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

Upon entering, Ren Fengjue paused for a moment.

The Crown Prince was nowhere to be seen inside, nor was Xia Ximo.

Only one eunuch was tidying up the table.

"Young Master Marquis?"

The young eunuch seemed puzzled by his return: "Is there anything else you need?"

Ren Fengjue asked, "Has my servant boy returned just now?"

The eunuch replied, "Young Master, I have never seen him."

I clearly saw her coming this way just now…

How could I not have seen it before?

"And what about His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Ren Fengjue glanced around the entire study, his doubts deepening.

The young eunuch couldn't answer, only saying, "This servant doesn't know either. I came in to clean because there was no one here."

After all, as the head of the Eastern Palace, he could not possibly leave or stay without explaining to the palace servants.

Ren Fengjue thought to himself that when he brushed past Xia Ximo just now, he felt that the other party's eyes were not right.

Based on past experience, she is very likely possessed by something at this moment.

She hurried toward Yongqingzhai, surely for the sake of the "Crown Prince".

Thinking of this, Ren Fengjue felt a little anxious.

There is only one entrance and exit in Yongqingzhai. Since there is no trace of them, there is only one possibility—the person is still in this study!

He didn't ask any more questions, but he didn't intend to leave either. Instead, he started to "visit" the area on his own.

Seeing this, the young eunuch pretended not to notice and continued to wipe the tables and chairs with his head down.

Yongqingzhai was the Crown Prince's study. It was not only located in a quiet and secluded place, but also close to the Weiyang Palace. Standing by the window, one could also see the Yanbo Lake in Qianqiu Garden.

The facilities inside the study still maintain the simplicity of the former Prince Duan's mansion, with neither famous collections nor any rare treasures.

But there was an extremely tall and wide bookcase, with at least a hundred books on it.

Ren Fengjue had actually noticed the bookcase a long time ago. It was so tall and conspicuous, with thick palace walls behind it, that one couldn't help but wonder if it might be hiding something...

The Eastern Palace was first built in the previous dynasty and has served as the residence of several crown princes.

This place had been empty for a long time before the current crown prince was appointed.

The "anecdote from the previous dynasty" that Ren Fengjue told Crown Prince Zhao Li earlier was not just hearsay.

As a child, he entered the palace school along with other princes and members of the imperial family. Although his teacher was the Grand Tutor of the dynasty, he had served several emperors and was a rare talent.

The Grand Tutor was witty and humorous, and skilled at composing poems and lyrics. Whenever he was in the mood, he would have someone grind ink for him.

Before putting pen to paper, one must first have a little wine to set the mood; once inspiration strikes, one can't control one's mouth.

When Ren Fengjue was young, he loved listening to stories and always volunteered to grind ink for his teacher.

When the gentleman was slightly tipsy, she would pester him to tell her some mysterious old stories.

Half of what I just said to Zhao Li was something I heard from the teacher, in order to test Zhao Li's reaction.

According to rumors circulating in the capital, Dr. Jiang's personal experience, and what Chief Steward Wang said.

He speculated that the current "crown prince" was probably no longer the real Zhao Li.

It is highly likely that he is the ghost of the former crown prince who was trapped and died in a secret chamber.

At this moment, gazing at the heavy nanmu bookcase, Ren Fengjue recalled a secret history of the palace that his teacher had once told him.

There is a secret room in the Eastern Palace, which was privately set up by the former crown prince.

After the palace coup, the crown prince went missing. The former emperor suddenly sent people to secretly investigate the Eastern Palace, where they discovered a secret room.

Unexpectedly, there was a female corpse lying inside that had been dead for some time.

As for the identity of the female corpse, the gentleman remained somewhat clear-headed and chose to keep it a secret, only saying one sentence.

"It's best for the young marquis not to listen to such treasonous matters."

Thinking of this, Ren Fengjue carefully examined the items on the bookshelf again. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, he closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

Suddenly, I remembered the chair the "Crown Prince" was sitting in when I spoke with him earlier...

He opened his eyes and turned around, trying to move the chair to face him. The bookshelf immediately opened silently from both sides, revealing a hidden small door.

The eunuch who was tidying up looked up and was so frightened that he didn't know what to do. Ren Fengjue, however, walked into the room without thinking.

-

Fu Lou, secret passage.

Yu Lang was finally able to take a lantern and go into the secret room to find out what was going on.

Yesterday, after they came out of there, they all had strange expressions on their faces, but they refused to say a word.

Yu Shaoqing was very frustrated and wished he could pry their mouths open.

It's one thing to go into the secret room without him.

They wouldn't even tell you what's going on inside.

Does he not deserve any right to know?

Fortunately, when Master Yan arrived at Fu Lou today, he claimed that he wanted to go to the secret room again.

Upon hearing this, Yu Lang immediately took a lantern and volunteered to lead the way.

Without Lord Ren present this time, no one can stop him!

"May I ask, Master, what exactly was discovered in that secret passage yesterday?"

As Yu Lang walked, he couldn't help but turn back and ask.

Yan Zhengchu hesitated for a moment before replying with just two words: "Bones and bones."

Because the specific details of the tomb were unknown, and the remains had been inside for decades.

He suggested that we leave it as is for the time being to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

Having seen so many skeletons lately, Yu Lang was no longer surprised. He then asked, "Weren't there any other discoveries?"

Yan Zhengchu, however, seemed somewhat absent-minded, only responding with a faint snort.

It was precisely because there were no other discoveries that it felt so strange.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have made another trip.

The secret passage soon came to an end.

Yu Lang was amazed when he saw the stone gate covered with talismans. Putting everything else aside, it really broadened his horizons.

He leaned forward slightly, holding the lantern, just as he was about to take a closer look, when Yan Zhengchu suddenly pushed the stone door open.

A grotesque white skeleton fell towards him, making direct contact with Yu Shaoqing.

"?"

Although Yu Lang was not afraid of corpses, how could he not feel apprehensive about being so close to this thing?

He felt a chill run down his spine and was about to push the object away when he saw a cloud of black energy emerge from the mouth of the skeleton.

"Master Taoist, there's a ghost!"

Yan Zhengchu reacted quickly and reached out to pull him back.

The black aura seemed to have eyes, and it attacked Yu Lang.

This startled Yan Zhengchu, who immediately cast a spell to dispel the black energy.

Yu Lang, hiding behind him, was startled to see the corpse fall to the ground and turn to ashes in an instant.

He stared blankly for a moment before remembering to ask, "Just now... was that black mist a ghost?"

"It's just a wisp of malevolent energy."

As Yan Zhengchu spoke, his expression grew increasingly strange.

He deduced that the malevolent energy could cling to the bones for a long time and also possess offensive power, indicating that it did not come from ordinary evil spirits.

He had fought against Manager Bai of Fu Lou before, and although the other party was skilled, he was clearly not that skilled.

Are they evil spirits that were once sealed in this dark tomb?

Then who came here to break the spell?

As Yan Zhengchu was pondering, he heard hurried footsteps coming from the secret passage behind him.

Then, someone came panting and reported, "Shaoqing, Tongtian Pavilion... there's a ghost in Tongtian Pavilion!"

Upon hearing this, Yan and Yu immediately ran out of the secret passage.

However, when they arrived, they only saw a ground covered in bloody footprints.

Judging from its appearance, that "thing" had just crawled out of the pool...

Yan Zhengchu did some quick calculations, and after connecting the dots, he suddenly slapped his forehead.

"We miscalculated; this is not the place to refine the 'Yin Yang Fiend'!"