Chapter 42
Chapter 42
“What? Dead?!”
When Prince Yu, Zhao Xing, learned that Ruyan, a Flower Maiden of Hongxiu Pavilion, had died, his legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed into his chair.
It was high noon beneath the blazing sun, yet he felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over him. A chill seeped through his entire body.
Ren Fengjue picked up the hot tea on the table and took a sip. Lowering his eyes, he parted his thin lips and said, “She is indeed dead. I went to her room this morning and saw it with my own eyes.”
Zhao Xing’s expression grew even more complicated. “You… went to Hongxiu Pavilion?”
“Yes.”
Ren Fengjue nodded. “To investigate the origin of that pearl. I didn’t want to go at night, when the place would be too crowded with all sorts, so I chose to visit at dawn.”
“…”
Zhao Xing was momentarily at a loss for words.
If this got out, Young Marquis Ren would absolutely be the first man in history to visit a brothel at daybreak.
Ren Fengjue continued, “Unfortunately, before I could even meet Miss Ruyan, she was already dead.”
“And she had been dead for more than a day.”
Zhao Xing’s heart lurched wildly. He could no longer sit still, his emotions a tangled mess. “How did she die?”
“The cause of death is suspicious,” Ren Fengjue replied with those four words, then added, “The coroner examined the body. There were no external injuries, and no signs of poisoning.”
“But it is the coldest part of winter right now. Judging by the extent of decomposition, she has been dead for at least ten days.”
“What?!”
This time, Zhao Xing truly fell back into his chair and did not dare move.
Ten days…
But just a few days ago, he had clearly gone to Hongxiu Pavilion and seen her.
Ren Fengjue noticed the clue at once and hurriedly asked, “Your Highness, when exactly was the last time you saw Ruyan?”
Zhao Xing trembled all over. His face had gone from pale to bluish, looking terribly grim.
“It was… five days ago.”
He slowly forced out the words.
At that, even Ren Fengjue’s expression changed.
“Your Highness, think back carefully. The last time you saw Ruyan, was there any strange smell in her room?”
“Or did she herself do anything unusual?”
Zhao Xing remembered that five nights ago, he had first gone to Zuihua Restaurant to drink.
On his way back, he passed Hongxiu Pavilion and could not resist going in to sit for a while.
It had been very cold that night. After he got out of the carriage and walked only a few steps, the wind had already stung his cheeks.
Once he entered Ruyan’s room, the warmth enveloped him, and the effects of the wine suddenly surged up.
At the time, a peculiar fragrance was burning in the room, different from the incense blends she usually used.
“How fragrant…”
He sniffed, stretching his nose toward the scent, and tried to look for the incense burner, but nearly fell.
“Has Your Highness been drinking again?”
Ruyan stepped forward to support him, helped him sit on the small couch, then brought over a warm towel to wipe his face.
She was a southern girl, and whenever she spoke, her voice was always gentle and soft. Just listening to her made one feel at ease.
“I’ll have the kitchen prepare a bowl of sobering soup and send it up.”
Zhao Xing quickly took her hand and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t go. I am not drunk.”
Ruyan quietly lay in his embrace, hugging his waist as she asked, “Then will Your Highness be returning to the prince’s estate?”
Zhao Xing truly did want to spend the night in this land of tenderness, but then he thought about it. Imperial Father had only just bestowed a marriage upon him. If word spread that he had spent the night in the pleasure quarters, it would not sound good.
“No. I still have official business tomorrow morning. I will keep you company for a while, then leave.”
Hearing him say that, Ruyan showed not the slightest temper. She had always been docile and obedient. Whatever he said, she listened, and she was willing to consider everything for his sake.
Even…
“Your Highness, I recently obtained something new. I want to give it to you…”
As Ruyan spoke, she rose and took a brocade box from her dressing case. She handed it to him and said, “I imagine Miss Zhuang should like this pearl. You can have it made into a pearl hairpin or a hair ornament for her. She will surely be delighted.”
Zhao Xing opened the box and saw a luminous pearl the size of a pigeon’s egg lying inside, glittering brilliantly beneath the candlelight of the night.
“How thoughtful of you to consider everything so carefully…”
He accepted the bead from her and pulled the beauty back into his arms.
In the end, with such warm, fragrant softness in his embrace, he could not resist. That night, he did not return to the prince’s manor.
By the time Zhao Xing finished recounting the story, he felt a chill crawl over him, along with utter disbelief.
“That night… I stayed over at Hongxiu Pavilion. Ruyan was clearly still alive then!”
“Could it be that I was with a ghost…?”
Ren Fengjue, however, seized on the key point. “You said there was a strange incense burning in her room, different from usual?”
Had the incense been meant to cover something up?
Zhao Xing answered distractedly, “The scent was indeed different from what she usually used.”
Ren Fengjue asked again, “And that bead she gave you was meant for you to give to Miss Zhuang?”
Zhao Xing froze.
Putting it together with everything that had happened before and after, he arrived at a conclusion that left him shaken…
Ruyan had wanted to harm Zhuang You?
Ren Fengjue continued, “To tell you the truth, the moment I entered that room, what I smelled was an overpowering stench of decay.”
“And Ruyan was sitting in front of the mirror, combing her hair.”
“But she was, without a doubt, already dead.”
“…”
Zhao Xing could no longer sit still. To him, this whole business of running into something unclean was now basically confirmed.
He was even afraid Ruyan’s ghost might come looking for him…
“Men! Men!”
He summoned the steward of the prince’s manor. “Send more people out to search. Find me more Daoist priests to drive away evil!”
Seeing Zhao Xing so terrified, Ren Fengjue could only offer a few words of comfort before preparing to rise and take his leave.
Just then, one of the Golden Feather Guards stepped forward. “Your Highness, there is a Daoist priest outside requesting an audience.”
Zhao Xing’s eyes lit up. “Then hurry up and invite him in!”
The member of the Golden Feather Guards accepted the order and left. Before long, he returned with a young Daoist priest in ragged clothes and a wretched state.
Zhao Xing swept him with one glance and was instantly disappointed. His instincts told him the man was most likely a fraud.
He subconsciously covered his nose and mouth, his face full of disgust. “You know how to exorcise evil?”
The Daoist priest smiled faintly. Although he looked down-and-out, it was hard to tell his age at first glance.
But his eyes were bright and spirited, and his voice sounded quite young.
“Of course. I, this humble Daoist, need only give you a talisman to ward off evil and protect your body. I guarantee those demons and Evil Entities will not dare come near you.”
His tone was rather arrogant, and Zhao Xing remained half-convinced at best.
But in the current situation, even a dead horse had to be treated as though it were alive. “Then give this prince one right now.”
As he spoke, he cast a glance at the steward beside him.
The steward understood at once and immediately presented an ingot of silver.
The Daoist priest did not even look at it. Instead, he declared shamelessly, “Is Prince Yu’s life worth only a single ingot of silver?”
Zhao Xing was extremely displeased.
The steward immediately scolded, “How dare you! You have not even given us the talisman yet, and you already dare ask for money. How are we supposed to know whether you are a fraud?”
The Daoist priest let out a clear laugh and swiftly calculated on his fingers, then said, “Your Highness shared a bed with an ‘Evil Entity’ for an entire night. It is only natural that you would be tainted by the Baleful Qi on that ‘Evil Entity.'”
“However, that ‘Evil Entity’ may have had feelings for you and no intention of harming you. Otherwise, how could you have lived until now?”
Those words not only made Zhao Xing’s expression change, even Ren Fengjue was stunned.
This young Daoist priest really did seem to have some true skill…
Zhao Xing instantly felt as though he had grasped a lifesaving straw and hurriedly said, “Give him an ingot of gold! No, give him two!”
“…”
He immediately changed his attitude and stepped forward, asking respectfully, “May I ask how I should address you, Daoist Master?”
The Daoist priest answered with a beaming smile, “The chief disciple of Celestial Master Tianji of Yunhe Mountain-Yan Zhengchu.”
The moment those words were spoken, Ren Fengjue’s entire body shook, and his expression changed as well.