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

It was late at night, but the Zhaoyang Courtyard was still brightly lit.

Zhao Wan was furious and still resentful about what had just happened.

"Am I seeing things? I clearly saw a human head in that bathtub!"

"Where did this guy surnamed Xia come from?"

Xiao Xizi was struggling to remove her "ghost makeup" when she heard this and couldn't help but reply, "Princess, there's definitely something wrong with that courtyard. We can't both be seeing things, can we?"

Zhao Wan rested her chin on her hand, frowning deeply, and said, "No, that Xia guy must be playing a trick on us!"

"..."

Xiao Xizi had nothing to say, so she had no choice but to shut up.

Zhao Wan suddenly stood up from the couch and summoned all four of her personal maids, representing the "east, south, west, and north" directions, to her room.

"Give me some ideas! How can I, the princess, turn the tables tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, the maids looked at each other, none daring to speak first.

Zhao Wan then pointed to the first maid: "Xiao Dongzi, you speak."

Xiao Dongzi had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Didn't the princess say that she wanted to make Young Master Ren 'look at you with new eyes'? You've practiced riding, archery, and swordsmanship for so many years! Don't you want to show them off in front of him?"

Zhao Wan's eyes immediately lit up. "That's a good idea!"

The second maid, Xiao Nanzi, seized the opportunity to say, "Tomorrow morning, go and invite the young marquis to the martial arts arena!"

Xiao Xizi remained silent, but Xiao Beizi suggested, "Going to the martial arts arena would be too deliberate, wouldn't it? I think it would be better if there were more people present, so that the Princess could show off!"

"good!"

These words struck a chord with Zhao Wan. She added, "It would be best if that guy surnamed Xia was here too! That sickly fellow definitely wouldn't know any of this, so he'd just be left envious..."

She then asked the group, "So, where do you all think would be a good place to go?"

Xiao Nanzi suggested, "Princess, why don't we go to the manor on the outskirts of the city? There's a horse farm there too."

Before anyone else could speak, Zhao Wan immediately clapped her hands: "Great idea! Let's do it this way!"

Overjoyed, she forgot all her previous unpleasantness and went back to rest contentedly.

The next morning, Zhao Wan sent her maid to the guest courtyard and Zhenxia courtyard to deliver a message, while she herself went to the residence of Princess Wu to pay her respects.

Princess Yang, wife of Prince Wu, contracted a strange illness ten years ago, which made it difficult for her to walk. Since then, she has basically stayed at home.

Over the years, he has tried many rare medicinal herbs, but his condition has not improved.

When Zhao Wan arrived, medicine was being brewed inside, and the smell was so pungent that she hadn't been able to get used to it all these years.

The maid who was in charge of brewing the medicine quickly put away her fan and stepped forward to greet the princess when she saw her arrive.

"Is Mother awake?" Zhao Wan asked softly.

The maid replied, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort woke up at dawn and is sitting by the south window waiting for you."

Zhao Wan looked through the layers of gauze curtains toward the south window and, sure enough, saw her mother, Madam Yang, before going inside.

Hearing footsteps, Madam Yang did not turn around, but asked, "I heard that guests came to your residence last night?"

Zhao Wan didn't rush to answer. Instead, she walked to her mother's side, massaged her shoulders, and, keeping her in suspense, said, "Yesterday, I went out of the city to catch a thief, but instead, I ran into someone outside the city gate..."

Upon hearing this, Madam Yang turned to look at her daughter.

Because she rarely leaves her house, her skin looks pale with a bluish tinge, her eyes are dark and dull, without a trace of light, and even her voice sounds devoid of warmth.

"I know, it's the young master of the Ren family."

Zhao Wan was slightly startled: "Did Mother guess it herself, or did someone tell you?"

Madam Yang retorted, "Besides that man from the Ren family, what other man could possibly catch your eye?"

Back then, when Zhao Wan returned from the capital, she often talked about Ren Fengjue, and even thought about asking her father to ask the emperor for a marriage decree.

If the Ren family hadn't already been engaged to the Xia family, King Wu might have actually agreed to the marriage.

But to say how much Zhao Wan actually liked Ren Fengjue is an understatement; she simply enjoyed the feeling of competing for him.

"That's not entirely true..."

Zhao Wan immediately explained, "Ren Fengjue is indeed handsome, but it's not that I'm determined to marry him. I just... want him to like me."

Upon hearing this, Madam Yang smiled and asked, "Then... if he doesn't like you, what should you do?"

Zhao Wanwei frowned slightly, but couldn't answer.

Seeing this, Madam Yang gently patted her hand and replied, "Alright, go play. Trust your mother, that young Marquis Ren will definitely like you."

Her mother's words filled Zhao Wan with confidence.

She knew that whatever her mother promised her, she would always keep.

For example, back then, her father always made her go to Zhenxia Courtyard to talk to Aunt Du's belly. She was extremely unwilling, so she told her mother about it.

After hearing this, her mother patted her hand and comforted her, saying, "You won't have to go anymore for a while."

Sure enough, not long after, Aunt Du disappeared.

There are many similar incidents, but Zhao Wan never investigates whether they are coincidences.

But she always believed what her mother said without question.

"Mother, I'm going now."

As Zhao Wan was about to leave, Madam Yang added, "Remember to take the things I gave you with you at all times."

"Okay."

Watching her daughter's departing figure, Madam Yang slowly suppressed her smile, then gently beckoned to the nanny beside her and whispered a few words in her ear.

Inside the guest courtyard, everyone learned that Princess Fenghua was inviting them to visit a manor in the suburbs, and immediately all looked at Ren Fengjue.

Upon hearing this, the young marquis knew that Zhao Wan must be hiding something else.

But I can't skip this trip either, since I'm new to Liangzhou and I have to show them the respect they deserve.

Otherwise, offending this princess would be detrimental to everything we do later.

After finishing their breakfast, everyone left the guest courtyard under the guidance of Steward Sun.

With Xia Ximo on his mind, Ren Fengjue asked Steward Sun about the situation at Zhenxia Courtyard.

Steward Sun said, "Young Marquis, there's no need to worry. Miss Xia will be riding in the same carriage with the Princess in a little while."

This made Ren Fengjue somewhat uneasy, so he asked, "Is this the princess's intention?"

Steward Sun shook his head again: "It seems to be Miss Xia's idea."

Ren Fengjue was surprised again.

At the same time, Zhao Wan, surrounded by her personal maids, walked out of Zhaoyang Courtyard, only to see Xia Ximo's figure in the distance.

She stood in front of the Zhenxia Courtyard, as if waiting for her.

Zhao Wan was puzzled when Xiao Dongzi leaned over and whispered, "The messenger said that this man surnamed Xia wants to ride in the same carriage as you, saying... he has something he wants to say to you privately."