“After midnight is when the night is at its darkest. If someone wore all black at this time and put on a mask coated with phosphorus powder, relying on the light emitted by phosphorus powder in the dark, it would look like a ‘ghostly face’ emitting green light. And this glowing ‘ghostly face’ was so eye-catching that people who encountered ‘it’ in terror would find it difficult to notice the black clothes that melted into the darkness. Plus ‘he’ always hid his body behind the bushes, making people see it as a ‘ghostly face’ suspended in mid-air wouldn’t be difficult.”
Yuanxi rubbed the phosphorus powder in her hands, reasoning seriously. After listening carefully, Xiao Du found it very reasonable and sneered coldly: “Since even the ghostly face was artificially created, then the so-called vengeful ghost’s return is probably someone’s careful scheme. I just don’t know what purpose they hope to achieve with all this effort.”
Yuanxi also couldn’t understand why anyone would go to such great lengths to dress as a ghost to frighten people. She was deep in thought when Xiao Du had already pulled her hand up, saying: “Since the mystery here has been solved, let’s go into the room to look. We might find more clues.”
So the two entered the bedroom where the Princess had her incident. The furnishings and bedding from that night had all been removed, and outside the open window, a peony flower bloomed brilliantly, making the interior seem even more cold and desolate.
Yuanxi focused her gaze on that canopy bed, carefully recalling the scene the Princess had experienced as described by the servants: the maid, the nursery rhyme, the dripping blood, the lost shoe. If she wasn’t a ghost, then how exactly did she disappear?
At this moment, Xiao Du suddenly said: “You mentioned earlier that the Princess’s neck and collar were stained with blood that dripped from Zhui’er’s wrist.” He stood with his hands behind his back, staring intently at a wall, the corners of his mouth curving slightly: “I think she might have forgotten one thing – even if a person can disappear, the traces she leaves behind are enough to expose her.”
Yuanxi followed his gaze and saw that between the cracks in the wall, there was a faint red mark, as if it had been rubbed on in haste. Unless one was looking for it specifically, it would be very difficult to notice.
Xiao Du walked over, carefully feeling around the wall bricks while saying: “At that time, this wall was right in the blind spot from the entrance. The instant the Princess ran out, everyone’s attention would only be on her, so Zhui’er could take this moment to hide in a mechanism set up beforehand. But no matter how careful she was, in her haste she inevitably rubbed the bloodstains from her clothes onto the wall.”
As he spoke, his hand touched something and the wall suddenly flipped open, revealing a hidden compartment just large enough for one person. Yuanxi couldn’t help but gasp – she truly hadn’t expected that such a mechanism was hidden in this seemingly ordinary room. Xiao Du stared at the hidden compartment and said: “Now you should understand why, after Zhui’er disguised herself as a female ghost to frighten the Princess, another ghostly face had to appear outside.”
Yuanxi thought for a moment and asked: “To make the people inside leave quickly?”
“Exactly. Zhui’er first hid in this hidden compartment during the chaos, then the ghostly face appeared. Everyone would think the Princess’s courtyard was overrun with ghosts and naturally wouldn’t dare stay long – they would only think of taking the Princess away quickly. After everyone left, she could leisurely escape and find another place to hide.”
Yuanxi frowned: “Where do you think she would escape to?”
Xiao Du stared at that wall, his expression dark: “What I most want to know now is who dared to pull such tricks in the marquis’s mansion!”
At midday, Concubine Cai entered the flower hall. Looking up and seeing Xiao Du and Yuanxi sitting together at the head, her smile became somewhat stiff, but she quickly put on a respectful expression and said: “Is there something the Marquis and Madam need me for?”
Yuanxi said: “I was somewhat indisposed for a while, and you were in charge of the renovation of Qixia Courtyard inside and out. I want to know if you discovered anything suspicious about it.”
Concubine Cai showed a thoughtful expression. After a moment, she said: “I can’t say for certain. I don’t understand much about renovating courtyards – I only knew to allocate funds and check on the progress from time to time. But speaking of suspicious things, the money was used somewhat quickly, and as soon as the project ended, that foreman immediately returned to his hometown without even collecting his final wages.”
Yuanxi quickly pressed: “Does the concubine know what background this foreman had?”
Concubine Cai’s gaze began to waver uncertainly. Seeing her hesitation, Xiao Du said: “Just say whatever you need to say.”
Only then did Concubine Cai look up, speaking with some difficulty: “That foreman was introduced by the Second Young Master.”
Yuanxi and Xiao Du exchanged glances, both shocked. At this time, Concubine Cai touched her hair and seemed to make a decision, continuing: “Since the Marquis and Madam have asked, I’ll tell everything. Does Madam remember how the original foreman was mysteriously injured by falling scaffolding? Later, the Second Young Master found me and said he happened to know a craftsman, introducing him to become the foreman. I’m not really management material, so how could I dare go against the Second Young Master’s wishes? Naturally I could only do as he said. Who knew that after this man came, the money was used faster and faster. At that time Madam wasn’t there, so I discussed it with Steward Zhou. He only said that regarding the masters’ affairs, one could only turn a blind eye and avoid trouble – as long as the courtyard could be completed on time, that would be enough. Who knew such things would happen later.” The more she spoke, the more urgent she became, clearly having held these words in for a long time and now daring to speak freely.
Yuanxi turned to look at Xiao Du’s gradually darkening expression, knowing that he and she had simultaneously reached the same speculation. Xiao Qing, because of Concubine Wang’s matter, had always harbored resentment toward the Princess, which was why he deliberately caused trouble at that day’s banquet. Princess Qing was the Princess’s old friend who had come specifically to visit her. If the Princess could be frightened into leaving, it would certainly be another blow to the Princess. Thinking this way, everything made sense.
Xiao Du clenched his fists tightly, pondered for a moment, then said quietly to Yuanxi: “You find out more. I’ll go question Second Brother about his side.”
When Xiao Du entered Xiao Qing’s room, he immediately smelled the medicinal odor filling the room. Xiao Qing lay lazily on the bed with his eyes half-closed, while Wang Shiqin crouched feeding him medicine, with a maid gently fanning behind her.
Seeing Xiao Du enter, both quickly stood and bowed. Xiao Qing only glanced at him before half-closing his eyes again, saying lazily: “What wind brings Big Brother here today?” He smiled self-mockingly: “I suppose it’s certainly not to see my injuries.”
Xiao Du was immediately at a loss for words. In his youth, he had always been a companion reader in the palace, and at sixteen had gone to the frontier with his father, staying for five years. The days he returned to the mansion could be counted on one hand, so his feelings for this half-brother weren’t as deep as those for the current emperor. This time, hearing that Xiao Qing had been beaten severely and the doctor said he couldn’t get out of bed for at least half a month, he had never thought to come see him.
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt guilty, so he took the medicine bowl from Wang Shiqin’s hands, sat on the edge of the bed, and while spooning medicine to feed Xiao Qing, said: “There have been many incidents in the mansion recently, and I couldn’t find time to see you. Don’t blame Big Brother.” He rarely spoke to Xiao Qing this way, and saying it now felt awkward, so he turned and coughed twice to hide his embarrassment.
Xiao Qing also looked up at him in surprise, asking incredulously: “You really came to check on my illness today?”
Xiao Du’s hand feeding the medicine paused in the air. After an internal struggle, he finally asked: “There’s one other matter. Was the foreman in charge of renovating Qixia Courtyard introduced by you?”
Xiao Qing was stunned, then his eyes showed deep disappointment as he snorted coldly: “So that’s it. Princess Qing had an incident at Qixia Courtyard, and Big Brother’s first suspicion falls on me, right?” He suddenly waved his hand, pushing away the medicine bowl in Xiao Du’s hand. The porcelain bowl immediately fell to the ground and shattered. Looking at the thick black medicine juice spilled all over the floor, his tone was mocking: “If that’s the case, why put on such an act? It’s disgusting to watch.”
Wang Shiqin was startled and quickly ordered the maid to bring a cloth to wipe the medicine juice that had splashed onto Xiao Du’s robes. But Xiao Du waved his hand and said seriously: “Chengyuan, since this matter didn’t hurt anyone, even if you did it, I won’t pursue it further. I just want to remind you not to go too far. If something serious happens that can’t be cleaned up, even if Big Brother wants to protect you, I won’t be able to.”
But Xiao Qing laughed: “What a righteous and caring Marquis Xuanyuan. Should I kowtow and thank you for showing me mercy?” His gaze gradually turned sinister as he stared at him: “It’s just a pity I don’t need your pity. If you have evidence, then bind me and take me to Prince Qing and Princess Qing to atone. Anyway, I’ve already taken this beating, so I don’t mind being beaten again by the Prince’s mansion. If they beat me to death, you’d all have peace and quiet.”
Wang Shiqin was now crying anxiously and rushed to Xiao Du’s side, sobbing: “Marquis, don’t listen to his nonsense. How could Chengyuan do such a thing? Marquis, you mustn’t listen to others’ gossip and wrongly accuse your second brother.”
Xiao Du felt his temples throb from the scene before him and could only sigh: “Sister-in-law, don’t worry. I’ll investigate this matter clearly. If he didn’t do it, I certainly won’t wrong him.” He looked again at Xiao Qing, who still lay on the bed looking indifferent: “You better behave yourself too. You’re still surnamed Xiao, so think carefully about what should and shouldn’t be done!” With that, he left with a stern face.
Meanwhile, Yuanxi sat in her room, carefully reviewing each statement from servants who had seen the ghostly face, when she suddenly had a thought: why did the ghostly face appear in these specific places? Could there be some pattern to find?
She quickly ordered An’he to prepare ink, drew the positions of Qixia Courtyard and each courtyard where the ghostly face appeared on paper, then connected them with lines. She discovered that the places where the ghostly face appeared were arranged around Qixia Courtyard, with very even distances between them – but there was a gap in the middle!
Her heart stirred, and she quickly took An’he and Nanny Li outside to find the missing position in the middle. She actually discovered that in a miscellaneous courtyard at that location, there was an abandoned granary.
Looking at the granary that was taller than a person, Yuanxi felt both excited and apprehensive, quickly having An’he call over a servant boy.
When the servant boy stepped forward to pull open the granary door, suddenly a thick stench of corpses rushed out. Everyone quickly covered their noses, suppressing the urge to vomit. Then the servant boy pointed inside and cried out in alarm: “Look!”
A stiff corpse stood upright in the granary, and now without the door’s support, it fell straight down. The corpse was slightly swollen, with some parts already beginning to breed maggots and ooze pus, but the face could still be recognized as the long-missing Zhui’er – and moreover, she had been dead for a very long time.