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

When Xia Ximo returned to the guest room in the East Courtyard, there were many more things added to the room.

In addition to the incense burner and paintings, there was even an extra screen and a cabinet.

The once quiet guest rooms are now packed full, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe them as "lively".

Seeing Xia Ximo enter the room, Tian Qing stepped forward and handed her a hand warmer: "Miss Xia, if you're afraid of the cold, try this."

"I'm not afraid of the cold."

Xia Ximo glanced at the cumbersome thing and had no intention of taking it.

To everyone's surprise, Tianqing was bold enough to grab her hand and forcefully shove the hand warmer into her hand.

"How can your hands not be cold with such cold hands? It's the coldest time of the year right now. You were dressed so thinly earlier, you must have been quite chilly."

Hearing this, Xia Ximo was stunned for a moment.

The warmth from the hand warmer was completely useless to her.

But in that instant, she did feel a touch of warmth.

Seeing that she was very happy to take the hand warmer, Tianqing said, "I asked the kitchen to make some chicken soup. Miss, have some soup to warm yourself up."

As she spoke, she ran lightly outside.

Looking at the hand warmer in his hand, Xia Ximo felt a strange sensation.

The Soul-Crossing Lamp suddenly trembled, and Wuyou stretched and emerged from the lamp.

"This young lady is quite nice, and you two seem to get along very well."

Xia Ximo ignored him and continued, "However, according to your agreement with Ren Fengjue, you can only stay here for a maximum of seven more days."

"Or, why don't we take advantage of these seven days to go out and explore?"

"Not interested."

"..."

Just as Wuyou was about to say something more, she saw Tianqing return from outside, carrying a bowl of soup in his hand.

As soon as the lid was lifted, a wonderful aroma filled the air.

Wuyou sniffed hard with her empty nose: "This smells so good!"

Xia Ximo's stomach rumbled in response.

Sometimes, being human is more troublesome than being a ghost.

Tianqing smiled and said, "Miss, have some chicken soup to fill your stomach first. Dinner will be ready in a little while."

Although Xia Ximo had no expression, he still obediently picked up the spoon and started drinking.

It has to be said that both are foods meant to fill one's stomach.

This chicken soup was sweeter and more delicious than any food I had ever eaten before.

Her body told her that she really liked this thing.

Tianqing stood quietly to the side, watching.

I thought to myself, although Xia looks cold on the surface, she is actually very cute.

At least he is straightforward, frank, and completely unpretentious.

Dealing with people like that is actually the easiest thing to do.

So, with anticipation, she tentatively asked, "Miss Xia, the manager of Tianxiang Pavilion said yesterday that a new batch of goods will arrive at the store tomorrow. Would you like to go and take a look?"

Xia Ximo instinctively wanted to refuse, but for some reason, the words stuck in his throat.

At that moment, she heard the voice from the bottom of her heart.

"You arrange it."

Floating on the side, carefree: "..."

-

The carriage stopped in front of Tianxiang Pavilion, and two people stepped out as the carriage door opened.

A maid in green, with a charming smile, and whose demeanor alone revealed her to be from a noble family.

The other woman wore a white brocade cloak, had a slender figure and stunning beauty, but her overall demeanor was too aloof, making people afraid to look at her for long.

Women in the capital who frequent Tianxiang Pavilion are undoubtedly either wealthy or noble.

Even if they've never met, they usually know each other's backgrounds.

But this woman was clearly a stranger.

Therefore, ever since she entered the room, she has attracted a lot of attention from upstairs and downstairs, some with curiosity, some with contempt, and some with hostility.

Xia Ximo was oblivious to the stares from others, and she had little patience for the various cosmetics the shop assistant was introducing.

Only when Tianqing tried on her cosmetics would she say, "You decide."

In just a short while, I picked out quite a few cosmetics.

Tianqing smiled and said to Xia Ximo, "Miss, please sit for a while. I asked the shopkeeper to leave a tube of snail-shell ink yesterday. I'll go up and ask about it."

As she spoke, she lifted her dress and lightly went up the stairs beside her.

With nothing else to do, Xia Ximo found a place to sit down.

However, a moment later, a loud slap came from upstairs, followed by a shrill female voice: "What kind of lowly thing from the backwaters dares to use snail-shell ink?"

His voice was loud, his tone arrogant, and his words were laced with undisguised sarcasm.

Then came Tianqing's trembling voice: "Miss Zhuang, but this snail-shell indigo powder is something we pre-ordered, and we even paid a deposit in advance..."

Downstairs, Xia Ximo suddenly stood up.

She went straight up to the second floor and saw a woman in fine clothes being surrounded by a group of people, choosing cosmetics.

Tian Qing stood to the side, his left cheek red and slightly swollen, with a clear palm print on it.

Clearly, she had just been hit.

Xia Ximo's appearance immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room.

When Tianqing saw her, he instinctively covered his face, about to explain something.

"Who hit you?"

Xia Ximo asked coldly.

Tianqing hesitated and dared not answer, but the elegantly dressed woman in the crowd glanced at her sideways, raised her chin slightly, and looked quite arrogant.

"I hit him, what are you going to do about it?"

Immediately, someone nearby laughed and chimed in, "Whose lowly maid is this? She's truly blind and doesn't know her place. Shouldn't she go out and find out who Miss Zhuang is? In the entire capital, who would dare to snatch anything from Miss Zhuang?"

This commotion was quite loud, attracting many people on the first floor who wanted to watch the excitement to look up at the second floor.

The woman in fine clothes was known to everyone in the room. She was Zhuang You, the daughter of Zhuang Hu, the Imperial Censor, and was notoriously spoiled and domineering in the capital.

Zhuang You, relying on his aunt being the current empress and his engagement to Prince Yu, has always looked down on the noble ladies of the capital.

At this point, even knowing that the last piece of Luozi Dai had already been reserved, she still forcibly took it for herself regardless of the other party's identity.

Most people are used to this kind of behavior and consider it bad luck if they encounter it.

After all, the bookmaker has a powerful backer, and there are very few families in Beijing that can go head-to-head with him.

Despite the sarcastic remarks, Xia Ximo remained calm. She took a few steps closer to Zhuang You and suddenly asked, "Which hand did you use?"

Zhuang You remained arrogant, refusing to look at her directly. Instead, he deliberately examined the snail-shaped ink in his hand, continuing to make veiled accusations.

"It's such a rare item that even unknown cats and dogs are trying to snatch it."

As soon as she finished speaking, her hand suddenly went out of control and threw the snail-shaped hairpin directly out, shattering it on the ground.

This move caused onlookers to gasp in surprise, and even Zhuang You himself was taken aback.

"I…"

She got up in annoyance, seemingly quite puzzled by her own actions.

But then, an even stranger thing happened.

In full view of everyone, Zhuang You raised his left and right hands and slapped himself twice.