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

Xiao Xizi's face changed drastically, and she was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground.

"My princess, please don't scare me like that. I had nightmares all night..."

"I dreamt that I was trapped in the Zhenxia Courtyard and couldn't get out. There was a female ghost chasing me!"

She spoke with lingering fear, and her timid demeanor made Zhao Wan feel inexplicably at peace.

She pretended to scold, "Useless thing! I told you to dress up as a ghost and scare people, and you ended up scaring yourself?"

Xiao Xizi felt very wronged and suggested in a low voice, "Princess, why don't we send that Taoist priest who serves Young Master Ren to Zhenxia Courtyard to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wan glared at her fiercely, "Have you forgotten? Father hated these charlatans the most!"

Ever since the incident at Zhenxia Courtyard, rumors of ghosts have circulated within the Prince's residence.

Upon learning of this, King Wu was furious. He found the servant who had spread the rumor, gave him a good beating, and expelled him from the palace.

Later, some foolish sorcerers, under the guise of "exorcising ghosts," came to the Prince's mansion to swindle and deceive, and without exception, they all met a tragic end.

Influenced by her father, Zhao Wan had never believed in ghosts or spirits, but today…

"What you've said has reminded me!"

Xiao Xizi was puzzled and didn't dare to interrupt.

Zhao Wan added, "I forgot that there was also a Taoist priest traveling with Ren Fengjue. That guy surnamed Xia is probably in cahoots with the Taoist priest, using some kind of magic to try and scare me!"

These words left Xiao Xizi even more bewildered.

Zhao Wan didn't explain. She was quick-witted, unpredictable, and her thoughts changed very rapidly.

In an instant, the gloom on his face vanished: "Let's go! Let's go and meet them."

Xiao Xizi couldn't understand why the princess suddenly had a big smile on her face, and her eyes clearly revealed a hint of smugness.

She didn't dare ask, and could only obediently follow behind, walking out together.

At this moment, Ren Fengjue and others were gathered in a hall of the manor, having tea and taking a break.

According to Steward Sun, this manor belongs to the Wu Prince's Mansion and has a variety of crops planted there, as well as a large tea garden in the back.

The tea they are drinking right now comes from the tea farmers of the estate.

"It's winter now, and it's snowing, so you can't see anything. If it were spring or summer, you could see that the whole area would be lush and green."

"There's also a horse farm over there. When the Golden Feather Army was stationed in Liangzhou, they often held horse races here."

"Oh right, there's a martial arts arena later on..."

Listening to Steward Sun's words, Ren Fengjue couldn't help but recall the days he spent training in the Golden Feather Army.

On the other side, Yan Zhengchu also inquired about Zhenxia Courtyard from Xia Ximo.

According to the compass, the spirits of the Prince's mansion gathered near the Pillow Cloud Courtyard.

"Were any ghosts seen last night?"

Xia Ximo glanced down at the Soul-Crossing Lamp and replied truthfully, "Yes."

Yan Zhengchu speculated, "The Prince's mansion is filled with a strong yin energy, which should not have been formed in a short period of time. These vengeful spirits are probably deeply wronged."

Xia Ximo stated frankly, "It's been ten years."

"What?"

Yan Zhengchu got excited and raised his voice, which attracted the attention of Yu Lang and Ren Fengjue on the other side.

He had no choice but to lower his voice: "No wonder..."

Xia Ximo continued, "There is only a wisp of a soul left in my courtyard. It doesn't remember much about its past life. It keeps muttering about ten years and says that it is trapped."

Yan Zhengchu frowned. "Have you discovered any other ghosts?"

Xia Ximo shook his head: "I have already asked the princess of the Prince's mansion. She confirmed that a concubine surnamed Du went missing ten years ago. It should be her."

"This Prince's mansion is indeed strange."

As Master Yan was sighing in admiration, a voice announced from outside the door: "Princess Fenghua has arrived—"

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up one after another, except for Xia Ximo, who remained seated without moving.

Seeing Xia Ximo's lack of manners and his clear disregard for her, Zhao Wan was displeased, but she still wore a smile on her face.

At this moment, she had changed into a silver-white outfit, her hair was neatly styled and she wore no hair accessories, a style that was completely different from before.

Moreover, after entering the room, she stopped looking at Ren Fengjue and instead focused her eyes on Xia Ximo.

"Miss Xia."

Zhao Wan walked directly up to Xia Ximo and said without beating around the bush, "Miss Xia is the daughter of a military general, so riding and archery should be no problem for her. There happens to be a horse farm on this estate, why don't we go and have some fun?"

The meaning behind his words was immediately clear to anyone who heard them.

This was clearly an attempt to make things difficult for Xia Ximo.

Just as Ren Fengjue was about to intervene, Xia Ximo slowly stood up and replied, "Alright, how do you want to play?"

She remained calm and composed, her voice still steady, showing no sign of fear.

Zhao Wan immediately said, "Miss Xia is so straightforward. Let's have a horse race first, and then an archery contest."

Unexpectedly, Xia Ximo countered, "Wasn't what you just said 'horsemanship and archery'?"

These words made Zhao Wan feel a little embarrassed.

She is highly skilled in both horseback riding and archery.

However, "riding archery" is too difficult and is not her forte.

Zhao Wan deliberately looked Xia Ximo up and down, afraid that she hadn't understood, and then explained, "I was talking about horseback riding and archery."

Xia Ximo repeated, "I meant mounted archery."

"..."

Hearing her arrogant tone, the last trace of a smile that Zhao Wan had left on her lips vanished.

"Xia Ximo, aren't you afraid you'll be embarrassed later?"

"I'm afraid you won't be able to back down."

"..."

No one else could get a word in edgewise during their conversation.

Ren Fengjue was the only one who was qualified to interrupt.

However, seeing Xia Ximo's determined look, he knew that this matter would not be difficult for her, so he remained silent.

Now, Zhao Wan was completely unable to save face.

In front of so many people, she certainly couldn't back down; otherwise, she would not only lose face herself, but also the entire Wu Wang Mansion.

"Let's compete!"

As Zhao Wan spoke, she turned and headed towards the horse farm.

Behind her, Xia Ximo called out to her, "Wait."

Zhao Wan was secretly pleased, thinking that the other party was going to back out. She quickly turned her head and said, "Are you scared and want to back out? This princess can let it go."

To everyone's surprise, Xia Ximo's expression remained completely unchanged: "I wanted to ask, what should we do if we lose?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wan's expression darkened again. After pondering for a moment, she replied, "If we lose, then... we'll let the winner decide our fate. What do you think?"

Just as Xia Ximo was about to reply, Ren Fengjue suddenly spoke up: "The princess's conditions need to be supplemented with a few more."

"In a contest of skill, one should stop when the opponent has made their move. Regardless of victory or defeat, one should know when to stop and not do anything to harm the other person."

Zhao Wan found his words to be fairly reasonable and impartial, without showing favoritism towards anyone, and immediately agreed.

Xia Ximo said directly, "If I win, all I need is for the princess to agree to do one thing for me."