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

"Just now, people from Ning'an Courtyard came and took the princess away."

At the gate of Zhaoyang Courtyard, when Xia Ximo and the others wanted to meet Zhao Wan, a maid informed them that Princess Wu had already taken her away.

Yu Lang's heart skipped a beat. "It seems Miss Xia guessed correctly..."

Xia Ximo didn't say much, but directly asked one of the familiar maids, Xiao Xizi, to lead the way, and immediately headed to Ning'an Courtyard.

Unexpectedly, a Golden Feather Guard was guarding the courtyard gate.

This Golden Feather Guard was an elite force selected by King Wu from the Golden Feather Army, specifically to protect Princess Fenghua's safety.

Normally, they only obeyed Zhao Wan's orders, but for some reason, they were guarding in front of Ning'an Courtyard at this time.

The leader blocked the group's path and said sternly, "The Princess Consort instructed that the Princess needs to rest and recuperate; no one is allowed to enter."

As the princess's personal maid, Xiao Xizi naturally noticed something amiss.

She retorted, "Shouldn't you Golden Feather Guards be directly under the Princess's command? Did the Princess send you here?"

The commander retorted, "We learned that the princess was injured and was recuperating here, so we stationed ourselves here. What's wrong with that?"

Xiao Xizi said, "I am the princess's personal maid, and I want to go in and see the princess."

"No." The general glared, seemingly impartial: "No one is allowed to enter until the princess wakes up."

"Get out of the way."

Xia Ximo suddenly stepped forward. Although he only said two words, his cold eyes and temperament made the commander involuntarily take a step back.

But he quickly realized what was happening and his attitude became even more forceful, "And who are you?"

Xia Ximo didn't waste words with him. Suddenly, he stretched out a hand and, without even touching the other person, pushed him away.

Everyone watched as the burly general was pushed several feet away, nearly losing his footing.

Seeing her incredible strength, the Golden Feather Guards nearby drew their swords from their waists.

Upon seeing this, Yu Lang quickly stepped forward and showed his badge as the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

"Gentlemen, please refrain from any rash actions. The Dali Temple is investigating a case; surely you wouldn't interfere?"

The general, supported by his subordinates, managed to stand. Though still shaken, he didn't want to lose face, so he strode over aggressively and said, "This is the Prince Wu's residence. Whatever case your Dali Temple is investigating, you must consider the Prince Wu's reputation!"

Yu Lang, however, remained calm and said, "It is precisely because of the need to save King Wu's face that we must investigate this matter thoroughly!"

He said with feigned seriousness, "I suspect that the case of the Du family's disappearance ten years ago was actually a wrongful murder."

"Furthermore, King Wu's death was not due to illness, but rather there were other hidden reasons."

Upon hearing this, the Golden Feather Guards' expressions changed drastically, and for a moment, they were at a loss for what to do.

Yan Zhengchu, who had been silently fiddling with the compass nearby, leaned over and said, "There's a sinister aura in this courtyard, obscured by something. I suspect there's an evil spirit here!"

The words "evil spirit" made the Golden Feather Guards' faces turn even uglier.

They were still undecided when they saw Xia Ximo walk straight inside without saying a word, and this time, no one dared to stop him.

Upon seeing this, Yu Lang and Yan Zhengchu quickly followed behind.

Upon entering the courtyard, one sees an old tree standing in the center, its thick trunk requiring almost three people to encircle it.

What's even stranger is that, in the dead of winter, the trees are still lush and leafy, showing no signs of decay, which is quite eerie.

When Yan Zhengchu saw this strange old tree, he finally understood that it was this thing that blocked the evil energy.

Xia Ximo went straight to the main house. The moment he entered, a cold wind hit his face, and the scattered souls inside the Soul-Crossing Lamp began to tremble restlessly.

Wuyou said, "Her main soul should be nearby."

Xia Ximo looked around the room, but did not see the Princess Consort or the Princess.

"Let's go look around elsewhere."

She gave Yu Lang some instructions, and then they went to check the rooms next door, but they were still empty.

Yu Lang immediately asked the Golden Feather Guards at the door, "Didn't you say the princess was resting inside? Where is she?"

The commander was equally bewildered, stammering, "We were ordered to stand guard here, but we didn't... hear any movement inside! How... how could the person have disappeared?"

At this moment, Yan Zhengchu, who had been standing under the tree, suddenly spoke up: "I have a guess..."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him.

Master Yan pointed downwards: "The person should be down there."

Others couldn't understand, but Yu Lang grasped it immediately.

He immediately went to the tree and examined it carefully. He saw that the ground was covered with dense gravel, so he shone his lantern on it.

Before long, they discovered that one of the protruding and smooth stones was clearly unusual…

He tried turning the stone left and right, and sure enough, a hidden door appeared between the thick tree trunks.

"I was right..."

Yu Lang and Yan Zhengchu exchanged a glance and walked inside without hesitation, with Xia Ximo immediately following behind.

The Golden Feather Guards stood frozen in place, looking at each other, hesitant and undecided.

Xiao Xizi glared at them, "You're supposed to be the princess's guards, yet you're so cowardly!"

As she spoke, she followed her inside.

The commander of the Golden Feather Guard felt humiliated by her words, so he left four men to guard outside while he led the others to follow.

Following the hidden door, we soon arrived at a spacious, secret room.

Yu Lang used the lantern in his hand to shine it around, but then he was stunned.

The bottom was piled high with wine jars, and at first glance it looked like a wine warehouse.

But the echoing footsteps revealed that this place was clearly unfathomably deep.

"Could this... be the wine brewed by Princess Wu?"

He stepped forward, intending to open a jar to take a look, but was stopped by Yan Zhengchu.

"Wait, take a look over there first."

Yu Lang looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a skeleton.

Beside the remains, there were also piles of jars, though they were slightly smaller.

Upon seeing this scene, Yu Lang felt a sudden nausea.

"No wonder Lord Ren said there was something wrong with the wine; it turns out... it was brewed under such conditions..."

Yan Zhengchu, however, said, "The jar next to the remains most likely contains ashes..."

Yu Lang felt another chill run down his spine: "Ashes?"

Then, he immediately made the connection: "It's those who died later..."

Yan Zhengchu's expression was also very solemn: "Keeping their ashes here will allow us to better control their souls."

Yu Lang's expression darkened, and he glanced at the skeleton again. "Then this skeleton should be from the Du family."

Before Master Yan could answer, the sound of children's laughter suddenly rang out from the secret room, approaching from afar, yet remaining elusive.

"Why are there children here?"

Yu Lang was about to look in the direction of the laughter when Yan Zhengchu immediately covered his eyes.

"Don't look! It's a ghost baby!"