“Are you asking to use my Buddha Hall?” The princess swallowed a bowl of medicinal broth, wiped her lips with a handkerchief, and looked up at Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi nodded, trying hard to discern something from her gaze, but all she saw was a deep abyss. She felt a thread of doubt in her heart but continued with her prepared speech, “It’s been a year since I entered the family, and I haven’t been able to conceive yet. I feel ashamed in front of my mother-in-law and father-in-law.
A few days ago, I went to a temple to consult a senior monk. He gave me a talisman and said that as long as I close myself in the family Buddha Hall for two days, I can invoke the spirits and pray for an early pregnancy.” As she spoke, she involuntarily placed her hand on her belly, her face filled with sadness. “I’ve been restless day and night for this matter, only wishing to bear a child for the Xiao family soon. I hope my mother-in-law can understand and fulfill my wish.”
While she was on the verge of tears, the princess looked at her coldly, her eyes filled with arrogance. After a long while, she conjured up a cool smile and said, “It’s rare for you to have such intentions but about the Buddha Hall…” She played with the sandalwood rosary on her wrist, deliberately leaving the topic hanging.
Yuan Xi’s heart was lifted by her words, constantly rehearsing in her mind how to respond to various reasons for rejection. Unexpectedly, the princess reached out and had Yuma help her stand up, then walked to Yuan Xi’s side and said, “The Buddha Hall belongs to the Marquis’s mansion, not just me alone. Since you need it, you can use it.” Just as Yuan Xi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she caught a glimpse of the mocking smile on the princess’s face. Her heart sank, and at that moment, the princess leaned in slightly, running her nails across Yuan Xi’s cheek, saying, “Be careful not to damage my place.”
Yuan Xi couldn’t help but shudder, forcing a smile on her face as she replied, “Yes, mother-in-law, Yuan Xi remembers.”
As Yuan Xi left, Yuma nervously glanced at the princess, but the princess sat down leisurely, her eyes filled with disdain. “Since it has come to this, I want to see what tricks she can play.”
As the night fell, the Buddha Hall was brightly lit. Yuan Xi knelt straight in front of the Guanyin statue, chanting scriptures devoutly, but her eyes seemed a bit unfocused, unsure of where they were directed. Suddenly, a dark figure flashed outside the Buddha Hall. Yuan Xi turned around abruptly, hearing a light knock on the door. She quickly stood up, quietly opened the door, and was pulled into a sturdy embrace by a pair of large hands.
The familiar and stable breath made her feel very safe. Xiao Du lowered his head, smoothing the strands of hair on her forehead, and whispered, “Tired from kneeling?”
Yuan Xi shook her head with a smile, but considering they were in the Buddha Hall, she quickly broke free from his embrace and said hastily, “I was just observing around earlier, but I couldn’t find any problems. If there were corpses hidden somewhere, there would be a smell of blood that sandalwood couldn’t cover.”
Xiao Du frowned and said, “Maybe the corpses have been removed, so we can’t find them.”
Yuan Xi shook her head, “Even if it’s cleaned up, insects won’t be fooled. When I came here, I secretly brought a leech with me. This kind of insect loves the smell of blood, but it couldn’t find its way into the Buddha Hall.”
Xiao Du furrowed his brows. “Then what do you think is going on? Did we look in the wrong direction?”
Yuan Xi stamped her foot on the green bricks beneath her, her eyes flickering. Xiao Du followed her gaze and suddenly realized, “You suspect there’s a cellar under the Buddha Hall.”
Yuan Xi nodded and said, “Now all we need to do is find the mechanism and the way in, and we can discover the secrets here.”
The two of them wasted no time and began searching carefully in the Buddha Hall. Initially, Yuan Xi thought there would be cracks if there were a cellar, so she tried pouring water into the gaps between the bricks to see where it would flow. However, after searching for a long time, they found nothing. As dawn approached, they began to feel anxious.
At this moment, someone outside suddenly shouted, “There’s a leak, there’s a leak!” Yuan Xi and Xiao Du looked at each other and quickly opened the door to look outside. However, as they were distracted, a candle in the Buddha Hall suddenly fell, and flames quickly spread, engulfing everything.
There were many flammable items in the Buddha Hall, and once the fire started, it was difficult to contain. Xiao Du’s face darkened, and he quickly pulled the stunned Yuan Xi to the side, fearing she would be burned by the flames. Yuan Xi was held tightly in his arms, staring blankly at the raging flames before her. The thick black smoke obscured the faces of the Bodhisattvas, and even the statues seemed to sway dangerously.
Many servants rushed over, and after the initial shock, they immediately picked up tools to fight the fire. At this time, the princess and the old marquis finally arrived. The princess’s hair was disheveled, and she was only wrapped in a thin cloak, obviously having rushed here hastily. Her face, without makeup, looked somewhat distorted in the firelight, incredulously observing everything in front of her. Suddenly, she turned and pointed at Yuan Xi, saying, “You! I kindly lent you the Buddha Hall, why did you commit such a heinous act!”
Yuan Xi was still in a daze, unable to say a word in response to such accusations. Xiao Du suddenly saw the princess and, despite the turmoil in his heart, immediately tightened his grip on Yuan Xi’s hand, indicating for her not to panic. He then raised his voice and said, “It’s not her fault. I was with her just now and saw that she didn’t do anything.”
The princess’s face seemed to have been soaked in ice, staring coldly at Xiao Du for a long time without speaking. Then she sneered, “Only she was in the Buddha Hall tonight. If it wasn’t her, then how did the fire start?”
“That’s enough,” Xiao Du wanted to argue further, but the old marquis spoke up, “The weather is dry, and leaks are common. Let’s not make a big deal out of this. We’ll repair it tomorrow, and that will be the end of it.”
“The Buddha Hall is a place of worship for the gods. Now that it’s on fire and the statues are damaged, is the Marquis planning to let it go so easily?” The princess’s voice, usually weak, suddenly filled with momentum.
The old marquis frowned at her, and the princess stared back at him without relenting. Her intentions were clear: she would demand an explanation for the fire in the Buddha Hall tonight. After a stalemate between the old marquis and the princess, they understood that doing nothing would be difficult to justify to others. With a sigh, the old marquis said, “Well, let Yuan Xi be confined for a few days as punishment for today’s incident. As for other matters, we’ll wait until the truth comes out.”
Xiao Du was immediately anxious and quickly protected Yuan Xi behind him, saying, “I was also in the Buddha Hall tonight. If there’s punishment…”
Before he could finish, Yuan Xi stepped forward. Her face was still somewhat pale, but her tone was firm, “Sir, there’s no need to defend me. I’m willing to take responsibility for this matter myself.” Then she turned around and straightened Xiao Du’s clothes and hair, but the meaning in her eyes was clear: they couldn’t be punished together.
Xiao Du felt anxious but knew she didn’t want him to intervene at this moment. He swallowed his reluctance and took her hand, saying, “Alright, I’ll decide where to confine her and how. I hope the parents will take into account the child’s face and not make things difficult anymore.” He paused after saying ‘parents’ and then continued the rest of his sentence.
The princess’s gaze turned cold, and she stared at Xiao Du’s face for a long time. Seeing the two of them leave together, she felt a surge of irritation in her heart, but she suppressed it. She grabbed Yuma’s hand tightly, her hand trembling slightly. Coldly, she said, “Since the fire is out, and punishment has been meted out, let’s go back.”
After speaking, she walked straight past the old marquis. As she passed by Xiao Zixuan, she heard her whisper, “I know about the fan incident…”
The princess trembled, and suddenly turned her head to stare at Xiao Zixuan. She saw the mocking smile in Xiao Zixuan’s eyes, and her chin lifted slightly, saying, “I saw everything. Don’t think that confining your sister-in-law will make everything alright. Your dirty deeds will soon be exposed to everyone.”
The princess dug her nails into Yuma’s wrist, struggling not to turn her head, pretending as if nothing had happened, and continued walking forward. Behind her, Xiao Zixuan’s smile grew deeper, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes as she murmured, “Indeed… do you also have moments of fear?”
On the other side, the princess pretended to be calm as she returned to her room, dismissing the maids inside. Her face turned green as she walked to the desk, her hands trembling violently. Suddenly, she went mad and threw everything on the table to the ground, muttering repeatedly, “She said she saw it, she said she saw it! How could she have seen it, tell me! How could she have seen it!” The last sentence was pointed directly at where Yuma was. Her eyes, red with anger, revealed intense fear.
Yuma hurried forward, pressing down her trembling hands, and said calmly, “Don’t listen to her nonsense. That little girl may just be trying to scare us.”
“But how could she know about the fan incident and be so certain?” The princess sat down weakly, still looking flustered.
“It could just be a random guess?” Yuma frowned, her confidence wavering.
The princess bit her lip as if contemplating something. At this moment, lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating her face intermittently, and her pupils slowly gathered into a deep black. Staring at Yuma, she said, “We can’t take risks. You think of a way for me to shut her up so she can’t speak again.”
As thunder rumbled again in the night sky, another torrential rain poured down. The argument inside the room was drowned out by the roaring thunderstorm. That night, many people couldn’t sleep peacefully, and after that night, many long-buried past grievances were finally exposed in the sunlight.