Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

After hearing Zhao Wan's words, although the others in the room had their own thoughts, none of them dared to interrupt.

Manager Sun quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Princess, it's getting dark. The young marquis and his entourage have come from afar and must be exhausted. Why don't we let them go back to the guest quarters to rest tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wan smiled brightly, "That's right, then let's take the young marquis, Yu Shaoqing, and this Taoist priest to the guest courtyard first."

"As for Miss Xia..."

She changed her tone and said, "Miss Xia is a female guest, so she needs to be arranged to have her own courtyard. Let's... let her stay in Zhenxia Courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Ren Fengjue glanced at Xia Ximo subconsciously. Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Wan interrupted, "Young Marquis, you don't need to worry about Miss Xia. Zhenxia Courtyard is not far from my Zhaoyang Courtyard. It's not some secluded courtyard."

The implication was clear: she hadn't neglected Xia Ximo; on the contrary, she valued him highly.

Xia Ximo didn't say a word, picked up her bundle, and followed the maid.

After everyone had left the hall, Zhao Wan suddenly called out, "Xiao Xizi, come here."

At the gate of Zhenxia Courtyard, Xia Ximo suddenly stopped, his clear, cold eyes sweeping across the entire courtyard, clearly having discovered something.

The snow had stopped, but the snow in the yard was deep, and it was clear that no one had lived there for a long time.

But the whole courtyard is really spacious and the layout is excellent.

The maid who was leading the way paused briefly at the entrance after opening the courtyard gate. A gust of cold wind blew in, causing the lantern in her hand to sway from side to side.

Xia Ximo knew there was something wrong in the courtyard, and she could also tell that the maid was afraid.

"You don't need to go in. Just bring some hot water; I want to take a bath."

Upon hearing her words, the maidservant felt as if she had been granted a pardon and happily withdrew.

Xia Ximo then walked directly into the main room.

The room was fully furnished, and there were signs that it had just been cleaned, but it looked a bit rushed and perfunctory.

It's likely that the servants who came to clean also knew there was something wrong here, and dared not linger for too long.

After putting down his luggage, Xia Ximo casually lit a candle.

Just then, a soft sound came from the corner, followed by a dark shadow flashing across the wall.

Xia Ximo pretended not to notice anything.

A short while later, the maid who had led the way earlier arrived with two rough-working women, carrying two buckets of hot water, and knocked on the door.

After Xia Ximo opened the door, the old woman poured hot water into the bathtub and hurriedly went outside.

The maidservant stood at the doorway, bowed, and asked, "Miss, is there anything else you require?"

"no."

"Then the girl should get some rest."

The maidservant hurriedly closed the door and, together with the two old women, fled from the Pillow Cloud Courtyard as if escaping.

Inside the Soul-Crossing Lamp, Wuyou was about to come out for some fresh air when Xia Ximo instructed, "Stay inside."

"..."

After she finished speaking, she went inside the screen, took off her clothes, and prepared to take a bath.

Amidst the rising steam, the dark shadows on the wall slowly reappeared.

Xia Ximo leaned back in the bathtub with her eyes closed, enjoying the warm water soothing her skin, which also eased some of the pain in her body.

However, the dark figure slid down the wall like a snake, then slowly climbed up the bathtub along the ground.

In the mist, the dark figure transformed into a human form and was about to pounce on the person in the bathtub when the other party reached out a hand and precisely grabbed it.

The shadowy figure was startled and tried to break free, but found it couldn't...

Just then, a noise came from outside the door.

Xia Ximo slowly opened her eyes and casually tossed the dark shadow aside.

The shadowy figure knew it had met its match and cowered in the corner, too scared to move.

But the next second, the south-facing window suddenly creaked open, a strange gust of wind blew in, and the candle on the table was immediately extinguished.

Immediately afterwards, a mournful voice echoed from the courtyard: "I died such a terrible death~"

The sound startled even the shadowy figure in the corner.

Xia Ximo glanced out the window and saw a figure reflected on the windowpane—a disheveled "female ghost."

But she immediately saw through it; it was clearly not a real ghost, but a person in disguise.

It's not hard to guess that Princess Fenghua probably arranged for a "fake ghost" to scare people because she was afraid the "real ghost" in the courtyard wouldn't come out.

Xia Ximo chuckled and kept her eyes closed in the bathtub.

The "female ghost" outside the door, not hearing any noise, jumped back in through the window.

Their movements were quite light, indicating they knew some light-body skills, and they didn't make a sound at all.

Once inside, she immediately moved closer to the screen and repeated, "I died so tragically~"

If it were an ordinary person, hearing this sound in a dark room, they would probably be scared out of their wits.

Xia Ximo, however, remained seated in the bathtub behind the screen, unmoved and seemingly oblivious.

Left with no other choice, the "female ghost" tiptoed, intending to peek inside the screen.

However, the next second, a pitch-black ghost face appeared in front of her, which startled her so much that she screamed and fled on the spot.

The "female ghost" Xiao Xizi ran out of Zhenxia Courtyard in one breath. Princess Fenghua was waiting outside to watch the show. Seeing her come out, she hurriedly asked, "How was it? Did you scare her?"

To scare people, Xiao Xizi had deliberately painted her face whiter than flour. Now, with a mournful expression, she said, "Princess, there really is a ghost in that courtyard! I just saw one!"

Zhao Wan frowned and said, "I don't care if it's a real ghost or a fake ghost, I only ask you, did it scare that guy surnamed Xia?"

Xiao Xizi, afraid of upsetting the princess, stammered, "She must have been...frightened, right? She was lying motionless in the bathtub; I wonder if she fainted from fright."

Hearing this, Zhao Wan, fearing she had gone too far, said, "Did you see clearly? Were you really scared to death?"

"I'm not sure, but she definitely didn't make any noise..."

Zhao Wan said guiltily, "It's so cold outside. It would be terrible if she froze to death in the bathtub. You should go in and check on her!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xizi quickly waved her hand, "Princess, there really is a ghost inside! I dare not go in. How about I go and call a few guards to come and check!"

"That won't do. If we make too much noise and attract Ren Fengjue, it will be troublesome."

As Zhao Wan spoke, she directly took Xiao Xizi's hand, "I'll go in with you."

Having said all that, no matter how unwilling Xiao Xizi was, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go through with it.

Upon entering the courtyard, a chilly wind swept through.

Zhao Wan looked around and saw that the main house was pitch black, which made her feel a little uneasy.

Xiao Xizi was extremely nervous and whispered, "Princess, what if I really frighten Miss Xia to the point of harm? What if Young Master Ren…?"

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Wan immediately turned around and glared at her, saying, "With me, the princess, protecting you, what are you afraid of? Even if something really happens, I can keep you safe!"