The dark night gradually retreated with the fading moon, and dawn light pierced through the clouds into the painted boat’s window lattices, coating the cloud-patterned silk bedding on the couch with a faint golden glow.

A pale wrist emerged from the embroidered quilt, reaching for the clothes beside the bed to put on, then walked barefoot to the window. Outside, the lake waters shimmered, clouds gradually took on color, and the morning mist had not yet dispersed, lending the Jade Spring Lake, which had been lively the night before, a touch of mystery.

At this moment, footsteps sounded behind her, and someone gently draped a cloak over her shoulders, saying: “It’s still the first month, and the wind is strong over the lake. Be careful not to catch cold.”

Yuanxi grasped that warm, solid palm and gently rubbed it against her cheek. But Xiao Du caught sight of her bare feet and frowned slightly: “How can you not even wear shoes?” Yuanxi stuck out her tongue and was about to get up, but he pressed her down with one hand, signaling with his eyes for her not to move, then went to fetch her shoes and socks, crouching down to put them on for her.

Yuanxi looked down at the contours of his brows and eyes, suddenly smiling: “Besides An’he and the others, you’re the first person to put shoes on for me.”

Xiao Du also smiled: “Who told my wife to be so troublesome? I’m afraid I’ll never put shoes on for a second person.”

Yuanxi’s heart warmed, but suddenly another thought crossed her mind, and she asked carefully: “What about you? Did the princess… ever put shoes on for you?”

Xiao Du’s hands paused, and he said: “Mother’s health wasn’t good, and she didn’t like seeing people. So from childhood to now, I haven’t spent much time with her. Except for birthdays and festivals, I almost always stayed by Yunniang’s side. Sometimes I even wondered if perhaps Yunniang was my real mother.” He smiled as he spoke, as if mocking his naive younger self.

But Yuanxi’s heart sank with a thud, her gaze becoming somewhat dazed. At this moment, Xiao Du had already finished putting on her shoes and socks and gently grasped her hands: “So I always think, if I have children, I’ll definitely try to stay by their side as much as possible, play with them, teach them to write, and never miss any moment of their growing up. Xi’er, don’t worry – our children will be different from us.”

Yuanxi’s nose stung with emotion. She grasped Xiao Du’s hand in return and nodded heavily. Deep down, they were the same kind of people, so she naturally understood his longing for family affection. Then, she suddenly began to feel afraid – if the princess truly wasn’t Xiao Du’s real mother, how would he face it? She pressed her lips tightly together, preferring that she had guessed wrong rather than let the truth hurt him once again.

After returning to the residence, Yuanxi went to Xiao Zhixuan’s room under the pretext of learning needlework. As soon as she pushed open the door, Xiao Zhixuan had already jumped to her side, her gaze circling around her body, deliberately using an exaggerated tone: “I never expected big brother to hide so much for so many years – to actually be so romantic! Sister-in-law, you two didn’t return all night yesterday. You must have had quite the passionate time together…”

Yuanxi’s face reddened slightly, and she lightly tapped Xiao Zhixuan’s forehead, scolding: “Young girl, stop reading those nonsensical romance novels.”

Xiao Zhixuan pouted and rubbed her forehead: “I’m about to come of age soon. Don’t think I don’t understand anything.” She was about to tease some more when Yuanxi had already turned around with a serious expression: “Stop fooling around. I came today because I have serious business to discuss with you.”

Observing her expression, Xiao Zhixuan understood it must be something related to the princess and quickly put away her smile: “Has sister-in-law discovered something else?”

Yuanxi said: “Do you still remember that day when that Granny Fang said the princess hated cherry blossoms and wanted to cut them all down? I always felt this was strange – for no reason, why would the princess hate cherry blossoms? So I wanted to ask you, is there anywhere in the marquis residence with particularly many cherry blossoms?”

Xiao Zhixuan thought for a moment: “These years, our family seems to rarely plant cherry blossoms. But I remember there’s a courtyard in the back that has been uninhabited year-round. When I was little, I once sneaked in to play and saw a very large grove of cherry blossoms there. It was the first time I’d seen so many cherry blossoms, so I remember it particularly well.”

Yuanxi’s eyes flickered: “Do you still remember where it is? Can you take me to see it?”

Xiao Zhixuan nodded: “But we’ll have to go there secretly. It’s locked, and father doesn’t usually let people go in. That time when father discovered me, he gave me quite a scolding.”

Yuanxi tilted her head in thought and smiled: “That’s not difficult. We can just secretly get the key.” Because both concubines had passed away and the princess had always been uninvolved in household affairs, Yuanxi now had to learn to manage various household matters, which gave her many conveniences.

The two got the key and found the courtyard according to Xiao Zhixuan’s memory. Yuanxi opened the gate with its peeling red paint and suddenly felt something was strange. Although the courtyard was filled with withered, gnarled trees and looked very desolate, from the carved brackets and crossbeams, one could still see the grandeur this place once had.

Why would such a fine courtyard suddenly be abandoned? With this doubt in mind, Yuanxi walked a few steps, then suddenly crouched down beside a tree, staring at the base of the tree for a long while. She picked up a dead branch to turn over the soil beneath the tree, until Xiao Zhixuan curiously asked what she was doing, then she looked up and led Xiao Zhixuan to the front of the main house.

The door wasn’t locked and opened with a creaky “squeak” at a gentle push. Inside, thick dust had accumulated, and heavy spider webs hung in the corners, clearly showing no one had lived there for a long time. The furnishings in the room had been moved out, but Yuanxi stood in place for a long time, her gaze slowly sliding over the remaining desk, bed, and walls, then closed her eyes and began imagining what this room had once looked like.

At this moment, Xiao Zhixuan tugged at her sleeve: “Sister-in-law, there’s nothing here. Let’s leave early. I always feel there are eerie winds here – it’s quite frightening.”

Yuanxi suddenly opened her eyes and said: “Xuan’er, a woman once lived here.”

Xiao Zhixuan was stunned, her curiosity immediately dispelling her fear as she looked around and asked: “How do you know? There’s clearly nothing here!”

Yuanxi pointed at the desk: “Here – these marks were caused by placing a bronze mirror. These scratches were made by accidentally scraping with a gold hairpin.” She walked to the wall beside the bed: “The color of this wall shows someone used to smoke clothes here. So I think not only did a woman once live here, but this woman’s status must have been quite high.”

Xiao Zhixuan stared wide-eyed in surprise: “But ever since I can remember, no one has ever lived here. The courtyard gate has always been locked.”

Yuanxi turned to look at her, frowning: “Then this matter becomes even stranger.”

Without waiting for Xiao Zhixuan to react, she pulled her into the courtyard and pointed at the soil beneath the tree: “Look at this soil – it’s clearly been turned over in recent years. If you dig through the surface soil, you can still see unrotted cherry blossom petals.” She looked around the courtyard: “Also, though this courtyard is dilapidated, there’s no wild grass near this tree. Logically, if a courtyard hadn’t been tended for more than ten years, weeds should have grown very tall.”

Xiao Zhixuan became confused by her words and murmured: “Sister-in-law means this courtyard has always been maintained?”

Yuanxi nodded: “But strangely, that person only maintained the courtyard but never entered that room. You once said you saw the cherry blossoms in the courtyard blooming beautifully. Cherry blossoms are very fragile plants – without deliberate cultivation, they would wither and die within a year and could never bloom magnificently again.”

Xiao Zhixuan said: “So someone has been secretly coming to plant flowers in the courtyard all these years? But why? No one lives in this courtyard anymore.”

Yuanxi shook her head: “I don’t know either, but I always feel that whoever lived in this courtyard must have had a great connection to your princess’s affairs back then.”

At this moment, footsteps and voices suddenly came from not far outside the courtyard. Yuanxi and Xiao Zhixuan were startled and quickly rushed out to lock the courtyard gate. Seeing they couldn’t escape in time, they quietly hid in the bushes beside the courtyard. The footsteps grew closer – it turned out to be two maids walking this way while chatting and laughing. They walked all the way to near the courtyard gate before suddenly looking up and stopping. One maid exclaimed softly: “It’s all your fault for talking without watching where we’re going – how did we end up here?”

The other maid also showed a frightened expression: “Amitabha, how did we carelessly come here again? This courtyard is so eerie. Last time we even encountered that crazy woman wandering around here, which gave me nightmares all night.”

“Oh, don’t say anymore. I heard that crazy woman was sent away from the residence. Do you think she might have died and her soul returned here…” The more they talked, the more frightened they became, until they finally fled in terror.

At this moment, Yuanxi and Xiao Zhixuan, hidden in the bushes, looked at each other and whispered in unison: “Crazy woman… Yunniang!”

After dinner, Yuanxi used the excuse of needing to familiarize herself with the accounts, begging Xiao Du to let her stay alone in the accounting room, saying she wanted to thoroughly review the residence’s accounts to become a qualified mistress capable of managing the household. Although Xiao Du was reluctant to have her mysteriously abandon him again, since he had promised not to interfere, he had to keep his word and let her go.

Yuanxi buried herself all night in the dense account books and finally found the ledger from twenty-five years ago. She quickly spread out paper and ink, carefully recording all the items sent to courtyard names she wasn’t familiar with, then tucked it all away and went to Xiao Zhixuan’s room.

“Feihan Courtyard… this should be the place! I have some impression of the other courtyard names – they’ve all been renovated in recent years. But this name I’ve never heard before.” Xiao Zhixuan looked carefully at a stack of papers for a long time and answered with certainty.

Yuanxi quickly pulled out the paper for Feihan Courtyard and examined each item carefully. The goods sent there weren’t particularly special – just clothing, fabric, food, and some tonics. But when she saw the line about tonics, her eyes suddenly widened, her hands shook, and the paper slipped from her fingers to the ground.

Xiao Zhixuan didn’t understand and quickly picked up the paper, reading aloud: “Salvia, poria with pine nuts, angelica, hen… what’s wrong with these?”

Yuanxi’s lips trembled as she spoke with difficulty: “The woman who lived in Feihan Courtyard was very likely pregnant at that time!”