The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

When Yinque returned, Xie Chengyan was sitting at the table sipping tea, still as noble and handsome as ever, with no expression on his face.

Seeing her return, he slowly stood up. "Since my cousin is asleep, I won't disturb her."

"Tell her that there will be a welcoming banquet in the palace in five days, and the Empress has instructed her to attend."

Having said that, he turned and left.

Upon reaching the front yard, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. Ruan Zhaoyuan ran forward and bowed.

"Your Highness, I would like to ask when my elder sister will return home? She has been staying in the East Palace for more than half a month, and she hasn't even come back when Father was ill."

Cao Shen glanced at His Highness and replied with a smile, "Young Master Ruan, rest assured, Miss Miaoyin is doing well in the Eastern Palace. She will naturally return when the time comes."

Ruan Zhaoyuan wanted to ask something else, but in the end, she didn't say it. "The Crown Prince just came out of Ruan Xianrong's courtyard?" She immediately became righteous and awe-inspiring.

"Your Highness, there is one more thing I would like to tell you."

"explain."

"I shouldn't be saying this, but I can't bear to see Your Highness being deceived. Ruan Xianrong is not a daughter of the Ruan family, so naturally she won't be of one mind with the Ruan family."

"She's a very calculating person. She's always wanted to climb up the social ladder for His Highness. Knowing that His Highness doesn't like her, she's playing hard to get to attract his attention. You mustn't fall for her tricks."

Ruan Zhaoyuan had wanted to say these words for a long time, but he never had the chance.

Once the Crown Prince learns of Ruan Xianrong's despicable thoughts, he will despise her even more, and it will only be a matter of time before she is kicked out of the house.

Xie Chengyan looked over with his calm eyes, as if talking to himself, "Playing hard to get?"

"Yes, it's a case of playing hard to get. She desperately wants to enter the Eastern Palace, and knowing that His Highness won't agree, she came up with this plan. You can't believe her."

"Heh." Xie Chengyan smiled faintly. "Ruan Xianrong has been your elder sister for over a decade, yet Young Master Ruan hates her so much?"

Just as Ruan Zhaoyuan was about to speak, he looked up and met those unfathomable eyes. Having lived two lives, he was still afraid of this person.

On second thought, the Crown Prince favored his elder sister, and he was her younger brother; the Crown Prince wouldn't do anything to him.

"My own sister is back. She's such a vicious person; she's not worthy of being my older sister."

Xie Chengyan was silent for a moment, then he said, "If you don't want to be her brother, then you won't be."

After saying that, she glanced at him coolly and went out the door.

Meanwhile, Ruan Xianrong slept for more than two hours before waking up.

Lying on the tatami, I suddenly sat up as if I remembered the pair of eyes I had seen.

Touching her lips, she felt no pain, and her clothes were intact. She quickly got out of bed, pulled open her collar, and found her neck smooth and white, with nothing there.

Am I dreaming?

How could that be? She clearly saw someone there...

Her cheeks flushed. Could it be that she'd been single for too long and really wanted a man?

Silver Sparrow brought in fruit. "Young lady, you're awake?"

She was in a daze for a moment. "Has anyone been here today?"

"Today, His Highness the Crown Prince came to visit the head of the household. He sat in our courtyard for a while and left a message saying that there will be a welcoming banquet in the palace in five days, and he asked you to attend."

"Has the Crown Prince visited?"

"That's right, but we didn't go inside."

Ruan Xianrong was immediately relieved; it seemed she had really been dreaming.

But this welcome banquet...

Suddenly I remembered that Shen Qinghe said Shen Qinglian's battle was going well. Could it be that he's coming back?

He actually came back alive. Last time, she even had Yinque pass on a message to him, saying that he was arrogant because he didn't have any military merits. Now, he's going to be even more arrogant in front of her.

Silver Sparrow divided the fruit. "Miss, don't just stand there. These are some new fruits from the estate. Why don't you try some?"

Coming to my senses, I took a step and hissed. I had been so focused on looking in the mirror that I hadn't noticed the strange thing on my body.

When I relaxed, I realized that my thigh was sore.

Yinque stepped forward to help her up. "What's wrong, young lady?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing, it's probably just chafed by my clothes, it hurts a little, but it's nothing serious."

"Your undergarments are made of the finest materials, how could they be worn out? Why don't you change them? I'll apply some medicine for you."

Ruan Xianrong was not used to being served, so after eating the fruit, she went behind the screen to change her clothes.

The undergarment was indeed soft, but the inside of her legs were indeed red.

It's unbelievable, how did this perfectly good spot become rubbed red?

After applying the medicine and changing my clothes, I felt better and stopped thinking about it.

He had intended to go to the main courtyard to keep watch, but was sent back by Madam Sun.

"Miss, you've worked hard these past few days, and Madam is also worried about you. Please rest well today and go take care of the master tomorrow," Yinque advised.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

She rested in the courtyard all day, slept a lot during the day, and couldn't fall asleep at night.

Just as I was starting to feel sleepy, a deafening scream jolted me awake.

Yinque ran out from the next room, "Miss, please don't get up yet. I'll go out and take a look."

Ruan Xianrong dressed and chased after her, but halfway there she saw Yinque turn back. "What happened?"

Yinque looked unwell. "Miss, you'd better not go over there."

"It's...it's Miss Miaoyin's courtyard. The servants are all shouting that it's haunted."

"Haunted?"

"The maids and servants of Qiulan Courtyard were so frightened that they could hardly stand. They said they saw it with their own eyes—a female ghost in red."

Yinque looked around, a little scared, her voice trembling, "Granny Kong has already gone over there, Miss, let's go back first."

The two returned to their room, but couldn't fall asleep. The next day, they heard that everyone in Qiulan Courtyard had been punished.

They thought the matter was over, but for several days in a row, the place was haunted, and even the main courtyard and Ruan Zhaoyuan's residence were not spared.

Of all the residences in the Prime Minister's mansion, only Ruan Xianrong's courtyard remained unharmed.

Sun's health had been poor these past two days because her husband was seriously ill, and this fright made her even worse.

Rumors began to circulate in the manor that something unclean was in the house, which was why the head of the household had fallen ill.

Ruan Zhaoyuan also called Ruan Zhaolin back.

"How could something be haunted?"

Ruan Zhaoyuan glared at Ruan Xianrong, "The whole mansion has suffered, only her courtyard is unharmed. Big brother, go ask her."

"What does the haunting of the house have to do with my sister?"

Ruan Zhaolin stood protectively by his sister's side, displaying the authority of an eldest son.

"I've already discussed it with my mother. To put her mind at ease, we'll first ask a Taoist priest to perform a few rituals, and then we'll investigate the entire family. I don't believe there really is any female ghost."

The Taoist priest entered the house that very day and set up an altar to perform rituals.

Ruan Xianrong sat in the designated spot as instructed, thinking it was none of her business. However, after muttering a few words, the old Taoist priest in front of her suddenly pointed his peach wood sword at her.

Ruan Xianrong: "?"

Suddenly, not only did the light behind her brighten, but also a lot of mist rose up.

Before she could turn around, everyone around her gasped.

The old Taoist priest sheathed his peach wood sword, stroked his beard, and looked inscrutable. "How vicious! To actually cast a curse on the Prime Minister's residence. If this continues, the family will surely be destroyed."

"Master, what do you mean by this?" Ruan Zhaoyuan asked.

"This curse is dangerous. Prime Minister Ruan's serious illness is due to this curse. The person who cast the curse is malicious and should be eliminated as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to the person staring motionless behind them.