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

Although Wuyou was not afraid of Yang energy, she was afraid of Ren Fengjue.

It trembled inside the soul-ferrying lamp: "With such a powerful figure standing next to you, how dare I come out?"

Xia Ximo frowned slightly: "It's fine if you don't come out, but tell me where Meng Zhiyuan's main soul is now?"

Ren Fengjue saw her speaking into the lamp, but there was no response from the surroundings.

He wondered if she really could understand "ghost language"?

After a while, Xia Ximo put down the lamp and asked him, "Do you know where the very center of the palace is?"

Ren Fengjue replied without hesitation: "It should be the Imperial Palace."

"What will it be used for?"

Ren Fengjue tried to explain it in an easy-to-understand way: "It's the place where the morning court is held."

He asked, "Where is Meng Zhiyuan's ghost?"

Xia Ximo nodded.

If she guessed correctly, Meng Zhiyuan would only go to a few places he frequented during his lifetime.

Perhaps, only by seeing the emperor and presenting him with the map could he put an end to his final obsession.

"Is there any way to get the Emperor to come to the Imperial Palace?"

That's what she asked.

Ren Fengjue immediately understood her thoughts and asked, "Was Meng Zhiyuan's unfulfilled wish in the mortal world to see the Emperor?"

Xia Ximo said, "To be precise, he wanted to personally hand over the completed map to the emperor."

"But humans and ghosts are destined to be apart..."

Ren Fengjue wanted to say that since the emperor could not see ghosts with his naked eye, this matter would probably not work.

On second thought, it seems there is another option.

"Possession".

Xia Ximo stated bluntly, "If necessary, I will have Meng Zhiyuan possess my body directly."

"..."

Ren Fengjue hesitated before asking, "If it has to be this way, then it doesn't necessarily have to be you..."

It can only be me.

Xia Ximo said with certainty, "What Meng Zhiyuan left in the palace was only a wisp of soul, and his yin energy was still weak."

"Only a body of utmost Yin can contain this wisp of its soul."

"In the short term, you'll probably find it hard to find anyone else besides me."

After hearing her explanation, Ren Fengjue finally understood the conditions involved.

He suddenly paused for a moment.

The body of ultimate yin...

That person must have been born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour.

From a fortune-telling perspective, such people are born as cursed zodiac stars, destined to bring death to their closest relatives.

Ren Fengjue remembered hearing someone mention it once when he was ten years old.

She was one of his wet nurses.

That afternoon, after the wet nurse had put him to sleep, she chatted with several maids under the eaves.

"If you ask me, that guy from the Xia family is a jinx. He killed both his parents and is now a walking sickly person."

"The Marquis and his wife are kind-hearted. The General's Mansion has already been dissolved, so why keep this marriage going?"

"Poor Donglang, who knows what will happen if he marries a woman like this..."

The whispered words reached his ears, faintly.

For a moment, he couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality...

But when he woke up, the wet nurse disappeared from the room.

When he was older, he learned that his mother had happened to pass by that day, overheard those words, and immediately ordered that the wet nurse be expelled from the Marquis's mansion.

After learning about this, he remained indignant for a long time.

He lost his beloved wet nurse because of a complete stranger and a bizarre marriage...

He held a grudge against it.

Now, when Ren Fengjue thinks about this matter again, he has a different opinion.

Even the wet nurse in his own household would say such things.

What will become of Xia Ximo, who lives under someone else's roof?

In such a place, even bearing the name of a general's orphan would inevitably draw criticism...

Judging from Mu Zheng's attitude towards her, how much sincerity could this uncle possibly have?

Ren Fengjue slowly came to his senses, only to see Xia Ximo staring at him with those bright black eyes, seemingly waiting for a reply.

"If that's the case..."

He said, "I can only give it a try."

Xia Ximo nodded and said, "Then I'll go over first. You can bring the emperor over."

"..."

That's easy for you to say.

That's the emperor.

Who else would dare to say such a thing?

But Ren Fengjue couldn't refuse, and inexplicably chose to trust her one more time.

"it is good."

-

When Ren Fengjue returned to the banquet, Princess Ding'an was throwing a tantrum.

Seeing him return, she was visibly happy for a moment, then snorted, crossed her arms, and turned away.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Qingkang also glanced in this direction.

To appease his daughter, he feigned seriousness and said, "If you don't come back soon, I'll have to send the Golden Feather Guards to arrest you!"

Ren Fengjue stepped forward and bowed to both the emperor and the princess. "I had to leave for a while because I was thinking about some things. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Princess Ding'an walked up to him angrily, put her hands behind her back, and scolded, "I've been looking for you for ages, my feet are killing me!"

"What on earth have you been doing?"

Ren Fengjue smiled, then looked at Emperor Qingkang and said, "A few days ago, Your Majesty and I played a game of chess..."

Emperor Qingkang loved playing chess, and even when he was extremely busy with state affairs, he would always find time to play a game.

However, although there were many chess players in the court, most of them were intimidated by the emperor's power. They either dared not make a move and were subservient, or they deliberately let the emperor win.

The only one who could truly challenge him was Ren Fengjue.

A few days ago, the two played a game of chess in a side hall of the Imperial Palace.

Emperor Qingkang narrowly won by one move and immediately declared that Ren Fengjue could come to the Imperial Palace to find him anytime if he could devise a solution…

"So, Ren Xiaolang has figured out a solution?"

When the topic of chess came up, Emperor Qingkang became incredibly animated, and even his way of addressing Ren Fengjue became much more affectionate.

Ren Fengjue replied, "If Your Majesty permits, we can try now."

"it is good."

Without saying a word, Emperor Qingkang stood up and said, "I will go with you to the Imperial Palace first."

Princess Ding'an pouted in dissatisfaction and huffed, "Father, I want to go too..."

"Ruozhen, there are so many guests here, please sit for a while. Your father will be right back."

One must not be distracted when playing chess. Emperor Qingkang, fearing that his beloved daughter would cause trouble, gave a wink to Consort Qi who was standing to the side.

Princess Ding'an grew up in the palace of Consort Qi. Among all the people in the harem, she feared Consort Qi the most.

"Ruozhen".

With a soft call, the princess returned to her seat and obediently watched Emperor Qingkang and Ren Fengjue leave.

She gave a soft hum, picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and then sulked alone for a while.

At this moment, her third brother, King Yu, quietly walked over.

"Sixth sister, here, this is your birthday gift from your third brother."

King Yu smiled and presented a congratulatory gift, a bright pearl the size of a pigeon's egg.

Princess Ding'an's eyes immediately lit up: "Thank you, Third Brother! This bead is so beautiful! Where did you get it, Third Brother?"

"If it's something Sixth Sister likes, even if it's a dragon pearl from the East Sea, Third Brother will get it for you!"

After the brother and sister talked for a while, Princess Ding'an finally smiled again.

However, taking advantage of the princess's good mood, King Yu suddenly changed his tone and asked, "Ruozhen, there's been a rumor circulating in the capital lately about your 'Brother Feng.' Have you heard about it?"