Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Behind the screen, Xia Ximo turned her head and glanced at Ren Fengjue.
It was as if she were asking him how they should deal with this situation…
The two of them were standing extremely close. Being able to see each other but unable to speak lent the moment an inevitably vague, ambiguous air.
A subtle feeling flickered through Ren Fengjue’s heart.
In the silence, it was Empress Zhang outside the screen who spoke first.
“I have not seen the Young Marquis here.”
Her answer was firm. Then she added, “Princess, you must have been mistaken. You should look elsewhere.”
Hearing this, Princess Ding’an was somewhat disappointed, but she did not dwell on it. Instead, she said cheerfully, “All right. I’ll listen to Your Majesty. Ruozhen will look somewhere else.”
“Ruozhen will take her leave now.”
Empress Zhang smiled and nodded, then ordered her personal female official to escort the princess out herself.
Only after she had watched the princess’s figure disappear into the distance did her smile slowly fade. She instructed a palace maid at her side, “Escort the Crown Princess back. Confine her to her chambers. Without my decree, she is not to leave the Eastern Palace.”
After sending Crown Princess Tang away, Empress Zhang dismissed the eunuchs and maids around her as well, ordering them to close the doors of the hall.
With such a display, it was clear she had discovered something.
“Young Marquis, must I personally invite you to come out?”
At the sound of her voice, Ren Fengjue, hidden behind the screen, smiled faintly. He could only step out openly.
Empress Zhang looked over-and was startled again.
There were actually two people hiding inside…
Ren Fengjue glanced at Empress Zhang’s expression, then immediately took Xia Ximo’s hand on his own initiative and stepped forward to bow.
“Fengjue brings his fiancée née Xia to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”
At those words, a complicated look flashed through Empress Zhang’s eyes. She was clearly somewhat surprised. “So this is General Xia’s daughter?”
Ren Fengjue raised his head slightly, neither servile nor overbearing. “In reply to Your Majesty, yes.”
Empress Zhang suddenly smiled, though her gaze lingered over Xia Ximo for a moment. She did not seem to suspect anything.
The person before her was dressed as a pageboy, but on closer inspection, whether in figure or in features, she was graceful and refined. She was indeed a woman.
And a beauty at that.
“Why is Miss Xia dressed like this?”
She merely expressed her confusion.
Ren Fengjue explained unhurriedly, “She has been in the capital for some time, but has never entered the palace. Fengjue was bold for a moment and suggested that, since it was the princess’s birthday, I would bring her in to have a look.”
“But then I thought that since this visit was not at the summons of the imperial family or Your Majesty, it would be improper for her to show herself under her true identity. That was why she disguised herself as a ‘pageboy’ and came with me.”
“Still, this was ultimately against propriety. If Her Majesty the Empress wishes to punish someone, Fengjue has nothing to say.”
His words were flawless, and he had taken all the blame upon himself.
Empress Zhang smiled without warmth. “Oh? I wondered what had happened.”
Whether she believed him or not was impossible to tell. She merely went along with it and said, “Miss Xia is the daughter of the Grand General Who Pacifies the Nation, the descendant of a meritorious official. Since she has come to the imperial palace, I am naturally pleased.”
Her tone shifted, and she added, “It is my own poor management that allowed the Young Marquis and Miss Xia to run into such an ugly affair. How embarrassing.”
Ren Fengjue quickly said, “Miss Xia lost her way in the Imperial Garden. I was searching for her, and that was how we accidentally stumbled into this hall together.”
“As for what happened here, we truly know nothing at all.”
Empress Zhang smiled again. This counted as a tacit understanding regarding the secret matter they had just witnessed.
“That would be for the best. But Dongsheng Hall is no place for ‘amusement.’ The two of you should return to the banquet as soon as possible, lest the princess worry.”
“Yes. Fengjue will take his leave now.”
As Ren Fengjue spoke, he took Xia Ximo by the hand again and started toward the doors of the hall.
“Wait.”
Empress Zhang’s gaze fell on their still tightly clasped hands, and a strange look flickered unmistakably in her eyes. With a tone of deep feeling, she said, “I truly didn’t expect the Young Marquis to be so devoted to Miss Xia.”
“Miss Xia.”
Empress Zhang raised her voice to call Xia Ximo, her gaze lingering over her once more before a smile curved her lips. “Come visit the inner palace often in the future. The moment I saw you, I took a liking to you.”
Xia Ximo had no intention of offering any flattering reply, but Ren Fengjue’s hand, still holding hers, tightened noticeably.
Unwilling though she was, she still answered properly, “Yes, Her Majesty the Empress.”
Seeing that her expression was as cool as her voice, Empress Zhang could not help but think of many years ago, when the Number One Female Painter of Great Qi had entered the palace to present a painting, carrying that same aloof air.
Thinking of it now, the present Xia Ximo truly did resemble Mu Ruqing from back then by seventy or eighty percent, both in temperament and appearance.
The palace doors opened, and Ren Fengjue led Xia Ximo out by the hand.
The palace servants standing guard at the entrance heard the movement and secretly lifted their heads for a glance, then quickly lowered them again, clearly not daring to look for long.
Only after they had walked a long way did Ren Fengjue remember to let go of Xia Ximo’s hand.
He explained, “Empress Zhang is suspicious by nature. If I hadn’t done that, she never would have believed us.”
“Mm.”
Xia Ximo merely gave another indifferent response.
Ren Fengjue paused slightly, then said, “I offended you just now…”
Xia Ximo’s expression remained calm, as if she did not understand. “Offended me how?”
“…”
That question truly left him at a loss.
It seemed she still did not care about such things at all.
For a moment, Ren Fengjue had nothing to say.
Inwardly, he thought that ever since he had met her, he had never once seen her take the reputation and propriety that ladies of the inner chambers cared about seriously.
Even that time at Brocade Garment Manor…
Lord Ren could only take a deep breath and avert his gaze uneasily. “Forget it. It’s nothing…”
He changed the subject. “Did you discover anything in Dongsheng Hall just now?”
Afraid she might misunderstand, he added, “I mean regarding Meng Zhiyuan’s ghost.”
Xia Ximo said coolly, “His death was indeed very strange.”
“How so? Was someone secretly causing trouble?”
“Not someone.”
Ren Fengjue frowned.
That answer was indeed beyond his expectations.
Xia Ximo also knew this matter was far thornier than she had anticipated.
Evil men were frightening.
A Vengeful Ghost would only be more frightening.
“Meng Zhiyuan’s ghost told me that at the time, while he was in the study, a black shadow passed through his body.”
“After that, his body and soul separated.”
“As for anything else, I didn’t have time to ask yet.”
At this point, she looked deeply at Ren Fengjue and said, “Perhaps you don’t know this, but your body carries a special aura. Ghosts cannot approach you. Just now, it was only after you appeared that he vanished.”
Ren Fengjue paused slightly, and his expression changed noticeably.
His reaction seemed a little strange. It looked like surprise, yet also as if he knew something…
Only after a moment did he reply, “I never knew such a thing was possible.”
Though Xia Ximo was curious, she had no intention of pressing him.
“You can’t see ghosts, so of course you wouldn’t know.”
Ren Fengjue asked, “Then is there still a way to find Meng Zhiyuan’s ghost again?”
Xia Ximo said nothing. Instead, she shook the Soul-Ferrying Lantern in her hand.
“Come out.”