During the Qin Dynasty, he was in charge of the net.

As night fell in Xianyang, the Lü family mansion was filled with the sounds of music and revelry.

Inside the hall adorned with gold and jade, members of the imperial family, nobles, and high-ranking officials of the court gathered.

The sound of bells and drums filled the air, and the flowing sleeves of dancers created a dazzling spectacle. The hall was filled with flattery and laughter.

But in one corner of the hall, two people stood out from the crowd.

Those were two noble ladies from the Qin royal family, sitting together at the same table.

The older one was named Ying Shu. She was sixteen years old, with bright and radiant skin, and her eyebrows and eyes were curved and charming. She had a naturally lively and passionate appearance.

Tonight she wore a scarlet brocade dress with gold trim, her black hair tied up high and adorned with pearl and jade hairpins, which shimmered with gold as she walked, making her dazzlingly beautiful.

The younger one is her cousin Ying Wan, who is a year younger than Ying Shu. She has a beautiful and elegant appearance, with light and aloof features and a calm and serene gaze, without a trace of girlish naivety.

Unlike Ying Shu's bright and luxurious attire, she wore a moon-white gauze dress with dark patterns, the fabric as light and thin as snow, with only a small jade pendant tied at her waist.

Her black hair was simply tied into a low bun, without heavy makeup. Her temperament was as serene and aloof as bamboo under the moon. She sat upright at the table, neither arguing nor disturbing, yet she possessed the noble air of a member of the imperial family.

The banquet was halfway through, the singing and dancing were repetitive, and the social interactions were getting boring. Ying Shu, who was free-spirited and impatient with restraint, had long been sitting there restless.

Ying Shu frowned impatiently and quietly tugged at Ying Wan's sleeve beside her.

Seeing that Ying Wan simply shook her head slightly, Ying Shu knew that her aloof cousin would never indulge in her nonsense.

Ying Shu decided not to wait any longer. Taking advantage of the guests' toasting, she quietly left her seat and slipped out of the banquet hall alone.

The Lü Mansion was vast and secluded, with a bustling and lively front hall and a quiet and secluded back courtyard, as if the two were two different worlds.

The evening breeze swept through the corridor, dispelling the lingering smell of alcohol and the cacophony of music. Ying Shu strolled leisurely, admiring the flowers and trees under the moonlight, feeling a hundred times more delighted than the dull banquet.

She was always bold and unrestrained, never restraining her movements. Following the winding bluestone path, she unknowingly arrived at a secluded courtyard deep within the mansion.

This courtyard is rather strange.

The courtyard gate was tightly closed, the high walls blocked the view, and all the lights in the courtyard were off. From the outside, there was no one in sight and no sound could be heard. It was dark and quiet, like an empty courtyard with no one living there.

But strange things happen right here.

A gentle breeze stirred in the night, causing the flowers, plants, and trees everywhere to sway softly.

The area around this courtyard was completely still, eerily quiet.

Ying Shu, who was outside the courtyard, stopped abruptly. All her playful mood vanished, replaced by a sense of strangeness and curiosity.

"strangeness......"

Ying Shu tilted her head, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion, looking left and right.

The grass and leaves on the path to the left rustled in the wind. But beside the courtyard to the right, every blade of grass and every tree stood tall and unwavering.

Ying Shu couldn't help but move closer to the courtyard wall to get a better feel for it.

There was indeed no wind under the courtyard wall, but Ying Shu could still feel a gentle breeze when she was on the path ten steps away.

It's only a distance of about ten steps, can the difference be that big?

Ying Shu tiptoed and looked into the courtyard.

But she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

"Ouch..."

A sharp pain shot through her buttocks, and tears welled up in Ying Shu's eyes as she looked down.

Only then did they discover that there was a shallow layer of water at the base of the wall.

Not only that.

The courtyard wall in front of her was covered with countless water droplets.

Because it was dark and we were far away, we didn't notice it before.

Ying Shu stretched out her fair little hand and touched the courtyard wall, feeling a cool sensation coming from her palm.

Blinking her big eyes, Ying Shu was certain that this was just ordinary water.

but.

The water, which was ordinary before, now appeared here, but it seemed incredibly strange.

Because it hasn't rained in Xianyang for the past few days.

However, the puddles at the base of the wall and the water droplets on the courtyard wall are traces that only appear after rain.

At this time.

Behind her, she heard soft footsteps.

Yingwan couldn't bear to leave her cousin, so she quietly followed.

As soon as the aloof girl arrived, she found her cousin sitting on the ground.

Yingwan quickly helped her cousin up, and when she touched her, she found that her cousin's clothes from her buttocks to her crotch were completely soaked.

"Cousin, where did the water stains on your clothes come from?"

Ying Shu said with a hint of annoyance in her eyes:

"I want to know too. Look at the base of the wall, and on the wall itself, it's all covered in water."

I slipped and fell without noticing.

Yingwan immediately looked in the direction her cousin was pointing, and sure enough, it was just as her cousin had said.

A thin layer of still water accumulated at the base of the wall, meandering and curving around the bluestone bricks.

Tiny water droplets clung to the courtyard wall, almost invisible to the naked eye.

"That's so strange."

Ying Shu frowned, a hint of seriousness appearing between her fair eyes.

She was always calm and perceptive, and immediately realized that these strange water stains all came from this seemingly peaceful little courtyard.

"Xiao Wan, shall we go in and take a look?"

Ying Shu lowered her voice.

Both her frustration and resentment at slipping and falling earlier, as well as her curiosity, made her want to go into the courtyard to find out what was going on.

Looking at the small courtyard under the night sky, Ying Wan suddenly felt a strong sense of vigilance and subconsciously whispered a dissuasion:

"Cousin, this courtyard is secluded and eerie; it's not a place we should go. We should go back now."