Chapter 56
Chapter 56
After the authorities arrived and examined the body, they came to an utterly horrifying conclusion.
Simeng had died by snapping her own neck with her own hands.
Such a brutal method of “suicide” was truly unheard of.
If the Living Yama had not been there to hold the scene together, and if the Ministry of Justice had not taken over the case directly, the chaos might well have spun out of control.
Even so, once word of the case spread, it would no doubt send shockwaves through the capital for some time.
By the time the aftermath at the Wang Residence had been dealt with, it was nearly midnight.
After a full day of running around, and after surviving several close brushes with danger, Ren Fengjue’s body was utterly exhausted.
He walked out of the Wang Residence. A grand carriage had been brought around to replace the one from before.
Axia was waiting beside the carriage. Seeing him approach, he pointed inside and said, “That Daoist Master has already fallen asleep in the carriage.”
Ren Fengjue lifted the curtain and glanced in. Sure enough, Yan Zhengchu was leaning against the carriage wall, sleeping soundly.
Seeing how deep the night had grown, Ren Fengjue did not have the heart to wake him. He said, “Take him back to the residence first.”
Then he asked, “By the way, has Miss Xia returned yet?”
Axia shook his head. “A quarter of an hour ago, Miss Xia went to Prince Yu’s Mansion.”
“Prince Yu’s Mansion?”
Ren Fengjue was startled. “At this hour?”
“Yes.”
Ren Fengjue was about to ask more, but on second thought, Xia Ximo had never been the sort to explain herself. There was no way Axia would know anything either.
After a brief moment of thought, he instructed, “Take me to Prince Yu’s Mansion first, then send Daoist Yan back to rest.”
Axia blurted out without thinking, “Young Master is going to Prince Yu’s Mansion too?”
“…”
The question made Ren Fengjue feel somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, Axia immediately came to his senses. “This lowly one spoke out of turn. I’ll drive at once…”
The Wang Residence was not far from Prince Yu’s Mansion. The journey took only about the time it took for a stick of incense to burn.
Ren Fengjue had Axia stop the carriage by the roadside. He planned to go to the mansion himself and see what was going on.
However, after taking only a few steps, he turned back and gave another instruction. “Go back and tell Uncle Ren to arrange for Daoist Yan to stay in the West Wing of the South Courtyard.”
Axia was puzzled for a moment.
Why the South Courtyard instead of the East Courtyard?
But then he thought of Miss Xia, and everything instantly became clear…
There were three rooms in the East Courtyard. Miss Xia occupied the main room, and Tianqing, her maid, stayed in the east side room. The east and west wing rooms were still vacant.
Even so, the Young Marquis was unwilling to let anyone disturb Miss Xia’s rest…
He would rather give up a wing room in his own courtyard instead.
Truly, he had gone to great lengths.
How could Ren Fengjue possibly know about all the twists and turns in Axia’s mind? He was only worried about what exactly Xia Ximo had gone to Prince Yu’s Mansion for.
He walked a few steps closer in the direction of the royal mansion, only to see that his own “broken carriage” was parked right outside the gates.
Even more strangely, the main gates of the mansion were actually half-open, and two Golden Feather Guards stood motionless by the entrance.
–
When Xia Ximo knocked on the gates of Prince Yu’s Mansion in the middle of the night, it had caused quite the uproar.
Zhao Xing was at the point where he was terrified out of his wits by ghosts. He had gone to bed early, clutching a pile of objects meant to ward off evil.
When he heard that a guest had come calling, he refused to see them no matter what.
Yet not long after the steward left, a figure appeared standing by the window.
“I told you. You may want to see him, but he may not want to see you.”
The moment Zhao Xing heard that voice, every hair on his body stood on end.
“Who is it?”
The person outside the window gave no answer.
Zhao Xing tightened his grip on the yellow talisman in his hand and shouted, “Someone! Someone, come here!”
But the servants outside the door did not respond either.
He was scared out of his mind. Then he heard the door being pushed open, and the silhouette of a woman fell across the floor.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
Her footsteps were soft and light.
Zhao Xing looked closely and froze. “It’s you!”
Though Xia Ximo was dressed in women’s clothing, he recognized her at a glance.
The mysterious woman Ren Fengjue was rumored to have hidden away in his manor!
“How exactly did you get in here?”
Zhao Xing was terrified, but he forced himself to remain calm.
Xia Ximo looked as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “You refused to come out, so I had to come in myself.”
“…”
That was undoubtedly a slap in the face to him as Prince Yu. Zhao Xing snapped, “Do you think Prince Yu’s estate is somewhere a woman like you can enter whenever she pleases? Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because Ren Fengjue is backing you!”
Xia Ximo, however, couldn’t be bothered to waste words with him. With a flick of her hand, she pasted a yellow talisman onto the Soul-Ferrying Lantern. “If you have anything to say, you can say it to him directly now.”
“Remember, you only have half an incense stick’s worth of time.”
With that, she placed the Soul-Ferrying Lantern on the desk and turned to leave the room.
A gust of eerie wind swept through, making the candle flames on the desk flicker.
Zhao Xing felt a chill settle over him, and all his bluster vanished. Eyes wide, he stared at that strange black Lotus Lamp.
The next second, a woman’s figure slowly appeared in the room.
“Ru… Ruyan?”
Under the effects of the “talisman,” Ruyan’s soul gradually became clearer. Lit by the candles, she looked almost exactly as she had in life.
But beneath her feet, there was no shadow.
After his shock came another wave of fear. Zhao Xing backed away again and again. “D-don’t come any closer. I have magical artifacts and talismans protecting me!”
To ward off evil, Prince Yu had spared no expense. He had bought all sorts of demon-subduing items from several Daoist priests.
He didn’t care whether they were real or fake. At that moment, he grabbed them all in his hands at once.
Seeing him like this, Ruyan did not dare step forward. She only said softly, “Your Highness need not be afraid. Ruyan has no wish to harm anyone. I only came… to bid you farewell.”
As she spoke, she curtsied gracefully to him, just as she had when they used to meet in Hongxiu Pavilion.
Zhao Xing’s heart trembled, and his expression grew even more complicated. “Farewell? You…”
When Ruyan raised her head again, tears shimmered in her eyes as she choked out, “Who would have thought that after we parted that night, we would be separated forever by life and death…”
“I could not wait until the day I promised Your Highness. That has always been my regret.”
“Now, Ruyan’s road in the mortal world has come to an end. After bidding Your Highness farewell, I will have no more lingering attachments.”
Her words softened Zhao Xing’s heart.
After all, they had known each other for years. Even if their statuses were worlds apart, it was impossible for there to be no feeling between them.
Not to mention the many times they had shared such intimacy…
Once Zhao Xing was certain she had no intention of harming him, the fear in his heart slowly eased. He asked, “Who killed you? I… I will avenge you!”
Ruyan still wore that quiet, gentle smile, just like so many mornings when he had woken in her room and found her sitting beside the bed, having already prepared everything he needed with meticulous care.
Her voice had always been soft and warm, like the breeze along the willow-lined banks of Jiangnan, drifting lightly into his ear.
“The murderer has already been brought to justice. Your Highness need not trouble yourself over Ruyan’s affairs anymore.”
“May Your Highness and Miss Zhuang live in harmony like qin and se, joined together forever.”
Only as he watched her form slowly blur did Zhao Xing realize the reluctance in his heart.
He could not help taking a step forward, but before he could call Ruyan’s name, that figure turned into a wisp of smoke.
“Ruyan…”
Zhao Xing reached out. The smoke curled once around his fingertips, as if offering a final farewell.
He watched the mist dissipate. It was like waking from a fleeting dream of glory, leaving him hollow and lost, unable to come back to himself for a long while.
Not until Xia Ximo walked back into the room and took the Lotus Lamp from beside him.
“Wait…”