Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Liu Wenying opened her eyes; the tent was pitch black.

She listened carefully and realized that Ling'er, who was sleeping next to her, was acting strangely.

Ling'er's breathing became rapid, and her body trembled slightly.

"Ling'er? What's wrong?" she asked in a breathy voice.

Ling'er seemed startled and turned around to move closer to Liu Wenying.

She grabbed Liu Wenying's sleeve, her voice trembling uncontrollably, thick with sobs.

"Sister Liu, I... I think I've encountered a ghost...!"

"Ghost encounter?"

Liu Wenying's heart skipped a beat, and her sleepiness vanished.

"Don't be afraid, tell me slowly, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?"

"It wasn't a dream. I... just got up in the middle of the night, and when I stepped out of the tent, I felt like there was a dark shadow in that direction."

Her finger trembled as she pointed southwest outside the tent.

"I was startled, but when I looked closely there was nothing there. I thought I was seeing things, so I quickly dealt with it and came back."

Ling'er's voice choked with sobs, "But...but when I came back, I looked up and saw that dark shadow again, right behind our tent, and it even moved!"

Ling'er was so frightened that her soul almost flew away. She quickly crawled into bed, and her heart was still pounding.

The more she talked, the more frightened she became, and the hand she held in Liu Wenying's hand grew cold.

"Sister Liu, do you think that's a ghost? It's in the middle of nowhere, wild animals have died there, maybe even people have?"

"This place must be unclean, that's why there are ghosts wandering around. Is it haunting us?"

Liu Wenying gently patted Ling'er's back, soothing her with a soft voice.

"Don't scare yourself. There are plenty of imperial guards and palace guards patrolling inside and outside the hunting grounds. It's nothing to worry about. Maybe you're just too tired and have gotten confused by the stray cats and dogs."

Ling'er shook her head like a rattle-drum, on the verge of tears.

"No, Sister Liu, I saw it clearly, it was like a shadowy figure, pressed against our tent..."

She was so frightened that she was trembling all over, and nothing could soothe her.

Liu Wenying knew that if she didn't get to the bottom of things, this girl wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

She made up her mind and said, "Alright, let's go out and take a look. If there really is something there, you'll feel at ease once you see it clearly."

"If not, don't overthink it. Get some rest; you have work to do tomorrow."

When Ling'er heard that she was to go out and see, she was so frightened that she shrank back into the quilt.

Encouraged by Liu Wenying, and genuinely afraid of the unknown shadow in her heart, she hesitated for a moment before nodding.

The two of them tiptoed to their feet, trying not to disturb Xi Chun and the others who were fast asleep nearby.

As the tent flap was lifted, the cool, refreshing air unique to summer nights wafted in, invigorating the spirit.

The moonlight outside the tent was veiled by thin clouds and was not very bright.

Soldiers patrolled the camp, and scattered torches were strung together in a line, looking like a fire dragon from a distance.

As soon as Ling'er came out, she clung tightly to Liu Wenying's arm, her eyes filled with terror, her hand pointing towards the shadows in the southwest.

"It's...it's right there..."

Several large wooden crates were piled up there, covered with tarpaulins, forming a dark area under the hazy moonlight.

It is indeed a place where it is easy to hide or create visual illusions.

"Don't be afraid, come with me."

Liu Wenying picked up a twig from the ground, held it in her hand, and pulled Ling'er toward the shadows.

As she approached, Liu Wenying used the tip of a branch to probe, parting the tarpaulin that was obstructing her view, and then poked at the gaps between the boxes.

There was nothing there.

She walked around the pile of junk again, probing around with the branch.

Apart from the wooden box, hemp rope, and dust, there was nothing there.

"Look, there's nothing there."

Liu Wenying straightened up and turned to Ling'er, who was so nervous she was practically curled up in a ball, and said:

"Perhaps it was the light of the moon and torches that cast the shadows, and when the wind blew, the oilcloth swayed, and for a moment you were mistaken, there really was nothing there."

It was indeed empty; there was nothing there.

Ling'er, still showing signs of shock, whispered shyly, "Could it be that I really saw wrong?"

"The hunting grounds are heavily guarded; where would a wandering ghost come from?"

Liu Wenying threw away the branch and dusted off her hands.

"Are you relieved now? Let's go back to sleep..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ling'er looked at Liu Wenying's back with extreme fear.

"There...there's a shadow!"

Liu Wenying suddenly turned around and saw a human-shaped black shadow in the shadowy area where the trees were swaying. The shadow was indistinct and it stood there silently.

They were only about twenty steps away.

Ling'er couldn't hold back her tears any longer and grabbed Liu Wenying's arm, "There's a ghost! There really is a ghost! Sister, let's run!"

Even with her boundless courage, Liu Wenying was startled by the sudden appearance of the dark figure, which made her hair stand on end.

"Don't panic. Look, the patrol guards' torches are over there not far away. As long as we shout, they'll hear us and come right away."

As she spoke, she observed the shadowy figure. It was indeed strange, not like an animal, but more like a human...

Ling'er's legs went weak, and she only managed to stay upright thanks to Liu Wenying's support.

"Sister, let's go back. I'm scared. Please let's go back...?"

Seeing that Ling'er was truly terrified, they feared that if they stayed any longer, something bad might really happen.

Although Liu Wenying was also surprised and uncertain, wanting to know what was causing the trouble, her priority was to ensure Ling'er's safety and composure.

"Okay, you can go back now."

"And what about you, sister?"

"Let me see what it is, otherwise you won't be able to sleep well tonight and for the next few days."

She glanced at the firelight not far away. "Don't worry, the tent isn't far from here. I'll call for help if anything goes wrong."

Ling'er wanted to say something more, but seeing Liu Wenying's unwavering expression, she was terrified of the dark figure.

She let go, scrambled back to the tent, and quickly pulled the felt curtain shut.

In the blink of an eye, the dark figure had vanished.

Liu Wenying didn't give up. She picked up the branch she had just thrown away and then picked up a stone.

Forget about ghosts or animals, poke their eyes first and then smash their heads, we'll deal with them!

Arriving at the spot where the shadowy figure had appeared, the dense, waist-high grass obscured everything, making it impossible to see anything.

Liu Wenying suddenly thrust the branch in her hand forward, clearing away the weeds.

There was nothing there.

No, that's not right.

Liu Wenying's gaze swept downwards, and she saw something white and cold.

It was neither a living thing nor a ghost, but a silver ingot scattered on the ground.

A moment of surprise crossed her taut nerves. Liu Wenying squatted down to pick it up, confirming that she hadn't misread it.

It was indeed silver, of excellent quality, each ingot weighing about two taels, and it was just casually thrown into the field.

Just as I was wondering, a flash of white light appeared in the grass a few steps ahead.

Parting the branches, another silver ingot appeared.

Liu Wenying followed the direction of the silver, picking it up as she walked.

The road to the silver shop was winding and gradually led her away from the tent and to the front of the woods.

Further on, pushing aside the weeds, in a place where the moonlight could barely illuminate, there was a small black lacquered box inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

The box was opened, revealing a collection of glittering gold jewelry and a jade pendant of exceptional quality.

The jewelry and jade pendant looked very familiar. Liu Wenying recalled that these were the gifts given by the Princess.

Her share is still in the account book; it will never be here.

That makes it much easier to explain.

The surprise and doubt in Liu Wenying's eyes disappeared, a smile curved her lips, and she softly called out to the empty space around her.

"Stop hiding. Playing tricks is not the behavior of a gentleman."

…………