Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Inside Tianxiang Pavilion, one could have heard a pin drop.

Zhuang You stared at her trembling hands in disbelief. Two palm prints were clearly visible on her face.

Her two personal maids were stunned. For a moment, neither of them dared to step forward.

Xia Ximo’s lips curled into a faint smirk. She turned to leave, but the Soul-Ferrying Lantern inside the pouch at her waist suddenly vibrated.

Wuyou appeared abruptly, sniffing with a non-existent nose. “I sense the aura of a soul that died an unnatural death.”

Hearing this, Xia Ximo paused and glanced back.

She saw “black ash” constantly shedding from Zhuang You’s body. Like black snowflakes, the flakes fell to the ground and vanished instantly.

“It’s her.”

“She must have been struck by a malevolent spirit,” Wuyou said. “See if you can take a piece from her.”

Xia Ximo narrowed her eyes. While Zhuang You was still in a daze, she walked straight up to her and reached out, plucking a small tuft of “fox fur” from the lady’s magnificent cloak.

This action was undoubtedly like plucking a hair from a tiger’s head, shocking the onlookers once again.

The fox fur cloak Zhuang You wore was named “Rouge Snow.” It had been bestowed by the Empress and was incredibly precious.

Ordinarily, if the maids were even slightly clumsy while handling it, they would be beaten or scolded. To have a tuft of fur torn out was unthinkable.

“You!!!”

Having been humiliated in public for no apparent reason, Zhuang You was now consumed by a humiliated rage.

In her eyes, Xia Ximo’s move was a pure provocation.

She felt like killing someone.

“You bitch, you’re looking for death!”

In her fury, the eldest Miss Zhuang completely disregarded her image as a noble lady. She raised her arm and lunged forward to strike.

However, before she could even touch the corner of Xia Ximo’s clothes, she inexplicably collapsed to the ground, falling flat on her face.

The maids rushed forward to help her up. Having suffered one embarrassment after another in front of everyone, Zhuang You’s face had turned a deep shade of purple.

She swung her hand and slapped each of her maids once, screaming her orders: “Are you all dead?! Catch this bitch! Don’t let her leave this pavilion today-I’m going to skin her alive!”

The wealthy young lady was now as disheveled and frantic as a common street shrew.

Stunned by the shouting, the two maids could only steel themselves and step forward to block Xia Ximo’s path.

Meanwhile, the sycophants in the crowd were secretly enjoying the spectacle of someone making a fool of themselves, yet they didn’t forget to chime in and fan the flames.

“She really is from the backwaters. To not know her place and dare to offend Miss Zhuang…”

“Exactly. That ‘Rouge Snow’ was a gift from the Empress. How does she have the nerve?”

“Oh dear, with things escalating like this, how is this going to end?”

…

Amidst the chatter, Xia Ximo simply tucked the plucked “fox fur” into her pouch. She turned her head toward Tianqing and said, “Let’s go.”

Though Tianqing was terrified, looking at Xia Ximo’s calm and unruffled face gave her a strange sense of confidence.

Although the two maids were blocking the way, they were so intimidated by Xia Ximo’s ice-cold gaze that they didn’t dare lay a finger on her.

Thus, for every step Xia Ximo took, the maids shrank back a step.

They retreated all the way to the top of the stairs until there was nowhere left to go.

Watching this, Zhuang You felt her dignity had been completely trampled. She rushed forward and pushed the two maids aside.

But when she faced Xia Ximo, she felt a sudden surge of cowardice. Her hand, raised mid-air, trembled so violently that she couldn’t bring herself to strike.

The situation seemed tense, but the opposition was already crumbling.

Xia Ximo gave her a contemptuous glance, took Tianqing by the hand, and walked straight downstairs.

Zhuang You had suffered several “defeats” in a row. In all her seventeen years of life, when had she ever been subjected to such humiliation?
She watched helplessly as Xia Ximo headed downstairs, her fingers digging deep into her palms, her eyes nearly splitting with rage.

Stared at by so many curious onlookers, she knew she had to reclaim her dignity at any cost. She immediately let out a sharp cry.

“Pei Yong!”

Not long ago, after Zhuang You’s engagement to Prince Yu was finalized, His Highness had assigned a squad of the Golden Feather Guard to ensure Miss Zhuang’s safety whenever she went out.

The Golden Feather Guard were imperial protectors, each one highly trained and far superior to ordinary household guards.

Thus, at Zhuang You’s command, a dozen Golden Feather Guards who had been hidden in the shadows immediately appeared at the entrance of Tianxiang Pavilion.

Their commander, Pei Yong, stepped forward and asked, “What are your orders, Miss Zhuang?”

Zhuang You was trembling with fury as she pointed at Xia Ximo on the first floor. “No matter what happens today, do not let her step foot out that door! Seize her!”

Pei Yong acknowledged the order and raised a hand to signal the men behind him. The Golden Feather Guards split into two columns: one entered Tianxiang Pavilion to make the arrest, while the other took positions to block all exits.

The display of force was so intimidating that the female customers on the first floor, who had been browsing powders and rouges, were all thrown into a panic.

Seeing things escalate to this point, the manager of Tianxiang Pavilion was frantic with worry. She tried to plead with Zhuang You, but the moment she uttered the words “Miss Zhuang,” she was harshly cut off.

“Shut up.”

In her towering rage, the young mistress was in no mood to listen to a single word.

Her eyes were rimmed with a strange, eerie redness, making her look almost deranged as she turned to glare at the manager.

“Say one more word, and believe me, I’ll tear this entire Tianxiang Pavilion apart!”

The manager was startled by her appearance and could only shut her mouth in silence.

Downstairs, Xia Ximo had already been surrounded by four Golden Feather Guards.

Though Tianqing was terrified, she forced herself to remain calm and stood in front of Xia Ximo, drawing upon the authority of the Marquis Mansion.

“How dare you! Do you have any idea who this lady is?”

The Zhuang family certainly had powerful backing, but they could not compare to the Renxuan Marquis Manor, the foremost of the four founding noble houses.

One had to remember that even the current Emperor had to treat Marquis Renxuan, Ren Xuan, with the utmost courtesy.

As a commander of the Golden Feather Guard, Pei Yong was quite skilled at reading people. With just one look, he was certain that the woman before him did not belong to the ranks of the capital’s noble ladies.

At the very least, she was not among the high-ranking royalty or nobility.

He gave a cold, mocking smile and spoke in a formal, bureaucratic tone. “There is no need to know. We are under the orders of Prince Yu to protect Miss Zhuang. We will not let anyone go who poses a threat to her.”

Tianqing argued, “We only came to buy cosmetics. We haven’t done anything to harm Miss Zhuang. The manager and the staff here can all testify to that.”

Upstairs, hearing this, Zhuang You urged impatiently, “Why are you wasting words on them? Just arrest her!”

Tianqing was about to invoke the name of the Renxuan Marquis Manor when a hand reached out and pulled her aside.

Xia Ximo took a step forward, looking at Pei Yong with cold eyes. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Your priority right now should be to take your Miss Zhuang away from here immediately and find someone to perform an exorcism on her.”

Pei Yong felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine under that gaze, but he didn’t believe a single word she said.

He signaled to the Golden Feather Guard beside him with his eyes.

Receiving the order, the guard stepped forward to seize her.

However, before his hand could even touch her, his legs were pinned by a strange force, and he froze in place.

Seeing his subordinate fail to move, Pei Yong frowned and cursed, “Useless trash!”

Just as he was about to step forward himself, he heard someone shouting from the floor above.

“Miss Zhuang has fainted!”

“What’s happened to Miss Zhuang?!”