Dark clouds rolled and thunder roared as a sudden downpour erupted from the pitch-black night sky. Cold wind poured through the half-open window crack, causing the candle flames inside the room to flicker constantly.
Someone hurried to the window and slammed it shut with a “bang.” Only half-bright, half-dark lamplight remained in the room. At the boundary between dim yellow light and shadow appeared a face that was somewhat aged but whose beauty had not diminished. But when that face turned slightly, the side exposed to the light was completely festered and ruined—black holes like crawling insects formed sores, spreading black cracks across the entire face. Jade-white fingers stroked the rotting cheek, and a pair of almond eyes filled with venomous hatred. The person violently smashed the bronze mirror before them and covered their mouth, letting out a pained, muffled groan.
The person who had closed the window turned back, also startled by this scene. She quickly opened a hidden compartment and took out a fan from within.
With Xiang bamboo for ribs and porcelain jade for the handle, the taut fan surface gleamed white and smooth as congealed fat under the lamplight. Strangely, no patterns were painted on the fan surface—it was just a bare, plain fan that didn’t match the silk brocades spread throughout the room.
The person under the lamp, seeing this fan, showed intense longing in their eyes. They snatched the fan and pressed it against their violently heaving chest. The other person maintained a calm expression, took the fan from their hands, and was about to speak when suddenly their eyes flashed. They walked to the window and called out: “Who’s there!”
Only the sound of pattering rain and endless dark night answered them. They leaned out the window and watched for a long time until half their sleeve was soaked before carefully closing the window. After checking inside and out once more, they returned to the table with furrowed brows. And where their gaze had just moved away, a towering tree with sprawling roots concealed a black shadow hastily departing…
Xiao Zhixuan had disappeared!
When Yuanxi, still under confinement, learned this news, the household had already searched everywhere from top to bottom. The Old Marquis was so agitated he nearly ordered people to tear up floors and dig through earth, but no matter how they searched, Xiao Zhixuan seemed to have vanished into thin air—not a trace could be found.
“I think it’s related to the Princess!” Yuanxi almost instinctively blurted out these words after hearing Xiao Du tell her the whole story.
Xiao Du sat beside her, his eyes revealing deep worry: “I went to ask the Princess, and she said she had never seen Xuan’er. We also searched the Buddhist hall but couldn’t find any trace of a cellar.”
Yuanxi bit her lip, her mind also filled with doubts. Her investigation of the Princess with Xiao Zhixuan had always been conducted very secretly, and it was she who came forward that day at the Buddhist hall. The Princess had no reason to target Xiao Zhixuan without cause. Unless something she didn’t know about had gone wrong.
She quickly asked: “How did Xuan’er disappear? And when?”
Xiao Du said: “According to her personal maid, she left early in the morning without saying where she was going, and specifically instructed that no one should follow her. She never returned from that trip. When the maid became truly frightened after lunch, she quickly reported to Father. Then we searched inside and outside the manor for several hours but found no news.”
“Were there no suspicious people leaving the manor during this time?”
Xiao Du shook his head: “We questioned the guards at every gate—there were no suspicious people or incidents.”
“So Xuan’er should still be in the manor!” Yuanxi paced anxiously around the room, then said: “I think she might even be hidden in that place we haven’t found yet.”
Xiao Du frowned: “Then I’ll go question the Princess again. This time I must get clear answers.”
But Yuanxi grabbed his arm: “We have no evidence or proof. The Princess is still your mother after all. Even if the Old Master intervenes, what can be done to her!”
Xiao Du’s gaze showed some dejection. Over the years, no matter how he charged into battle or dealt diplomatically outside, he had never retreated even half a step. But now he faced the Princess, whom he had long regarded as family, and truly couldn’t bring himself to face her calmly.
Just then, someone announced outside that Xing’er, Xiao Zhixuan’s personal maid, requested to see the lady. Xiao Du and Yuanxi exchanged glances and quickly had her brought in. With Xiao Zhixuan missing for a whole day, Xing’er was both frightened and anxious. She immediately knelt and tearfully explained. After listening for a long time, Yuanxi finally understood what had happened. It turned out that Xiao Zhixuan had given Xing’er a sachet last night, instructing her to find a way to deliver it to the lady today. But because Yuanxi was still under confinement and couldn’t easily see outsiders, and after Xiao Zhixuan disappeared, Xing’er was busy searching everywhere with other servants, she only just remembered now. Recalling her young mistress’s expression at the time, she felt this sachet must be very important, so she hurried to deliver it.
Yuanxi took the sachet and comforted Xing’er with a few words before sending her out. Under the bright lamplight, the blue plain brocade sachet looked somewhat strange. Yuanxi and Xiao Du exchanged glances, took scissors, and carefully cut open the sachet, indeed finding a letter hidden inside.
The paper bore Xiao Zhixuan’s handwriting, saying: She had accidentally discovered that a fellow townsman of a missing maid was still working as a nanny in the manor, so she secretly visited that nanny. According to the nanny, that maid had disappeared after stealing a fan from the Princess’s room and being taken away by Nanny Yu, never to be heard from again. In such a deep household compound, losing one or two maids wasn’t considered a big deal, so the nanny didn’t dare speak up and just kept quiet about it. Only then did Xiao Zhixuan remember that several years ago, she had secretly seen a strange fan in the Princess’s room. That scene had been so eerie that she always suspected she had seen it in a dream and didn’t dare be too certain. At the end of this letter, she said she would find a way to investigate this matter clearly and restore her sister-in-law’s innocence. Who would have known that after writing this letter, she would vanish without a trace.
After reading this letter, Yuanxi became even more worried about Xiao Zhixuan’s safety. Though this letter pointed the finger at the Princess for the disappearance, it couldn’t be considered crucial evidence. The only suspicious thing was that fan. She looked up at Xiao Du, who also wore an anxious expression: “Do you know of any special fan in the Princess’s room?”
Xiao Du shook his head: “I was never particularly close to the Princess, and I rarely went to her room as a child, much less saw any fan.”
Yuanxi gripped the letter tightly and steeled her heart: “In that case, we can only take a gamble and search the Princess’s room. Otherwise, I’m afraid if we delay too long, Xuan’er will…”
She didn’t continue, but Xiao Du felt a chill rise in his heart: if they delayed too long, would Xuan’er also become one of those white bones? What would this household ultimately become then…
The next day, when Xiao Du entered the Princess’s room with shadow guards, the Princess showed no panic on her face, only coldly glancing at Yuanxi: “Since when does someone awaiting punishment have the right to search my room?”
Yuanxi curtsied to the Princess: “Your daughter-in-law absolutely means no offense. It’s just that Xuan’er disappeared without reason, and I’m truly anxious. I only followed my husband here, and after confirming Xuan’er’s safety, your daughter-in-law is willing to accept double punishment.”
She was about to say more when Xiao Du beside her stepped forward to shield her: “Father ordered a thorough investigation of the entire manor. Only Mother’s room hasn’t been searched yet. After today’s matter is finished, if Mother wants to blame someone, I’m willing to bear responsibility together with her.”
Yuanxi gently reached into his sleeve and intertwined their fingers. Watching the couple standing united before her, the Princess suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. She turned away, digging her fingernails into her flesh: “Very well! This is my good son and good daughter-in-law. Fine! If you want to search, then search. But I’ll say this upfront—if you can’t find evidence today, this crime of malicious framing won’t be easily overlooked, even if it goes before the Emperor.”
Xiao Du’s heart tightened as he gripped Yuanxi’s hand more firmly, but still ordered the shadow guards to search the room. Several people rummaged through the room but ultimately found nothing—no trace of Xiao Zhixuan, nor any special fan.
Xiao Du’s face darkened while the Princess’s face showed a mocking smile. Her phoenix eyes coldly swept over the mess throughout the room as she called loudly: “Nanny Yu, summon the Old Master for me. I’d like to know how he plans to explain this matter of my good son insisting on framing me as a murderer.”
“Wait!” At this moment, Yuanxi suddenly walked to a corner and exclaimed: “This fragrance… there’s something wrong with it!”