Under the blazing sun, flags fluttered while a Taoist priest wearing a purple sun hat and bagua robes stood before the altar chanting. Then he pulled out a talisman from his bosom and threw it upward with force. The talisman actually began burning in mid-air by itself. He immediately opened his eyes wide, chanted spells, raised his ritual sword and thrust it forward. The fire on the talisman suddenly extinguished, and wisps of black smoke rose up until they dissipated under the sunlight.

All the servants from the marquis’s mansion crowded around to watch the excitement, now crying out in amazement with excited expressions on their faces. The Taoist priest walked toward Xiao Yunjing, who stood at the front of the crowd, with his hands behind his back and sword in hand, saying: “The evil spirit has been eliminated. The Old Marquis can rest assured – the mansion will surely return to normal hereafter.”

Xiao Yunjing smiled and nodded, cupping his hands: “Thank you for your efforts, Master Qingxu.” He gave a look behind him, and a servant quickly stepped forward respectfully to present a bank note.

Master Qingxu smiled as he accepted it, exchanged a few pleasantries with the Old Marquis, gave him several talismans instructing him to paste them at the courtyard gates, then departed with his disciples. The onlookers saw that the ritual was finished, and since the Taoist priest claimed the evil ghost was eliminated, their hearts were also at ease as they dispersed while discussing among themselves.

Xiao Yunjing quietly gave Xiao Du a few instructions, then walked toward his own courtyard with his attendants. Xiao Du glanced at Yuanxi, who still stood in place with a grave expression, walked over to grasp her hand and said: “Come walk with me.”

They didn’t have the maids accompany them, but walked side by side through the courtyard that had taken on autumn colors, stepping on fallen flowers.

Neither spoke, their silent figures overlapping and casting slanted shadows on the bluestone path. Only when they reached the gardenia tree did Yuanxi sigh softly and turn to look at him: “Is it really ending just like this?”

Xiao Du nodded, his expression also somewhat unwilling: “This is Father’s decision – to let this matter end here. The coroner has already examined Zhui’er’s corpse. Based on the degree of rigor mortis and the insects on the body, she had been dead for at least six days. The cause of death was drowning, with no other wounds. That is to say, she truly did drown on the day her body was discovered in the lake.”

Yuanxi frowned: “So we’re supposed to believe that the Zhui’er Zhang Jin saw that night, and the one in Princess Qing’s room, were really ghosts? Even though we’ve already discovered the mechanism in the room?”

Xiao Du lowered his head to brush fallen petals from her shoulder, gently persuading: “All the workers responsible for Qixia Courtyard have been investigated once over without finding any clues. The foreman has also vanished without a trace. Since that’s the case, why torment yourself with excessive worry?”

But Yuanxi still stared at him seriously: “When we discovered Zhui’er’s corpse that day, I also examined it carefully. There were many black paper scraps stuck to the soles of her shoes. According to Zhang Jin’s account, the night he encountered Zhui’er’s returned soul, he happened to be burning paper money.”

Xiao Du sighed: “So you think the one who appeared beside Zhang Jin that night was the real Zhui’er? But she had already been dead for two days.”

Yuanxi nodded: “Because he was too familiar with Zhui’er’s appearance, he certainly wouldn’t mistake her, so what he saw must have been the real Zhui’er. It’s just that in his extreme shock and terror, he might not have been able to distinguish whether what he saw was a living person or a dead one.”

The more she spoke, the more excited she became, so she said in one breath: “Don’t you find it strange? Zhang Jin personally caused Zhui’er’s death. If she truly returned that night for revenge, why did she only frighten him severely in the end without taking his life? I think someone dressed Zhui’er’s corpse to appear alive, then used Zhang Jin’s testimony to make everyone believe Zhui’er had truly returned to the mansion.”

Xiao Du lowered his head in thought and asked again: “Then what about the one in Princess Qing’s room? How could a corpse walk over to speak to the Princess, then hide itself and escape?”

“But Princess Qing had never seen the real Zhui’er, so she only saw a woman dressed as a maid looking for her child. After Zhang Jin’s description, everyone would naturally assume that must have been Zhui’er.”

Xiao Du thought it over carefully and felt this might indeed be the truth. But the Old Marquis had repeatedly instructed him that since Prince Qing’s mansion was no longer pursuing the matter, after completing this ritual, he shouldn’t create more complications lest the household be thrown into turmoil again. So he pulled Yuanxi in front of him and gently comforted her: “But these are all just speculation. Since there’s no evidence pointing to anyone, don’t worry too much. I’ll handle the remaining matters. The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon – I’ll take you out to see the lantern festival to lift your spirits, alright?”

But Yuanxi still frowned: “Are you afraid it really was Second Brother who did it? But I feel the person hiding behind this has deep scheming. Having gone to such lengths, it shouldn’t be as simple as just wanting to frighten Princess Qing. If it wasn’t Second Brother, what if that person tries to harm the marquis’s mansion again?”

Seeing her worried expression, Xiao Du’s heart suddenly warmed. He bent down to gently kiss her forehead, smiling: “Do you know? You’re becoming more and more like the lady of the house now.”

Yuanxi felt somewhat shy under his gaze and was about to lower her head when Xiao Du reached out to slowly smooth her tightly furrowed brow: “I don’t like seeing you frown. Just remember that no matter what happens, I’m here to support this household.” His fingertip slowly slid down from her brow, gently caressing her lips, then pressed close to her ear, saying softly: “If I really can’t support it anymore, will you help me then?”

Yuanxi felt as if his words contained a pool of spring water, warming her entire heart. She buried her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat in her ears. The world was so quiet it seemed only the two of them remained, leaning on each other.

But Xiao Du felt his eyes growing slightly moist. All along, he had carried too much burden alone, never thinking anyone could share it. He hadn’t expected to have her companionship, advancing and retreating together – from now on he would no longer be alone. Thinking of this, he actually began to feel somewhat grateful to Chancellor Xia. Whatever his motives, at least he had sent her to his side.

While this was a meeting of hearts, elsewhere there were hidden schemes. After the ritual ended, Concubine Cai claimed to be unwell and didn’t attend the Old Marquis back to his room. She also dismissed the maids beside her, walking alone through corridors and courtyards to stop beside a secluded artificial mountain.

Behind the artificial mountain, a shadow fell in the sunlight. Concubine Cai casually found a stone bench to sit on, looked around to see no one, then spoke: “You urgently called me here – does the master have more instructions?”

A voice came from behind: “No, the master says you handled this matter extremely well and will definitely reward you well when there’s an opportunity.”

Concubine Cai showed a satisfied smile, then pouted: “You risked signaling to me in that kind of situation just to tell me this?”

The voice said: “Of course not. Calling you here was my idea. I just wanted to ask why you deliberately left a shoe in Princess Qing’s room.”

Concubine Cai’s body trembled slightly, but her expression remained normal as she replied: “Your arrangements were so complex – minor errors were inevitable. Anyway, didn’t they find nothing in the end?”

The voice seemed to snort coldly: “Whether it was an error or intentional, I called you here just to remind you – it’s best not to play any tricks behind our backs. That won’t benefit you at all.”

But Concubine Cai covered her mouth and laughed: “Look what you’re saying. What tricks could I play? All these years, which matter haven’t I done exactly as you intended? Without you, what benefits could I have?”

The voice said: “Good that you understand. I don’t want such things to happen again.”

Concubine Cai watched the shadow slowly disappear, malice showing in her eyes. She walked slowly back to her room, dismissed the maid to stand guard outside, then took out the copybook she wrote in daily. The corners of her mouth curved up slightly as she thought: “This time was just the beginning. Someday, your true face will be completely exposed.”

Soon it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. The eaves of the marquis’s mansion were hung with various lanterns, banquets were set to drink and admire flowers, finally bringing back some festive atmosphere. After dinner, Xiao Du eagerly wanted to take Yuanxi out to see the lantern festival. They had just reached the hanging flower gate when they encountered Xiao Zhixuan, who looked troubled. Xiao Du smiled and invited her to come along.

But Xiao Zhixuan seemed uninterested, only forcing a smile and saying she had promised to accompany Concubine Cai to admire the moon, so it wasn’t convenient to go out.

Xiao Du found this somewhat strange and couldn’t help shaking his head and muttering: “Usually she loves joining the excitement most. What’s wrong today?” Since the last incident, Yuanxi also had some reservations about her, so now she didn’t respond, only nodded to her and prepared to walk straight ahead.

But Xiao Zhixuan suddenly called out: “Sister-in-law!”

Yuanxi turned around in surprise and saw Xiao Zhixuan biting her lip and wringing the corner of her clothes, glancing at Xiao Du from the corner of her eye with a hesitant expression.

So Yuanxi told the others to wait at the carriage first, then walked to Xiao Zhixuan’s side and asked: “What’s the matter?” But Xiao Zhixuan suddenly burst into tears with a “Wah,” tightly hugging her neck: “Sister-in-law, it’s all my fault for causing you and Big Brother to quarrel, and also causing Teacher Luo to never be able to come to the marquis’s mansion again.”

Yuanxi’s heart jumped in shock as she quickly asked what had happened. Only then did Xiao Zhixuan wipe her tears and say: “That day I embroidered a pouch to give you. You weren’t in your room, and I saw Nanny Li and the others go out to get refreshments, so I thought I’d secretly hide the pouch in your room to surprise you. But I accidentally discovered the book you had hidden under your desk. I recognized Teacher Luo’s handwriting at the time and felt both panicked and frightened, so I secretly tore out that page and had someone deliver it to Big Brother.”

She seemed very remorseful: “But I didn’t know it would cause such big trouble and make Big Brother so angry. Fortunately, you’ve reconciled now, otherwise I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life.”

Yuanxi had vaguely suspected this matter all along but had never had time to investigate. Now suddenly learning the truth, she didn’t know what to feel. Xiao Zhixuan was looking at her with tearful eyes, asking carefully: “Sister-in-law, will you forgive me?”

Yuanxi’s mind was in turmoil and she didn’t know how to answer for a moment, so she asked instead: “What did you mean about Teacher Luo no longer being able to come to the marquis’s mansion?”

Xiao Zhixuan was stunned: “You don’t know? That day Big Brother was very angry and ordered the guards at the gate to forbid Teacher Luo from ever stepping foot in the marquis’s mansion again. I’ve switched back to my original tutor now.” Saying this, she seemed very remorseful and lowered her head in distress.