Chapter 252
Chapter 252
The maid’s words only deepened Zhao Wan’s suspicions.
But since the other woman had come to her of her own accord, she had no reason to back down.
She gave Xiaoxizi an instruction, then swept away.
Only last night, Xiaoxizi had impersonated a ghost to frighten their guest. Now that Princess Fenghua was sending her to deliver a message, her heart began pounding all over again.
She approached Xia Ximo in trepidation, hoping only that the other woman had not recognized her, and gave a most proper bow.
“Miss Xia, Her Highness says you may ride in her carriage.”
Having spoken, she cautiously raised her head for a glance at Xia Ximo.
Xia Ximo’s expression was cool. On hearing the message, she merely gave a faint acknowledgment. “Mm.”
Relieved, Xiaoxizi did not dare say more. She turned and walked ahead to lead the way.
Zhao Wan was seated in the carriage, putting on all the airs of her rank. When the maid announced Xia Ximo’s arrival, she immediately sat up straight.
The curtain lifted, and Xia Ximo stepped right in.
Before Zhao Wan could speak, however, she simply sat down opposite her.
Spacious though it was, this was Princess Fenghua’s own carriage. Zhao Wan had never met anyone who showed so little regard for etiquette.
She frowned in displeasure and was about to reprimand her, but Xia Ximo spoke first.
“What happened ten years ago in the courtyard where I’m staying?”
The blunt opening question nearly left Zhao Wan at a loss for an answer.
Stunned for a moment, she asked, “Ten… ten years ago?”
Xia Ximo’s expression did not change. “Yes.”
Zhao Wan immediately thought of Concubine Du and almost blurted out her name. Fortunately, she caught herself in time.
“What do you mean by asking that? What has it got to do with you?”
“Last night, you and your maid came to my courtyard, intending to frighten me by pretending to be a ghost,” Xia Ximo said.
“…”
Her face was calm, her gaze indifferent, and her voice betrayed not the slightest ripple of emotion.
Clearly, the incident had stirred no feelings in her at all.
For precisely that reason, Zhao Wan felt a sudden stab of guilt.
Now that she had been exposed, she raised her chin slightly instead. “So… so what if we did? It was only a joke. You’re not going to run to Ren Fengjue and tell on me, are you?”
Xia Ximo stared at her coldly, then took a black Lotus Lamp from her waist and held it on her palm.
The strange gesture puzzled Zhao Wan once again.
Then, unexpectedly, Xia Ximo asked, “Do you recognize her?”
Her eyes were lowered. She seemed to be talking to the lamp in her hand.
An inexplicable chill ran down Zhao Wan’s back. The next moment, a cold wind rose inside the carriage for no reason, making the table and seat before her tremble.
The sensation was exactly like the one she had felt in Zhenxia Courtyard the night before. It made her skin crawl.
“Who… who are you talking to?”
Terrified, Zhao Wan turned pale, yet her pride made her struggle to maintain her dignity as a princess.
Xia Ximo glanced at her again and answered without hesitation. “A wronged spirit from this mansion.”
“…A wronged spirit?”
Zhao Wan’s lips trembled, and her composure was close to breaking. “Have… have you lost your mind?”
She suddenly shouted, “Someone! Stop the carriage!”
But no one answered her command, and the carriage did not stop.
Sensing that something was wrong, Zhao Wan shouted several more times at the top of her voice. She even tried pounding on the carriage window.
Despite all the commotion, there was still no response from outside.
Xia Ximo remained perfectly calm. “Stop shouting. They can’t hear you.”
At last, Zhao Wan realized that this sickly Xia girl was far more than she appeared!
“What exactly… do you want?”
Panic rose within her, and her arrogance slowly subsided.
Xia Ximo repeated, “I want to know exactly what happened ten years ago in the courtyard where I’m staying.”
Seeing that she would not let the matter drop, Zhao Wan knew she had to answer.
She leaned against the carriage wall and considered her words before saying, “Ten years ago, someone disappeared from Zhenxia Courtyard…”
“She… was one of my father’s concubines. She was pregnant at the time, but just as she was about to give birth, she suddenly disappeared.”
“Even now, no one knows what really happened.”
Zhao Wan stole another glance at Xia Ximo, a hint of grievance appearing in her eyes. “I was still little then. That’s all I know.”
After a moment’s silence, Xia Ximo said, “She didn’t disappear. She was murdered.”
“What?” Zhao Wan stared in shock. “How… would you know?”
Then she objected, “No. Father sent so many people to investigate, both inside and outside the mansion, all over Liangzhou City. If Concubine Du really died, they couldn’t possibly have failed to find even her body!”
Xia Ximo’s voice remained calm. “She told me herself.”
“…”
Zhao Wan could only find this absurd. Her voice shook. “You mean you can… see ghosts?”
“Yes.”
At first, Zhao Wan was stunned. Then, apparently growing more frightened the longer she thought about it, she could no longer hold back her tears.
“Don’t… don’t frighten me!”
She cried out and huddled in the corner of the carriage, no longer caring about her dignity as Princess Fenghua.
Xia Ximo glanced at her. Knowing she would get nothing more out of her, she simply put away the Lotus Lamp and said expressionlessly, “You didn’t kill her. What are you afraid of?”
At that same moment, the carriage stopped.
Meanwhile, Ren Fengjue and the others had reached their destination first. After alighting, they waited a short while before the princess’s carriage came into view.
Yu Lang could not imagine Xia Ximo agreeing to share a carriage with Zhao Wan. In a low voice, he asked, “My lord, are you sure Miss Xia is in there?”
Ren Fengjue did not answer. Instead, he stepped forward.
Once the carriage stopped, the maids set down the step and lifted the curtain. To their surprise, it was Xia Ximo who emerged.
At the sight of her, Ren Fengjue’s expression involuntarily softened. He reached out of his own accord to help her down.
The maids nearby exchanged looks as they watched.
Yet even after quite some time, Princess Fenghua did not emerge.
The maids outside had no choice but to enter and check on her.
After a long while, Zhao Wan finally alighted with their support. For some reason, she had put on a veiled hat that hid her face.
For a princess who had always loved the limelight, this was a rare sight.
Ren Fengjue could easily guess that something must have happened inside the carriage.
But Xia Ximo looked perfectly normal, so he asked no questions.
At the princess’s instructions, Steward Sun welcomed everyone into the estate for a short rest.
Zhao Wan went straight to an inner room to change and repair her makeup. The maids had no idea why she had cried so much in the carriage that her makeup was ruined. They wondered about it, but none dared ask.
Knowing how embarrassing the incident was, Zhao Wan did not mention it. After changing her clothes and accessories, however, she kept Xiaoxizi behind alone and asked, “Do you think Concubine Du might not have disappeared at all back then? Could she have been murdered instead?”
The baffling question made Xiaoxizi’s hands tremble. She hurriedly asked, “Your Highness, where did you hear that?”
Zhao Wan answered in an eerie tone, “If I told you Concubine Du said it herself, would you believe me?”