hurriedly opened it and read only one line: "The Emperor is seriously ill."

(End of this chapter)