Chapter 4
Chapter 4
In the middle of the night, the snow ceased, leaving the world a seamless expanse of white.
Outside the main hall of Mu Manor, Mu Tingting stood with a deep frown, staring at the closed doors with a face full of anxiety.
Three days ago, news of Xia Ximo’s death had come from the side courtyard. Lady Fan had chosen to keep it a secret, but Mu Tingting had still caught wind of it.
She felt a pang of guilt toward this younger cousin of hers.
But her mother had said that once they chose this path of no return, there was no room for second thoughts.
Now that Xia Ximo was dead, Mu Tingting had no choice but to enter the gates of Renxuan Marquis Manor in her stead.
However, things had suddenly become complicated.
How could a dead person suddenly return?
As she was lost in thought, the heavy doors suddenly creaked open, leaving a narrow gap.
The servants guarding the entrance were all taken aback.
A moment later, a thin, frail figure was the first to step out.
“Ximo…”
Mu Tingting’s breath hitched. She felt a piercing chill seep into her very bones.
Facing the crowd’s astonished gazes, Xia Ximo’s pale face remained devoid of emotion.
Behind her, Steward Zhou was supporting a clearly traumatized Lady Fan as they slowly emerged. Compared to the girl in front of them, these two appeared dazed and ashen-faced, clearly in a bad state.
“Mother.”
Suppressing her fear, Mu Tingting hurried forward to Lady Fan. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
At the sound of her daughter’s voice, a flicker of light returned to Lady Fan’s dull eyes.
She grabbed Mu Tingting’s hand and said urgently, “Tingting, take some men to the backyard. Go to the well… dig up Chun Ying’er’s body from the well.”
Mu Tingting’s expression shifted instantly. “Mother, what… what are you talking about?”
Lady Fan didn’t explain, only urging her further, “Don’t ask, just do it!”
Mu Tingting had always been obedient to her mother. Though she didn’t understand the situation, she didn’t dare hesitate. She immediately called several servants and rushed to the backyard.
In less than an hour, a set of skeletal remains lay beside the withered well in the backyard.
A human life was at stake, leaving Mu Tingting even more at a loss.
The moment Lady Fan saw the bones, her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, her face filled with remorse.
“I’ve wronged you! I was wrong! I deserve to die!”
“In the next life-I will serve you as a beast of burden!”
“Please, forgive me!”
The servants were stunned to hear such words from their usually elegant and dignified Matriarch.
Mu Tingting felt as if her world were collapsing. She stepped forward to support her.
“Mother, what are you saying? What… what does this have to do with you?”
With tears and snot streaming down her face, Lady Fan looked toward Xia Ximo and said with trembling lips, “She is Chun Ying’er… I… I ordered the men to beat her to death…”
Hearing that name, Mu Tingting finally understood most of the situation.
She followed her mother’s gaze, only to meet a pair of cold eyes. She choked on her words, not daring to speak another breath.
Xia Ximo looked away and glanced at the sky. Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, she walked to the bones and lightly touched the center of the skull’s brow with her index finger.
“Now that your grievance is redressed, be on your way.”
As soon as she spoke, the bones instantly crumbled into powder, dissolving into the white snow.
Witnessing this, the people of Mu Manor were terrified. They instinctively backed away, their eyes filled with visible dread as they looked at Xia Ximo.
Lady Fan was still frightened out of her wits when Xia Ximo turned her head and gave a cold command: “Remember my requirements clearly. A life for a life; we shall meet again on the road to the Yellow Springs.”
Without waiting for a response, she departed as silently as she had arrived, vanishing like the wind and snow of the night.
In just a single night, the Mu family underwent a world-shaking transformation.
As dawn broke, a group of yamen runners rushed through West Street, quickly surrounding the gates of the Mu Manor.
The head bailiff crossed his arms and let out a yawn, raising his voice to ask, “Who reported the crime?”
A woman with disheveled hair walked slowly out from within, her voice hoarse as she replied, “Sir, it was I.”
The bailiff, being a man of experience, recognized her identity immediately and was struck with shock.
“Madam Mu? What is the meaning of this?”
The woman looked up gloomily and uttered four words: “I have killed someone.”
With that, she presented a written confession.
That very day, Lady Fan, the Matriarch of the Mu family, was thrown into prison. By that night, she had committed suicide by hanging, a development that instantly sent shockwaves through all of Xiling County.
However, the yamen refused to disclose any details regarding why she had been imprisoned or what crime she had committed.
Three days later, Mu Zheng, who was serving in an official capacity in the Capital, received a letter from home penned by his daughter on her mother’s behalf.
After reading the several pages of the letter, he felt a chill run through his entire body, his heart a chaotic mess of emotions.
He tossed and turned all night, contemplating various ways to handle the situation.
Before the sky grew light, Mu Zheng summoned a confidant. After much deliberation, he instructed, “You must find Ximo as soon as possible and bring her to the Capital to see me.”
Meanwhile, on a merchant ship bound for the Capital, a young woman wrapped in coarse hemp clothes leaned against a stack of wine jars in the hold.
Her eyes were tightly shut, her face pale. As the ship swayed, she slowly slumped to the floor, losing consciousness.
At that moment, a commotion broke out outside the cabin.
Someone roared, “Everyone, get down! If you know what’s good for you, hand over your valuables. Otherwise, don’t blame our blades for being blind!”
As it turned out, river pirates had disguised themselves and boarded the ship, intending to extort a fortune.
This merchant ship had departed from Xiling County, originally intended only for transporting goods to the Capital.
However, due to the convenience of the waterways and the frequent travel between the prefectures and counties along the route, it had gradually begun to take on passengers as well.
Now, the ship was in the middle of the river, surrounded by water on all sides, leaving the passengers utterly isolated and without help.
As several bandits brandished their blades, panic instantly erupted on the ship. No one dared to make a move.
Those who valued their lives were quick to offer up their money with both hands, fearing they might provoke the attackers.
Seeing this, the bandits prepared to scavenge through the crowd one by one.
Suddenly, there was a sharp *whoosh*. A chopstick flew out from nowhere, grazing a bandit’s cheek before embedding itself firmly into a wooden beam nearby.
Though the strike hadn’t injured anyone, it carried immense force.
It was clearly the work of a master.
By the dim light of dawn, the bandit followed the trajectory and looked up. He saw two men sitting in the ship’s second-story cabin.
One of them wore elegant white robes. His face was as fair as jade, and his posture was graceful. He was toyed with a chopstick in his hand, looking quite rakish and uninhibited.
The other man wore a deep black cloak. He was handsome and refined; though he appeared young, he possessed a steady temperament and an innate air of nobility, clearly coming from an extraordinary background.
The two of them didn’t seem to care at all about the danger below. Their expressions were calm and composed, devoid of any fear.
The lead bandit choked on his words, his intuition telling him something was wrong.
The man in white said leisurely, “We’re almost at the Capital, yet we run into something like this?”
The man in black didn’t respond, simply pouring himself a cup of tea and taking a light sip.
Seeing this, the man in white lazily crossed his arms and looked back with a raised eyebrow. “Lord Ren, do you think we should bother with such a trivial matter?”