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

Hearing what Steward Wang said, even Wuyou, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but feel indignant on his behalf.

"If you do this, it'll be hard to avoid it getting haunted!"

"But in my opinion, the yin energy in this garden is so strong that it doesn't seem like only one person died."

"There are definitely... several more!"

Xia Ximo also spoke up: "The ghost story shouldn't be solely due to this palace maid."

Steward Wang seemed somewhat guilty, but under the other party's sharp gaze, he continued, "Initially, the ghostly incident occurred because someone claimed to have seen Linglong's ghost in Qianqiu Garden..."

On the night Linglong died, several eunuchs and palace maids witnessed the incident in Weiyang Palace.

Therefore, even though the matter was explicitly forbidden from being spread, it was inevitable that it would be passed around among the palace servants.

And on the seventh night after Linglong's death.

Two palace maids on duty were passing by Qianqiu Garden at night when they heard a mournful cry coming from the woods.

They had all heard about the tragic death of the Crown Princess's personal maid, and they were so frightened that they immediately ran away.

However, one of the palace maids, in her panic, accidentally fell and twisted her ankle, becoming unable to move.

Upon seeing this, another palace maid completely disregarded her companion and ran away first.

The next morning, a corpse was found in Qianqiu Garden; it was the palace maid who had been alone.

Their deaths were exactly the same as Linglong's; both had a hole in their chests, with blood seeping into a large patch beneath them.

After the news spread, everyone in the Eastern Palace believed that it was Linglong's ghost coming to claim their lives.

Therefore, almost no one dared to pass through Qianqiu Garden at night.

Thinking of the horrific state of the two female corpses, Steward Wang felt a chill run through him. He subconsciously rubbed his arms and continued, "I thought that once Linglong's ghost took the lives, things would be over."

In fact, the situation began to spiral out of control...

Every month thereafter, a woman would die in the same way.

At first, they were palace maids, then concubines of the crown prince, and even court musicians and dancers.

In total, seven or eight people died.

Steward Wang had lived most of his life and had always been skeptical of ghosts and gods.

But after experiencing it firsthand, I had no choice but to believe it.

He even tried to secretly find sorcerers who could exorcise ghosts and ward off evil spirits, but when the crown prince found out, he was furious and drove them all away.

He even explicitly forbade the worship of ghosts and gods within the Eastern Palace, and if any talk of "vengeful ghosts claiming lives" were to spread, the person found to be in this state would be immediately beaten to death.

Xia Ximo scoffed, "So wicked, and he still doesn't believe in ghosts and gods? I think he's the most 'wicked' one."

Surprisingly, Steward Wang did not argue when he heard her speak so rudely.

Even he felt that, no matter how you looked at it, the matter was strange and sinister.

Looking at the increasingly desolate garden, and recalling his first arrival at the Eastern Palace, a hint of unconcealed sorrow appeared in his eyes.

"Ten people have died in this year, and gradually, no one dares to pass through here, not to mention at night, even during the day."

"A perfectly good garden, and now it's turned into this..."

Xia Ximo had no time to listen to his lamentations: "Now that things are clear, if you're scared, you can leave first."

Manager Wang was startled. "Miss, you don't think I'm joking with you, do you? There's really something in here..."

"There's something fishy going on." Xia Ximo interrupted him again: "I know."

Manager Wang opened his mouth, looking incredulous, "Aren't you afraid that you... might get entangled with them too?"

"Afraid."

She replied with a single word, then added, "I'm afraid those ghosts won't come out."

Steward Wang was startled again and again. He looked the man up and down and a new guess came to mind.

Could it be that there are people in the Shadow Division who can catch ghosts and ward off evil spirits?

While I was still in a daze, I caught a glimpse of something flashing by among the misty shadows of the trees out of the corner of my eye.

Manager Wang was so frightened that his breath caught in his throat, and he pointed in the direction, "...A ghost!"

Xia Ximo replied, "It's not a ghost, it's a person."

"…people?"

Before he could react, the woman in front of him rushed after him like a gust of wind.

Since gaining fifty percent of the Earth Lord's soul power, Xia Ximo's hands and feet have become much more agile than before.

At that moment, she moved as if riding the wind, and in a short while, she caught up with the person in front of her.

"stop!"

When the fleeing man realized he was being caught, he simply stood still and refused to move.

Xia Ximo took a few more steps closer and discovered that it was a slender woman.

She wore a black cloak, her head slightly lowered, almost covering half of her face.

Hearing footsteps approaching, she instead coldly shouted, "I order you not to come any closer."

Xia Ximo, of course, wouldn't listen, but Chief Steward Wang, who had come upon hearing the commotion, suddenly exclaimed, "It's Her Highness the Crown Princess!"

The sound of Steward Wang's voice startled Tang Yuelang, who slowly turned around.

"Why is Your Highness here?"

Steward Wang was clearly puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Tang Yuelang's eyes turned cold, but she arrogantly replied, "If I want to come out, does anyone think they can stop me?"

That's not what I meant...

Chief Steward Wang explained, "What this old servant means is that Her Majesty knew perfectly well that this garden was already a forbidden area of ​​the Eastern Palace..."

"I don't know!"

Tang Yuelang retorted sharply, "All I know is that this is the back garden of the Eastern Palace."

When she spoke of the words "back garden," her voice became slightly hoarse, suggesting that she was moved by the scene.

Xia Ximo noticed that her hands, which were tucked inside her sleeves, were covered in mud, suggesting that she must have come here for another purpose.

She asked bluntly, "Did you kill your personal maid?"

Upon hearing this, Steward Wang's heart nearly jumped into his throat.

How come this woman dares to ask so many questions?

A complex look flashed across Tang Yuelang's eyes, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by indifference.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you ask me such a question?"

Xia Ximo's expression was even colder than hers: "A life for a life, of course I have the right to ask you that."

Tang Yuelang was subtly overwhelmed by her aura and was momentarily stunned, seemingly trying to guess her identity.

But Steward Wang couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, this man is Marquis Ren's man. If you have any grievances..."

"Shut up!" Tang Yuelang interrupted him arrogantly, "I am the Crown Princess, and even if Ren Fengjue were here, he wouldn't dare question me like this!"

Xia Ximo narrowed his eyes, no longer intending to waste any more words with her. Just as he was about to take another step forward, he seemed to step on something.

Looking down, I realized it was a hairpin.

Just as she was about to bend down to pick it up, Tang Yuelang suddenly rushed up, snatched the hairpin away first.

Seeing how nervous she was about the item, Xia Ximo sneered and with a slight flick of her fingers, the hairpin fell to the ground again.

Tang Yuelang tried to pick it up again, but found that her body was frozen in place and she could not move. She was terrified.

"It's your stuff? You dare to steal it?"

Xia Ximo gave her a cold glance, then bent down to pick it up in front of her and examined the hairpin in his hand.

Upon seeing this, Tang Yuelang's face showed a mixture of shock and anger, with a hint of anxiety.

"Give me back my things!"