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

Faced with Xia Ximo's questioning, Madam Fan's face turned as white as paper, her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

She stared blankly at the orphan girl in front of her, her heart filled with only panic and fear.

"You...you're not Xia Ximo, are you...a human or a ghost?"

In the past, Xia Ximo was a sickly, weak, and incompetent man who was bullied by everyone.

How could she know all this?

How could someone say such a thing?

Outside the window, the wind and snow raged, and the night was still long.

Xia Ximo stood before Madam Fan, his eyes as calm as a still lake, yet undisturbed.

Her voice remained cold, but she replied with a completely unrelated remark.

"Back then, it was you who pushed Mu Lin into the water."

The name, which had been dormant for many years, was suddenly mentioned, startling even the butler, Zhou, who was standing nearby.

Fan was struck dumb, her lips trembling: "What...nonsense are you spouting?"

Seven years ago, Mu Zheng's only son, Mu Lin, accidentally fell into the pond in the back garden while playing and drowned.

His birth mother, Concubine Liu, fell seriously ill as a result and subsequently became mentally unstable.

What seemed like an accident was actually known only to her what had happened that night in the back garden of the Mu residence.

Xia Ximo stared intently at one spot, as if she were there herself, and then said, "That night, Mu Lin finished his homework, went to the back garden, and picked a magnolia branch, intending to take it back to Liu Shi."

"At that time, you happened to be taking a walk alone in the garden. Mu Lin disliked you and, although he saw you from afar, did not want to come over to pay his respects."

"So you called out to him."

That night, a six-year-old child reluctantly walked over, carrying the white magnolia on his back.

Madam Fan frowned in displeasure and asked, "Why are you hiding when you see me?"

Mu Lin could only bow respectfully and explain in a low voice, "I...I didn't see Madam."

He was born to a concubine, but he never wanted to call his wife, Lady Fan, "mother." Mu Zheng indulged him and even went so far as to advise his wife to be magnanimous.

Thinking of this, Madam Fan felt a surge of anger and immediately rebuked him coldly, "Mu Lin, how did you learn to lie at such a young age? Do you believe I'll tell your father about this?"

Mu Lin knew, of course, that his father loved him, but he didn't take it seriously, and a hint of disdain even flashed in his eyes.

Looking at the eyes and brows that so closely resembled Liu's, Madam Fan was suddenly filled with jealousy and immediately demanded, "What are you hiding? Give it to me!"

Upon seeing this, Mu Lin took several steps back and retorted, "This is for my mother!"

This sentence completely enraged Fan.

She stepped forward, intending to snatch the magnolia from Mu Lin's hand to vent her anger.

However, even the little children became stubborn, protecting the flowers in their hands and refusing to let go.

As the two remained locked in their standoff, they failed to notice the deep pond beside them.

Until, with a splash, water sprayed everywhere, and magnolia petals scattered on the ground…

Recalling that scene, Madam Fan felt as if the huge rock in her heart had pressed down on her again.

Fear welled up in his eyes.

Looking at Xia Ximo, the fear in her heart suddenly turned into despair.

"No... I didn't push him, he... he fell down on his own, don't try to frame me!"

There were no outsiders present in the back garden that evening.

After Mu Lin fell into the water, he struggled and cried for help for a long time before gradually losing consciousness.

The body was not found until the following morning when it surfaced in the water.

As the mistress of the house, Madam Fan immediately punished the maids responsible for taking care of Mu Lin and sent them away one by one.

This matter became a taboo in the Mu family, and no one dared to mention it again.

Seven years ago, Xia Ximo hadn't even moved into the Mu residence yet. How could she know the details so clearly, as if she had witnessed it herself...?

A cold wind swept by, the candlelight flickered, and shattered shadows littered the ground.

Fan felt a chill spread through her body and instinctively tightened her grip on the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.

"A dead man wouldn't falsely accuse you."

Xia Ximo walked to the lamp, took the candle scissors, trimmed the wick, and then said, "You were guilty, so you filled in the pond, intending to turn it into a magnolia garden to comfort the souls of the dead. Unfortunately, every tree you planted died."

"After all, those who die unjustly harbor the deepest resentment, and you couldn't possibly not have felt it over the years."

Madam Fan bit her lower lip, her trembling fingers slowly moving the prayer beads, but she couldn't utter a word.

In fact, she has been plagued by nightmares all these years.

In a recurring dream, the magnolia garden in the backyard always transforms into the pond of yesteryear.

Mu Lin, soaking wet, stood on the bank, holding a white magnolia in his hand, and softly called out to his mother.

The strangest thing is that after waking up, the room is always filled with a strong magnolia fragrance.

Even if it's not the season for flowers to bloom.

Thinking of these things, Madam Fan couldn't help but close her eyes and begin reciting Buddhist scriptures.

Only by feeling each bead of the rosary roll through one's fingertips can one find a sense of peace.

However, the string of beads broke for no apparent reason at this moment, scattering the prayer beads all over the ground.

Panicked, as if she had lost her last lifeline, Madam Fan no longer cared about her status as the mistress of the house. She knelt on the ground and picked up her Buddhist prayer beads.

Xia Ximo coldly watched as a Buddhist bead rolled to his feet, and then spoke again.

"Don't rush, there is still one wisp of a soul waiting to confront you."

Fan looked up in astonishment.

The girl in front of me was so frail and weak, yet her deep black and white eyes were enough to awe people.

"ghost!"

She shuddered, finally realizing she needed to leave.

"Help! Help!"

As Fan tried to shout and crawl out, the swirling gust of cold wind around her was like a pair of ghostly hands, holding her back and preventing her from leaving.

However, no matter how much she screamed, no one outside the door responded.

Having lived her entire life in seclusion, she had never witnessed such a bizarre scene. Terrified, she was on the verge of collapse and could no longer hold on. She knelt at Xia Ximo's feet and cried out.

"Please, Xi Mo, I was really wrong, please let me go."

"I was out of my mind to do such a thing."

"What do I have to do for you to let me go?"

The usually dignified and proper mistress was now begging for mercy like a madwoman from the marketplace, completely devoid of dignity.

Xia Ximo remained unfazed by the situation.

She simply said coldly, "Four years ago, my maid Ying'er disappeared. You said she betrayed me and secretly ran away from the manor."

Fan's back stiffened, and she immediately stopped crying and shouting, but she was stunned and unable to speak.

Chun Ying'er grew up with Xia Ximo since childhood. After the General's Mansion was destroyed, she was the only one who was still willing to follow her former master.

She was loyal and kind, and even in the Mu family, she only recognized Xia Ximo as her master.

Four years ago, Chunying learned that Madam Fan had substituted one thing for another and deceived the Lady of the Marquis. Feeling indignant, she wanted to seek justice for her young mistress.

Fan saw him as a stumbling block and ordered his men to put poison in his food that would render him mute.

Chun Ying'er, being of a fiery temperament, caused a great disturbance in the mansion even though she was unable to speak.

That night, Madam Fan called three or five guards, who tied her up and dragged her into the woodshed in the backyard.

"I'm only sparing your worthless life because you're a former servant of the General's Mansion. If you continue to misbehave, don't blame me!"

She personally stepped forward to warn them, hoping to intimidate them.

Chunying refused to back down and spat at her on the spot, her eyes filled with hatred.

Enraged, Madam Fan gave a signal to the guards beside her, who immediately understood and began to punch and kick the small, weak girl.

The warbler soon fell silent...

Xia Ximo's cold voice broke the silence once again.

"But I know she died a long time ago, beaten to death, and her body was thrown into the dry well in the backyard."

Am I right?

"Madam Mu?"

Under her gaze, Fan's stiff back completely slumped down.