Chapter 273
Chapter 273
Learning the full course of events left Zhao Wan with deeply conflicted feelings.
She had never imagined that, over the past seventeen years, her mother had borne so much alone.
And she, relying on her status as Princess Fenghua, had known only how to act willfully…
“Mother, this isn’t your fault. It’s mine!”
She kept her voice low, choking on her words. For some reason, she no longer dared wail as she once had.
“If it hadn’t been for me, you… would never have come to this.”
Knowing that little time remained, Lady Yang gently stroked her daughter’s face, reluctant to leave. “Don’t think that. Without you, I might have died long ago…”
“Whatever happens, I only want you to be well. Let me bear the consequences of my past mistakes myself.”
After those words, her figure gradually faded and soon vanished before Zhao Wan’s eyes.
Sobbing, Zhao Wan woke from the dream to find herself still in her room, with no one beside her.
She felt dazed but called for no one, simply sitting alone at the edge of the bed.
Outside the door, the others, who had learned the whole story through the Mystic Light Mirror, were deep in thought as well.
Yan Zhengchu said, “It seems Princess Consort Wu really was used by those Faceless Ghosts. But where did they come from, and why were they willing to serve that general?”
Yu Lang sighed. “Honestly, it wasn’t easy for the princess consort to come all the way from the capital to marry here. She was already vulnerable while pregnant, then became haunted by Vengeful Ghosts. And Prince Wu showed her no concern. How could she not lose heart?”
Yan Zhengchu sighed too. “That was precisely what gave the Faceless Ghosts their opening.”
After considering for a moment, he suddenly looked puzzled and turned to Xia Ximo. “By the way, Miss Xia, do you remember? When we summoned souls in Zhenxia Courtyard last night, the Yin Souls were suddenly repelled as they approached the princess…”
“Thinking back, that force seemed to carry something sinister…”
Xia Ximo had noticed it at the time. Making the connection now, she could guess the reason.
The Faceless Ghosts had killed so many people to activate the Rebirth Art and resurrect the general and his wife.
With Zhao Wan visiting Ning’an Courtyard daily, the Yin Souls below would inevitably take an interest in her…
To preserve her body as an offering to the general’s wife, the Faceless Ghosts certainly would not let those Yin Souls harm her.
Ren Fengjue suddenly said, “A jade pendant protected the princess. But in the coffin chamber… it broke in a fall.”
Unaware of what had happened inside, Yan Zhengchu could not help asking, “What exactly happened down in that coffin chamber?”
At the question, Ren Fengjue involuntarily glanced at Xia Ximo, as though afraid she might misunderstand.
Lord Ren did not answer. Even the normally talkative Yu Lang turned away with studied casualness.
Puzzled, Daoist Yan was about to ask Xia Ximo when Ren Fengjue said, “Speaking of which, did you notice anything unusual after drinking the wine Princess Consort Wu sent last night?”
Both Yan Zhengchu and Yu Lang changed expression, their attention immediately diverted. Both feared that the stuff might harm them…
“From now on, I’ll follow Lord Ren’s example and never drink while away from home again!”
“Neither will I!”
They spoke with solemn conviction.
Ren Fengjue felt a pair of eyes on him. Turning, he found Xia Ximo watching him.
But she said nothing and simply walked away.
“Miss Mo, where are you going?”
Ren Fengjue hurried to follow.
The woman ahead did not look back. “To catch up on sleep.”
“…”
Back in Zhenxia Courtyard, Xia Ximo released Lady Du’s soul from the Soul-Ferrying Lantern.
Lady Du’s resentment had gradually faded, but a trace of attachment remained, and she would not let it go.
Xia Ximo told her, “Your child has gone to the Underworld Administration. Whether he has a chance to be reborn depends on his own fate. That is no longer your concern, and you should understand that.”
Wuyou offered some persuasion too. “If you go to the Underworld Administration now, perhaps you can even be reborn together.”
At last, Lady Du nodded and bowed to them. “Thank you. Whether or not my child and I are destined to meet again, all I ask is that he have somewhere to go, rather than wander alone in this world.”
“In the end, everyone will have somewhere to go.”
Xia Ximo spoke calmly, though it was unclear whether she was speaking to someone else or to herself.
Lady Du’s soul gradually faded, finally disappearing into the wick as a tiny gleam of light.
After sending the soul on its way, Xia Ximo felt sleepiness sweep over her. She truly did fall asleep the moment she lay down.
Seeing her drift off so quickly, Wuyou was briefly taken aback. They picked up the quilt and covered her.
“She really is becoming more and more human…”
Muttering softly, they slipped quietly back into the lantern.
The next day, news of Princess Consort Wu’s death spread, shaking all of Liangzhou City.
Princess Fenghua seemed to have grown up overnight. She oversaw her mother’s funeral arrangements herself and received the mourners with composure and impeccable courtesy.
Because of the funeral, Ren Fengjue and the others had to remain at the mansion for several more days. Besides helping there, they quietly investigated Jiang Ting’s movements.
With Princess Consort Wu dead, the Marquis of Zhenbei should, by rights, have paid a visit, if only out of respect for the imperial family.
Yet he merely sent a trusted aide to offer a few words of condolence, putting on considerable airs.
Once the princess consort was buried, matters came to a temporary close.
But then Zhao Wan sought out Ren Fengjue and asked them to stay and spend the New Year with her.
Only upon hearing her request did Lord Ren belatedly realize that New Year’s Eve was just a few days away.
He asked the others for their opinions.
Yu Lang said they would not be leaving the Northern Border anytime soon anyway. Spending the New Year at the mansion was better than spending it elsewhere.
Yan Zhengchu, however, was melancholy. Before leaving, he had promised his junior brothers that he would return to Mount Yunhe before the New Year. Now that seemed a distant prospect.
Xia Ximo said nothing, her expression indifferent. She looked as though the occasion had never entered her thoughts.
Zhao Wan could not help glancing at her. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable kinship with her…
Like her, Xia Ximo had lost both parents.
“If you need anything, just tell me. Whether you want to send letters home or deliver things, I have a cavalry unit in the household that you can use.”
“All I ask is that you stay and spend the New Year with me.”
Princess Fenghua’s words moved them somewhat, and they agreed to remain at the mansion.
Yu Lang immediately wrote home to report that he was safe.
As the “head of the family,” Yan Zhengchu had to send New Year’s gifts to his junior brothers along with his letter.
Ren Fengjue wrote three letters: one to the Marquis Mansion, one to the Ministry of Justice, and another to be delivered secretly to the palace.
Three days later, New Year’s Eve arrived.
Early that morning, as Zhao Wan had arranged, everyone first went to a renowned temple outside Liangzhou City: Kaifu Temple.
Following Princess Consort Wu’s custom in previous years, they would pray there on this day, then give money or clothes to the beggars outside so that they could spend a peaceful New Year.
Knowing of the practice, the beggars of Liangzhou City came early to wait outside the temple every year.
Today, an especially large crowd had gathered, surrounding the temple so tightly that passage was impossible.