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

Having only been back in Beijing for a day, the Ren residence was soon visited by several groups of people the next morning, almost overwhelming the steward, Ren Cong.

The first wave was when the Empress invited the Princess to the palace for a gathering.

The second wave involved the Emperor inviting Ren Fengjue to the palace.

The third wave was from Crown Prince Zhao Li, who invited everyone to visit the Eastern Palace when they had time.

In addition, there were people from the Marquis of Renxuan's residence and the Ministry of Justice.

After Ren Cong relayed these messages, Ren Fengjue had a carriage prepared and sent Yaoguang to the Imperial Medical Bureau to ask the Imperial Physician to treat her personally.

After finishing this matter, he went to the palace to meet the emperor.

When they arrived, Zhao Wan was already in the palace. She had just finished seeing Emperor Qingkang and was planning to meet the Empress. Princess Ding'an was also with her.

The two sisters hadn't seen each other for a long time, but their relationship had improved considerably.

They saw Ren Fengjue walking towards them from afar at the corner of the covered walkway.

In the past, they would have rushed to greet her, but now, Zhao Wan no longer wanted to "compete".

Princess Ding'an, just like before, trotted forward and called him "Brother Feng" affectionately.

"Brother Feng, you're finally back."

She stepped forward, tugged at Ren Fengjue's sleeve, and looked him up and down carefully. She frowned and said, "You've lost so much weight. You must have suffered a lot outside."

As soon as Princess Ding'an finished speaking, Zhao Wan couldn't help but laugh.

She couldn't help but say, "Ruozhen, stop worrying. The young marquis has been accompanied by Miss Xia throughout his trip, and he's doing just fine."

Upon hearing this, Princess Ding'an froze for a moment.

After a long pause, she said indignantly, "Is it that Xia Ximo?"

On that day, Mu Tingting impersonated Xia Ximo and entered the palace, where Princess Ding'an had met her once.

She disliked that "petty" woman to no end, and the thought of her engagement to Ren Fengjue made her furious.

This was all a misunderstanding. Lady Rong, the wife of the Marquis, had already explained it to the Empress, but it did not reach the princess's ears.

Therefore, at this time, Princess Ding'an still believed that "the Xia family girl" was Mu Tingting.

Zhao Wan said, "So you've met him before?"

Princess Ding'an said with a disdainful look, "Of course I've seen him, he's not worthy of Brother Feng at all."

Zhao Wan looked at Ren Fengjue with a curious expression.

Ren Fengjue frowned slightly and explained to Princess Ding'an, "Princess, the one you met was not Miss Xia. I will explain this to you later."

Because he was in a hurry to meet the emperor, he didn't want to explain too much to Princess Ding'an and went straight into the palace.

Princess Ding'an watched his retreating figure, secretly growing resentful.

She then asked Zhao Wan, "Sister Wan, what did Brother Feng mean by that?"

When this happened, Zhao Wanyuan was in Liangzhou, so how could she have known about it?

She shrugged and said, "I don't know either, but the Xia Ximo I've met isn't like what you described. On the contrary, she's more magnanimous and capable than many men I've met..."

Hearing this, Princess Ding'an became even angrier.

"Sister Wan! Even you're siding with Xia Ximo? I'm getting angry!"

She turned and left, but Zhao Wan, as if looking at a child, advised, "There are plenty of men in the world besides Ren Fengjue. You are the dignified Princess Daqi; what kind of man can't you have? Why fixate on him?"

Princess Ding'an not only wouldn't listen, but also threw a tantrum: "I only want Brother Feng! I only like him!"

Zhao Wan sighed, patted her head, acting like an older sister for once, and continued, "Ruozhen, you're still young. You'll understand in a couple of years. You can't force matters of the heart. Besides, Ren Fengjue and Xia Ximo are in love. Even your father might not be able to separate them."

Princess Ding'an wiped away her tears, but said nothing, and turned to leave.

Watching her princess cousin's retreating figure, Zhao Wan smiled and said, "Xia Ximo, you should thank me. If I hadn't come to the capital, I don't know how my princess cousin would have dealt with you."

Meanwhile, Xia Ximo, who was at the Ren residence, was not idle either.

She and Yan Zhengchu were in the hall, using that piece of broken bone to continue searching for Chongli's whereabouts.

Strangely, the compass needle kept drifting and never landed.

Yan Zhengchu scratched his head in distress, puzzled, and asked, "How come there are traces of him all over the city?"

Xia Ximo had long anticipated that Chong Li was adept at hiding and would not be found so easily.

She even suspected that the other party had another conspiracy in revealing her whereabouts in Beijing.

But now that he has lost his three souls and only has a few wisps of remnant spirit left, what kind of storm can he stir up?

Just as she was pondering this, Ren Cong suddenly appeared outside the door and called out to her, "Miss Xia."

Xia Ximo walked to the door, about to ask him what was wrong, when she caught sight of a figure not far away.

"Xi Mo, it's me."

In the courtyard stood Lady Rong, whom we hadn't seen for a long time; she had come in person.

This surprised Xia Ximo, who stepped forward and asked, "Madam, what brings you here?"

Rong only brought one personal maid and one nanny, but she was carrying several food boxes.

"I know you might not be willing to go to the Marquis's residence if I ask you to, so I'll just go there directly."

She walked into the hall and said, "It's time for lunch. I've prepared some dishes and snacks. Please have a taste."

Seeing that Yan Zhengchu was also there, Rong invited him to come along, "Little Taoist priest, come on over too."

This made Yan Zhengchu somewhat flattered.

The maid opened the food box, and a variety of delicious dishes were laid out on the table, making it hard to resist.

The old nanny standing nearby smiled and said, "Miss Xia, these were all made by the Madam herself. The only people our Madam would cook for are you and the young master."

"Too talkative."

Madam Rong gave a reproachful look, then personally ladled out a bowl of soup and handed it to her, saying, "I see you have indeed lost weight. After traveling all this way, enduring wind and rain, it really breaks my heart."

Looking at the steaming soup in front of him, Xia Ximo felt a warmth in his heart and sincerely said, "Thank you, Madam."

Madam Rong smiled at her, her eyes full of affection: "Don't call me Madam, it's too formal. You should call me Auntie."

Yan Zhengchu, standing to the side, couldn't help but say, "Don't change your address yet. Maybe in a few days, you'll have to be like the young marquis..."

Upon hearing this, Rong was taken aback.

She then realized what was happening, and her face immediately lit up with a smile. She was very pleased: "I knew it. You two are destined to be together, and I've always known that Feng'er has feelings for you..."

Xia Ximo was at a loss for words. She was always frank, and since she understood her feelings for Ren Fengjue, she did not deny them.

She didn't speak, which Rong took as tacit agreement. She was even happier and stroked the stray hairs on her forehead. Her eyes also became a little moist.