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

"Ren Fengjue, what exactly do you mean?!"

Ren Fengjue's words thoroughly enraged King Yu, Zhao Xing.

He finally lost his temper and slammed his fist on the table, splashing tea everywhere.

Even the pearl rolled to the ground and suddenly shattered.

Just then, a strange black mist emerged from it, swirling around the roof beams before suddenly disappearing.

Zhao Xing witnessed this scene firsthand and couldn't help but rub his eyes...

Shocked, a chill ran down my spine.

"That was just now..."

Ren Fengjue also frowned.

It was that dark, malevolent aura again.

He looked at King Yu, Zhao Xing, and said, "Your Highness, you saw it just now as well."

"You saw it too?"

Zhao Xing looked on incredulously.

Ren Fengjue nodded. "It's a cloud of black mist."

"How could there be something inside that bead..."

How could there be such a strange cloud of black mist?

Taking advantage of Zhao Xing's doubt and uncertainty, Ren Fengjue asked again, "So, Your Highness, you believe what I said, right?"

Zhao Xing remained silent, sat back down at the tea table, and stared into thought as he looked at the tea stains on it.

He was conflicted, yet he also valued his life.

"This bead was actually... presented to me by Ruyan of the Red Sleeve Pavilion..."

Hongxiulou was a famous brothel in the capital.

This place is different from ordinary brothels. Most of the courtesans here came from high-ranking families, either descendants of disgraced officials or fallen nobles.

Those in the capital who could afford to visit the Red Sleeve Pavilion were certainly not ordinary pleasure-seekers.

Zhao Xing had only one lover at the Red Sleeve Pavilion, and that person was Ru Yan.

They had known each other for many years and had a very good relationship.

King Yu also promised that after he got married, he would redeem Ruyan from her servitude and take her as his concubine.

However, Ruyan was, after all, a courtesan, and Zhao Xing had only recently been granted a marriage by the emperor to the legitimate daughter of the Zhuang family, so he did not want to expose their relationship before the wedding.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xing's expression also turned quite unpleasant.

Ren Fengjue remained calm and asked, "Then do you know how Ruyan came to be?"

Such a valuable item would be an absolute luxury even for a courtesan who was "splurged with a thousand pieces of gold".

She obtained such a rare item and actually thought of offering it to King Yu, which shows how deep her feelings were.

Zhao Xing shook his head: "She didn't mention it, and after I brought this item back to the palace, I just tossed it to my attendant."

"I had hurriedly sent the servants to find it before I left home today, I never expected... such a thing would happen."

He seemed a little embarrassed as he said this.

No wonder they refused to admit it before.

Ren Fengjue already had a general idea of ​​what was going on: "I will continue to investigate this matter."

"etc."

Zhao Xing looked embarrassed and suddenly grabbed him, "Could you... not tell anyone about my affair with Miss Ruyan from Hongxiu Tower?"

Ren Fengjue was well aware of his concerns.

The most important thing is to keep Miss Zhuang from finding out about this.

Otherwise, given her personality, even if she didn't cause trouble for Ruyan, she would still go to Empress Zhang's palace and cry her heart out.

If the matter were to escalate to the point where it reaches Emperor Qingkang, he would likely be even more disappointed in this son.

He said calmly, "Your Highness should not go to places like Hongxiu Tower anymore. It's a small matter if Miss Zhuang finds out, but if you really encounter evil spirits, your life may be in danger."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing was shocked and dared not disbelieve it now.

Remembering what Xia Ximo had just said, he was so frightened that he quickly promised, "I will definitely not go again!"

After leaving the flower hall, Zhao Xing's expression was strange and his eyes were panicked, clearly still shaken.

He called Pei Yong over and asked, "What exactly did that woman say to you at Tianxiang Pavilion that day?"

Pei Yong was still shaken, but he told the truth: "She...sent me to find a Taoist priest to exorcise the evil spirits from Miss Zhuang..."

"Go find him immediately after we leave the palace."

These words startled Pei Yong slightly, who hesitated before replying, "Yes...yes!"

Fearing that his blockhead wouldn't understand, Zhao Xing quickly added, "Remember, it's here to exorcise evil spirits for me!"

"..."

Pei Yong was shocked. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he reluctantly agreed to the matter.

-

It was already dusk when I returned from the banquet at the palace.

Xia Ximo didn't say a word the whole way.

It seems that she is a woman of her word; she won't ask a single question about things she doesn't want to get involved in.

But the more she acted this way, the more Ren Fengjue couldn't help but want to strike up a conversation with her.

"The bead shattered in the flower hall just now..."

Xia Ximo, who was resting with his eyes closed, seemed not to hear anything and didn't even lift his eyelids.

Ren Fengjue added, "I saw a wisp of black energy coming out of it, which was probably what you called 'evil energy'."

"..."

"You mentioned earlier that Minister Meng was pierced through the body by a dark shadow. Is it possible that the two events are related?"

Upon hearing this, she finally opened her eyes.

Those dark eyes appeared even colder in the deep twilight.

"The 'thing' that killed Meng Zhiyuan is far more complex than you imagine."

"You can just investigate cases among humans, that's fine."

"I advise you to mind your own business when it comes to ghosts."

Ren Fengjue paused slightly.

I thought to myself, even if it was the work of a ghost, it doesn't necessarily mean it has nothing to do with humans...

Just like Meng Zhiyuan's death, it seems more like a trick secretly used by someone who wanted to prevent the map of the grain transport from falling into the hands of the emperor.

Although he had explained everything to the Emperor, in his view, the case was only partially resolved.

There is an even more important part that has not yet surfaced.

The carriage stopped at this moment, and Ah Xia lowered the footboard to indicate that they had arrived at the Ren residence.

Seeing that Xia Ximo was about to get up and get out of the car, Ren Fengjue deliberately stretched his body and blocked her way with his long legs.

Suddenly, he countered with another question: "If a ghost kills someone, can't I even interfere?"

"Can."

Xia Ximo glanced coldly at his legs and stepped over them.

"Remember to find someone to collect the body."

"..."

-

The lights were on in the guest room in the east wing, and Tianqing was dozing off at the doorway.

She only slowly woke up when she heard footsteps.

"The girl is back?"

"Um."

Xia Ximo walked into the room and glanced around, only to see that the windowsill was full of potted plants.

They are all seasonal flowers and plants, and even in the cold winter season, you can still see a patch of red and green.

Tianqing explained, "These were all bought by me at the market during the day. Do you like them, young lady?"

Xia Ximo walked to the window and saw the bright moon rising. Under its clear light, one of the begonias looked strangely colored.

She stroked the petals with her fingers, and the flower stem trembled gently.

"Where did you buy this plant?"

Tian Qing glanced at them and said, "They were all bought from the same place, but this one..."

"Huh?" She seemed equally puzzled. "How come there's one more?"

At this moment, there are four begonias on the windowsill: two white and two red.

I remember buying only three plants during the day: two white and one red. The red one was a light red with a hint of pink.

But now, out of nowhere, a bright red plant has appeared, its crimson hue eerily vivid under the moonlight…

Xia Ximo instructed, "Put it in the yard first."

Tianqing assumed she didn't like it and immediately moved the flowers away.

At this moment, Wuyou appeared, floating on the windowsill, looking out as if she were in a daze.

"I think I smell a ghost, but something feels off..."

Xia Ximo turned and went back to her room, saying lightly, "You'll find out later."