Chapter 306 Restoring the Truth

Chapter 306: Uncovering the Truth

Butler Zhao coveted the entire family fortune that Master Wang had painstakingly acquired, and for this, he must have made thorough preparations. After all, he had previously mentioned to the four new players that he had delivered the broth to the servants' quarters. This suggests that, to achieve his goal, Butler Zhao had likely drugged everyone else in the mansion before incapacitating Master Wang.

What Butler Zhao hadn’t anticipated was that the villagers, also eyeing Master Wang’s wealth, would eagerly send the brides to the mansion overnight. Moreover, judging by their words and actions, they might not have resorted to extreme measures until Master Wang decided which bride to keep. Once his choice was made, the villagers from the other two villages would likely act even more impulsively than Butler Zhao.

In any case, Butler Zhao, an old man, was no match for the rioting villagers. He had no choice but to usher the three brides into the mansion before the mob could force their way in.

What surprised Butler Zhao even more was that, while three unfamiliar brides had entered the mansion and a hostile mob gathered outside, the most crucial person—Master Wang—had vanished from the backyard as if he had evaporated into thin air.

The illusion showed the old butler searching the front and back yards alone, but finding nothing. He wanted to search the other courtyards but feared disturbing the three brides, leaving him consumed by panic and anxiety.

Then, Butler Zhao saw a bride emerge from the east courtyard.

Before the East Courtyard Bride appeared, the players standing behind the "bride" in the east courtyard had felt as though they were watching a movie with little personal relevance. But as the "plot" unfolded, the illusion of the East Courtyard Bride materialized at the courtyard gate, standing directly in front of the "bride" who had been assisting them.

At this point, the players could clearly see that the East Courtyard Bride in the illusion was much shorter than the "bride" before them. Her accent and even her voice were entirely different from the "bride" they knew.

As the players listened to the illusion of the East Courtyard Bride speaking with the illusion of the old butler, it was evident that the East Courtyard Bride was the first to recognize Butler Zhao as an uncle she had seen in her village. She even stepped closer to the old butler, voluntarily removing her bridal veil to reveal herself.

Compared to the brides from the west and north courtyards, the East Courtyard Bride in the illusion had an ordinary, rather dark complexion. Though she spoke gently, her reasoning and expression were not as articulate as the other two brides.

As she told Butler Zhao, she was the least likely to be chosen among the three brides. She was deeply worried about her mother, who lacked money for medicine, and her family, who struggled to make ends meet. She even broke down in tears in front of Butler Zhao.

The players standing behind were puzzled.

If the shorter woman in the illusion was the East Courtyard Bride, then who was the "bride" now standing before them?

The only thing the players were certain of was that this "bride" was definitely not human.

So, was "she" merely an eerie entity of unknown origin?

Was "her" intention truly just to help them?

As the players wavered, they saw the old butler in the illusion ponder for a long time before stating his desire to help the East Courtyard Bride.

"You poor girl, although I don’t know how Master Wang will choose, if you help me with one thing, I’ll find a way to solve your family’s troubles afterward. How does that sound?"

"Trust me, uncle would never harm you."

...

"No one is worthy of trust. Today it’s the East Courtyard Bride, tomorrow it could be the brides from the west and north courtyards. When faced with money and interests, everyone’s true colors are equally ugly. They all deserve to die!" Ghost Lady’s voice reached the players’ ears.

"Everyone’s asleep, everyone’s asleep." The scene in the backyard illusion changed again. In the blink of an eye, even the East Courtyard Bride had been drugged and lay unconscious on the ground. The eerily quiet backyard was left with only the elderly Butler Zhao, digging up the lawn with a shovel, leaving the area in disarray.

Butler Zhao dug holes in the grass while muttering incessantly—

"They all say they saw that old ghost take away six or seven heavy chests, filled with the gold, silver, jewels, and expensive antiques he obtained from selling off his family’s assets. With so many things, there’s no way that old ghost could have carried them all with him. So even if the old ghost ran away, those treasures must still be hidden somewhere in this mansion!"

No one knew how long Butler Zhao had been digging in the backyard.

The observing Su Bai and the players only saw that the backyard in the illusion was once again dark, without candlelight. The originally neat lawn was not only dug up into a mess but had also become overgrown with weeds. Even the pond had been drained, as if a very long time had passed since the brides drowned in the backyard.

Although the entire backyard in the illusion appeared abandoned, a figure could still be seen digging relentlessly in the pond, which, though drained, was filled with wet mud.

Upon closer inspection, the figure, though covered in mud from head to toe, was unmistakably Butler Zhao, who had still not given up his search for the "treasure."

"It must be here, it must be here... That old ghost must have hidden the treasure at the bottom of the pond! I’m not wrong... I can’t be wrong..."

At this point, Butler Zhao had clearly not yet transformed into an eerie entity, so he completely failed to see the three ghostly brides in wedding dresses standing on the pond’s bank. Their faces were deathly pale, filled with resentment, staring directly at Butler Zhao, who was consumed by greed.

Perhaps due to the influence of the eerie entities, or perhaps because Butler Zhao’s body was already old and exhausted, after digging in the mud for a while longer, he suddenly convulsed and fell into the mire. Mud gradually filled his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and no matter how hard he struggled, he could no longer breathe. In the end, he died in the mud, having found nothing.

At this moment, everything that had happened in the mansion seemed clear.

Butler Zhao, in his quest to find the gold and silver jewels that Master Wang had obtained through murder, had caused the brides to fall into a dangerous unconsciousness in this mansion occupied by vengeful spirits. And because the East Courtyard Bride had become an accomplice, it wasn’t just the West Courtyard Bride who was drugged at the time.

Regardless of whether the brides were unconscious, Ghost Lady, who had already become a vengeful spirit due to resentment, would have wanted to kill all three brides. However, their unconscious state provided the then still weak Ghost Lady with the opportunity, ultimately leading to all three brides drowning in the pond without a struggle.

The remaining two mysteries might be: Where did Master Wang and the treasure disappear to?

And who exactly is the "bride" now standing before the players?

All illusions shattered. As the red moon hung high in the sky once more and the backyard returned to ruins, Ghost Lady’s weeping echoed through the mansion again.

Ghost Lady had shown the players what they wanted to see. What happened next wouldn't be so peaceful.