Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

Beyond the pond lies the pavilion where Liu Ruyan played the zither that night.

The pavilion was in a terrible state; the red paint on the pillars had almost completely peeled off, and several tiles on the roof were missing, revealing several holes through which light could pass.

Wu Liangcai peeked inside and whispered to Chen Mingxuan beside him, "Was it here that night that Miss Ruyan was playing the zither?"

Chen Mingxuan chimed in, "I must say, this pavilion actually has quite a picturesque feel to it during the day. It's just a bit dilapidated."

Liu Ruyan stood by the pavilion, her gaze fixed on the pillars, and said nothing.

Liu Songnian stood behind her, watching quietly, his eyes seeming to be churning with something.

Lin Xiuer didn't pay attention to them and continued to wander around the front yard.

The main house has three rooms, two side rooms on each side, plus the rear building, making the courtyard quite large. There is also a well in the corner of the courtyard, with moss growing on the stones around its edge.

But now, the paper windows of the main room have long since rotted away, the window frames are broken or fallen off, leaving only a few dark holes.

The lock was long gone, and the latch was nowhere to be found. It was just left ajar, creaking loudly in the wind.

There was a large hole in the door, clearly kicked in.

Hu Yidao pushed open the door and glanced inside, immediately coughing from the musty smell that hit him.

"Cough, cough—how many years has it been since anyone lived here?"

Lin Xiuer peeked inside.

The house was pitch black inside. By the light from the doorway, you could see that it was completely empty. There wasn't a single piece of furniture, not even a single intact plank of wood.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of dust, and there were piles of odds and ends in the corners, such as broken mats and rotten cotton wadding.

The wall was covered in black and yellow patches, I couldn't tell if it was mold or something else. A spiderweb covered the corner, and a spider about half the size of my palm was perched in the middle of it.

This garden has been utterly ravaged. When the Black Fish Gang occupied this place, they would smash the gates as soon as they opened them.

"I bet they've sold all the furniture they could," Hu Yidao said, following behind, scoffing. "Those bastards, living in someone else's house and then trying to sell their stuff."

Several sections of the roofs of the side rooms had collapsed, with broken tiles scattered all over the ground. Some rooms didn't even have doors; they were just dark, gaping holes.

The ground was covered with dry grass, rags, gnawed bones, and piles of ashes—they had burned everything that could be burned as firewood.

"This..." Wu Liangcai frowned, "This is too much."

Lin Xiuer didn't say anything and turned to walk towards the west wing. The west wing was in even worse shape than the east wing; the roof had collapsed with a large hole, allowing a direct view of the sky.

Rainwater poured in through the hole, and thick mud accumulated on the ground. Several rotten logs lay haphazardly inside, barely recognizable as bed frames.

Chen Mingxuan followed behind her and couldn't help but ask, "Xiuer, this...is this still habitable?"

"It'll be fine after some tidying up," Lin Xiuer said, bending down to pick up a broken piece of wood, examining it before throwing it back on the ground. "It just takes a bit of work."

"It's a bit dilapidated, but at least the frame of the house is still intact."

"Just pull out all the weeds in the garden, repair the roof, repaint the walls, reinstall the doors and windows, and then clean up all the junk."

"The bluestone road needs to be repaved, and we need to check if that well is still usable..."

Wu Liangcai was squatting in front of a pile of ashes, poking around with a stick and pulling out a few pieces of charred black stuff, he didn't know if they were chicken bones or something else.

His hand trembled, and he quickly threw the branch away.

After leaving the side room, the group headed towards the backyard.

Several cobblestone paths were faintly discernible, overgrown with knee-high weeds that rustled as you walked.

The artificial hill in the backyard is still there, but the Taihu stones on it are all crooked and some have rolled into the grass and are covered with moss.

"This place must have been quite beautiful before," Hu Yidao said, looking at the Taihu stones.

The backyard is much larger than the front yard, and the weeds are even more rampant, growing almost as tall as a person in some places. But upon closer inspection, you can tell that it used to be a well-maintained flowerbed.

Several rows of half-collapsed brick ridges are still faintly visible, and a few unknown flowers and trees struggle to peek out from the weeds, stubbornly blooming a few lonely flowers.

Liu Songnian walked slowly, stopping here and there to look around. When he passed the crooked tree, he reached out and touched the trunk, as if trying to identify something.

He walked to the half-collapsed artificial hill, stood for a while, and his gaze fell on the overgrown corner behind the artificial hill.

"This garden," he suddenly said, as if talking to himself, "used to be a nice place."

Everyone looked at him.

Liu Songnian strolled slowly, pointing to various places with his finger: "Over there, there used to be a flower garden. I heard that when the flowers bloomed, the red, pink and white flowers could fill half the yard."

"That pavilion used to be draped with gauze curtains. The owner loved to sit there in the summer to cool off, drink tea, and read. And over there—"

He pointed to the backyard, "There's a small pond with koi fish, and a few bamboo stalks planted around it."

"My husband... oh, I heard from the older generation that the fish in that pond are fed very well."

Hu Yidao listened intently: "Oh, Mr. Liu, you seem quite familiar with this garden?"

Liu Songnian chuckled: "When you're a storyteller, you have to find out these things. I've been collecting stories about this garden for over ten years."

He then pointed towards the main house: "The owner of this house used to be a high-ranking official in the capital, but he offended someone and his family was raided and their property confiscated. The whole family...sigh..."

He shook his head, didn't continue, and just sighed.

Liu Ruyan stood to the side, her eyes lowered, listening quietly.

Liu Songnian withdrew his gaze and pointed to several mounds outside the courtyard wall: "The rumors of this garden being haunted started the year the house was raided."

Some buyers said they saw white shadows at night, others said they heard crying; as the rumors spread, no one dared to come anymore.

Wu Liangcai scratched his head: "Mr. Liu, do you think there are ghosts in this garden?"

Liu Songnian glanced at him and chuckled, "Whether there are ghosts or not, I don't know. I only know that sometimes the scariest thing in this world isn't a ghost, it's a person."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the dilapidated houses behind him, and a hint of something that Lin Xiuer couldn't quite understand flashed in his eyes.

Soon, he regained his usual amiable demeanor as a storyteller, waving his hand with a smile.

"Oh dear, it's just my occupational habit; I feel like telling a story wherever I go. Don't mind me, Madam Lin. From now on, this garden is yours; you can do whatever you want with it."

Lin Xiuer smiled and said, "I found what Mr. Liu said very helpful. Knowing what the garden used to be like gives me a better understanding of its condition."

Although the houses in the back were dilapidated, their layout and surroundings were more tidy than those in the front yard.

Lin Xiuer looked at each room one by one—the kitchen, the woodshed, the servants' quarters, and the main room, which had the best location and the most direct orientation.

The main house was larger than the other houses. Pushing open the half-closed, dilapidated door, although the inside was cleaner than the front hall, the stench of sweat and mildew was so strong that people dared not approach.