“Wenqian, at your age, it’s time to consider taking a wife.”
He had heard such advice many times before, but it never struck him as deeply as it did now. As Luo Yuan reached for the chess pieces, his mind raced, trying to decipher the meaning behind Xiaodu’s words and how best to respond.
Seeing Luo Yuan’s pale face, Xiaodu smiled lightly, feeling quite pleased. He then relaxed and said, “I just asked casually. There’s no need for you to be so tense.”
Luo Yuan quickly concealed his embarrassment, bowing his head with a smile. “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. But as someone just starting in the officialdom, without a family background or achievements, I am not qualified to speak of marriage.” With that, he tidied up the chess pieces and took his leave.
Xiaodu’s gaze lingered on his retreating figure. Then, he spoke again, “You have a promising future ahead. There’s no need to be so modest. How about this? If I come across a suitable match in the future, I’ll try to act as a matchmaker for you, what do you think?”
Luo Yuan hesitated for a moment before turning around to bow and said, “Thank you for your kind offer, Your Highness.”
—
When Xiaodu returned to the Marquis’ Mansion, Yuanxi was helping the maidservants and Ahu tidied up the boxes brought back from the Xia Mansion.
Xiaodu approached them, and when no one was looking, he lightly pecked Yuanxi’s face. She blushed and glared at him before clearing her throat and casually asking Ahu, who was busy, “Did His Highness give you any trouble?”
Ahu sighed and replied, “His Highness was quite angry, saying that we were useless and couldn’t take care of Miss properly. But in the end, he didn’t stop us from taking everything away.”
Xiaodu’s smile widened. He had deliberately sent people to the Xia Mansion with the pretense of following Madam’s orders to bring back the personal maidservants and belongings. Xia Mingyuan cared about his reputation, so he wouldn’t admit that Yuanxi had secretly returned to the Marquis’ Mansion. He could only reluctantly agree.
He imagined Xia Mingyuan’s expression at the time, unable to vent his anger. Feeling even more delighted, Xiaodu noticed Yuanxi’s distraction, likely feeling guilty about her father.
He sighed softly, “The house is chaotic. Let’s go out for a walk.” Yuanxi nodded, allowing him to lead her outside. Their hands intertwined beneath their sleeves as they strolled through the garden, not exchanging a word. Yet, it seemed they understood each other’s thoughts without speaking, conveying a thousand words in silence.
When they reached a pavilion by the water, Xiaodu noticed Yuanxi shivering in the cold breeze. He gently removed his outer robe and wrapped it around her, pulling her into his arms. He asked softly, “Do you regret it?”
Yuanxi buried her face in his warm embrace, shaking her head. “No regrets. Never.”
Xiaodu tightened his arms around her, wishing he could meld her into his very being. They stood there, embracing each other by the flowing stream for a long time. Finally, Xiaodu took a deep breath and asked, “Did you visit Father and Mother today? What did you talk to them about?”
Early in the day, Yuanxi had visited the Marquis and Princess’s chambers to pay her respects, then spent some time with Xia Zixuan. Remembering, she sighed and said, “Today, I realized that Father’s health has deteriorated a lot, and Xuaner has lost weight too. They couldn’t speak much without tears. I didn’t expect so much to happen in the mansion after I left.”
She referred to the incident with Nanny Cai’s suicide. Xiaodu, reminded by her, spoke seriously, “Speaking of which, there’s something I want to show you. Help me think about it.” With that, he led her to the study.
When Yuanxi picked up the note, she looked at the ordinary words on it, feeling a bit puzzled.
Xiaodu briefly explained the situation, saying, “Later, Xuaner told me that Nanny Cai went to see her on the day of her death. According to her, someone was manipulating Nanny Cai from behind, and Nanny Cai seemed to have evidence against that person. She was planning to secretly escape from the mansion to bid farewell to Xuaner, but for some reason, she returned to her room and was killed.”
Frowning, Yuanxi asked, “Didn’t you say that she was confined by Father? The guards and maids outside confirmed that she never left her room that day. How did she manage to get out?”
“I’ve already investigated that. Xuaner told me that Nanny Cai was disguised as a maid that day. So I immediately interrogated her maid, Guihe. She confessed everything without much prompting. According to her, Nanny Cai intentionally called her into the room alone to deliver food, then knocked her out, disguised herself as Guihe, and slipped out. It was noon at the time, and the maids and guards outside were preoccupied with their lunch and didn’t notice.
Guihe also said that when she woke up later, she found herself tied to the bed. At first, she thought she would be framed for helping Nanny Cai escape. However, shortly afterward, Nanny Cai returned to untie her. She warned Guihe not to tell anyone about this and sent her back to her duties as if nothing had happened. Later, when Nanny Cai was found dead in her room, Guihe was afraid of getting into trouble, so she deliberately kept quiet about it.”
Yuanxi pondered for a moment before asking, “That’s strange. If Nanny Cai had planned a careful escape, why did she return to her room? And who could have entered her room and harmed her? Speaking of which, what about this Guihe? Is she innocent?”
Xiaodu shook his head. “I initially had my doubts too, but that maid is extremely timid. A few intimidating words were enough to make her spill everything. I don’t think she was faking it. Furthermore, according to the coroner’s report, Nanny Cai died around the hour of the Monkey (3 to 5 p.m.), a time when Guihe and several other maids were all in the outer room. Others can testify to that.”
He picked up the note again. “Besides this doubt, there’s also something strange about this letter. Look at these ink marks. I believe they were deliberately made by Nanny Cai to convey something to us. But I can’t figure out what exactly.”
Yuanxi pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, “You mentioned earlier that Nanny Cai asked Xuaner to keep these transcribed texts safe for years?”
Xiaodu nodded. “That’s why I suspect she knew something and hid it in those transcriptions, which might have led to her murder. However, when we entered the room, those transcriptions were missing. The crucial pages were likely taken by the culprit.”
Yuanxi said, “Since Nanny Cai was accustomed to concealing all secrets in those transcriptions, have you considered whether the messages conveyed by these ink marks might also be related to those transcriptions?”
Xiaodu’s eyes lit up with excitement. He quickly retrieved the stack of transcriptions he had carefully kept and examined them with Yuanxi. Indeed, they found several tiny ink marks among the densely written characters, barely noticeable unless one paid close attention. Moreover, the color of the ink marks differed from the original ink, indicating they were added later.
Sharing a glance, both Xiaodu and Yuanxi sensed they were on the right track. However, when they spread out a sheet of paper and connected the marked characters, they found the resulting words were still jumbled and nonsensical. Could they have been mistaken in their approach?
Seeing Yuanxi’s disappointment, Xiaodu couldn’t help but rub her face affectionately, reassuring her, “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”
Yuanxi sighed and stared at the stack of scriptures before her. “I just feel like we’re so close. If we miss this opportunity, it’ll be regretful. Besides, Xuaner has helped me before, and I don’t want to see her suffer like this.”
Xiaodu let her rest her head on his shoulder, gently massaging her temples. “You’ve just returned. I don’t want to see you worrying like this. Trust me, I promised Xuaner that I would help her find out the truth, and I’ll make sure to keep that promise. Just stay by my side.”
But Yuanxi sat up straight, determined. “That won’t do. As your wife and Xuaner’s sister-in-law, I must take responsibility for this matter. I must find a way to uncover the truth.”
Seeing her resolute expression, Xiaodu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, alright. It’s up to you to investigate then. From now on, the entire Hou Mansion, including me, will follow your orders.”
Yuanxi was somewhat appeased by his reassurance, and their mood lightened. They had dinner sent to their room but couldn’t enjoy it much due to their preoccupation. After finishing their meal, Yuanxi picked up the crumpled note again and read it repeatedly. Suddenly, she called out to Xiaodu, “Come and see, are there exactly twenty-one words in this letter?”
Upon hearing this, Xiaodu’s mind lit up, and he quickly took the note to count. Indeed, all the words added up to twenty-one. They exchanged surprised glances, remembering that the “Lotus Sutra” had exactly twenty-one chapters. Looking at the ink marks on the note, they seemed to correspond to some of the characters in those chapters.
It turned out that not all the words in the transcriptions were useful. What Nanny Cai wanted to tell them might have been hidden in specific characters from a certain chapter and page. Finally, they found the correct clues and felt immensely encouraged. They hurriedly spread out a sheet of paper, found the right chapters and pages based on the marked characters, circled the corresponding words, and recorded them on the paper.
The two of them were sweating profusely as they searched for a long time, finally jotting down a sentence on the paper. This should be what Aunt Cai truly wanted to tell them. However, this line of text extinguished the joy they had just felt. They stared wide-eyed, feeling a chill run down their spines. They saw the paper before them, startlingly inscribed with: “Yumeimei harmed me.”
Yumeimei was the princess’s most trusted person. If this sentence left behind by Aunt Cai was true, then even the princess might not be able to escape the implication. Yuanxi felt her throat dry up and turned to Xiao Du, tentatively asking, “What should we do now?”
Xiao Du’s face turned pale, and it took him a while before he finally exhaled and said, “You don’t need to worry about it. I’ll go and clarify things early tomorrow.”
The next morning, the princess’s room was still filled with the scent of medicine, her face buried behind the ethereal mist, appearing somewhat distant. Xiao Du sat at the lower end and lifted his head to observe the princess’s expression. He said, “Mother’s complexion has been improving recently. Her mood should be quite good.”
The princess tugged at the corner of her lips and said, “So many things have happened in the mansion lately. How can my mood be good? It’s just a new medicine, which happens to be very effective for my illness.”
Xiao Du smiled, feeling somewhat relieved for the improvement in his mother’s health. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Du finally mustered up the courage to speak, “There’s something I want to ask Nanny Yumei alone. I wonder if Mother would allow her to accompany me for a trip.”
Nanny Yumei, who was pouring tea for the princess, suddenly shook her hand, causing the tea to spill. The princess glared at her and said, “You’re so old now, yet still so impetuous.” Nanny Yumei apologized profusely and instructed the maids outside to find a clean garment for the princess to change into. The princess shook her head and turned to Xiao Du, saying, “Although Nanny Yumei is old, she’s been with me for so many years. I can’t bear to be separated from her even for a moment. If you have something to ask, you can do so now. Is there something you need to say behind Mother’s back?”
Xiao Du hesitated for a moment, but his gaze remained fixed on Nanny Yumei as he asked, “Where were you, Nanny Yumei, at the time of Aunt Cai’s death, around noon?”
Nanny Yumei opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, the princess widened her eyes and said, “What do you mean by that? Are you suspecting someone close to me?”
Xiao Du, fearing that the princess might become upset, quickly shook his head and said, “Mother, please don’t worry. There’s just some evidence that happens to be related to her, so I wanted to clarify things.”
Before he could finish speaking, Nanny Yumei suddenly knelt with a thud and said, “I’ve been serving in the princess’s room every day. It was around noon when the princess was taking her medicine. I was afraid that the maids might be negligent, so I always personally brewed the medicine for the princess and served it to her. I never dared to leave even for a moment. His Highness, you must investigate thoroughly!”
Xiao Du furrowed his brow, but before he could say anything, the princess covered her chest and said, “Do you understand now? Nanny Yumei didn’t leave my room for even a moment that day. No matter what you find, it must be someone deliberately framing her, unless… you no longer trust Mother.”
Seeing her turn pale, Xiao Du was at a loss and could only step forward to comfort her softly, afraid to continue questioning.
Meanwhile, Yuanxi sat in her room, repeatedly contemplating all the details Xiao Du had described about Aunt Cai’s death. At that moment, Nanny Li brought in a charcoal stove and said, “It’s getting colder. We should light the charcoal.” Yuanxi stared at the charcoal stove for a long time, and suddenly, an unusual thought flashed through her mind. She finally understood how Aunt Cai was killed in the sealed room and how the culprit escaped…