Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Ren Fengjue did not take Xia Ximo into the Ministry of Justice Office.

Instead, he ordered the bailiffs to bring Ruyan’s body out directly.

Strangely enough, the body had already been placed in a fine golden nanmu coffin.

According to the bailiffs, the coffin had been delivered in secret by some noble person. The sender had not revealed their identity and had only left one instruction: give her a proper burial.

At those words, the Soul-Ferrying Lantern inside Xia Ximo’s pouch trembled faintly.

Xia Ximo gave a cold scoff. “It’s only a coffin. Is there any need to be so moved?”

The two bailiffs had no idea who she was speaking to and exchanged baffled looks.

Ren Fengjue could more or less guess who had sent the coffin. He merely turned to Xia Ximo and asked, “The body will be buried outside the city. Miss Xia, will you be going with them?”

“No need.”

All that remained now was the final step.

Xia Ximo had the bailiffs open the coffin just a crack. Then she reached one hand inside.

At the sight, the two bailiffs were so frightened they hardly dared to breathe.

Ren Fengjue’s expression also tightened.

To ferry the soul of one who had died unjustly, the corpse and bones had to be purified along with it.

Only when there were no lingering attachments left in the mortal world would the bones turn to fine ash and pave a path of return through the Yellow Springs, allowing the Yin Soul to walk straight toward the Netherworld.

“Done.”

Xia Ximo paid no mind to how others viewed her. Only when a glimmer of light faded from the wick of the Soul-Ferrying Lantern did a trace of relief appear between her brows.

Naturally, that tiny change did not escape Lord Ren’s eyes.

By now, he was almost certain.

Everything she had done truly was to help those who had died unjust deaths.

Including that ingot of gold she had given Yan Zhengchu. It had probably been used to buy some sort of talisman.

Earlier in the carriage, he had vaguely overheard some of what she had asked Yan Zhengchu to help with.

He had not expected someone who seemed so “cold-blooded and heartless” to be so… decent.

A faint smile unconsciously slipped onto his lips, and interest warmed his gaze.

Xia Ximo quickly noticed Ren Fengjue’s smile. Their eyes met.

She asked, “What are you smiling at?”

Lord Ren immediately schooled his expression, but said, “I was only wondering when Miss Xia plans to repay the ingot of gold she owes me.”

“…”

Since coming to the mortal world, Xia Ximo truly had not considered money at all.

But seeing the bustling traffic and rampant desire beneath the Imperial City, she realized that clothing, food, shelter, and travel all did indeed require “money.”

She suddenly asked him, “Then how am I supposed to get money?”

That question actually stumped Ren Fengjue.

He had grown up in wealth and comfort, never lacking for anything. Now he served as an official in the Ministry of Justice and drew a salary.

All household expenses were managed by Ren Cong, and he had never needed to think about such things.

“Well…”

Ren Fengjue had only been teasing her offhand. It was not as if he had truly intended to make her pay him back.

Given the relationship between their families, even if their engagement had been broken off, he would still make proper arrangements for her and ensure she lived comfortably for the rest of her life.

Just as he was feeling awkward, a report came from not far away.

“Lord Ren, Vice Minister Yu has returned.”

At that, Ren Fengjue immediately changed the subject. “Miss Xia, I need to return to the Ministry of Justice Office. If you wish to go back, you may give Axia the order directly.”

Xia Ximo gave a sound of acknowledgment. After watching him walk away, she stood there in a daze for quite some time.

Inside the lantern, Wuyou could finally come out for air. “Are we going back now? I remember you still have something left to do.”

“I remember.”

That day, she had promised Meng Zhiyuan she would deliver a message to his wife. She had yet to fulfill it.

Seeing her thoughtful expression, Wuyou asked, “You aren’t really thinking about how to earn gold, are you?”

Xia Ximo glanced at it but said nothing. She turned and walked away.
—

Yu Lang rode hard all the way back to the capital. He did not return home, nor did he go to Dali Temple. Instead, he headed straight to the Ministry of Justice Office to find Ren Fengjue.

The moment he saw Lord Ren, he truly had the illusion that they had been parted for ages.

“You have worked hard, Vice Minister Yu.”

“I certainly have…”

Yu Lang deliberately rubbed his arms, his expression exaggerated. “Not only was it hard work, but that place, Xiling County, is actually colder than the capital!”

“And I hurried back the whole way without even getting a proper meal…”

Ren Fengjue smiled faintly. “I already instructed the office to prepare food for you.”

Then he asked, “Well? Did your trip to Xiling County yield anything?”

Yu Lang raised his brows. “Since this humble official made the trip, I naturally would not disappoint you, my lord.”

“That Mu Family really does have problems…”

Three evenings ago, Yu Lang had arrived in Xiling County and met up with Yaoguang.

After learning some recent details about the Mu Family, he began making inquiries around Mu Manor.

As it turned out, almost everyone in Xiling County knew that the master of the Mu Family, Mu Zheng, had only one daughter, named Mu Tingting.

Yet this eldest young lady of the Mu Family never showed her face in public. On the rare occasions when she went out with her maidservants, she gave her instructions from inside a sedan chair.

So much so that, after all these years, no one actually knew what she looked like.

As for the cousin young lady lodging in their manor, outsiders had heard of her but had never seen her.

It was perfectly normal for daughters of noble families not to show themselves casually in public.

But Great Qi had open customs. During festivals such as the Flower Festival, Qixi, and the Lantern Festival, young women all had chances to go out for spring outings and amusement.

Yet to this day, no one knew what the daughter of the Mu Family looked like. That alone was highly suspicious.

Yu Lang spent nearly another day and a half asking around. In the end, it was a tavern waiter who told him, “If you want to know about that, you might as well ask someone from Mu Manor directly.”

“Their gatekeeper comes here every evening at dusk to buy wine. When the time comes, find a chance to ask him. You might be able to get something out of him.”

Just as the waiter said, that evening, the gatekeeper arrived right on time.

Yu Lang was best at putting on an act. First, he pretended to have drunk too much and accidentally knocked over the other man’s wine jar.

When he saw the man get angry, he apologized over and over, then had the waiter bring out the tavern’s best wine and dishes to entertain him.

As soon as the gatekeeper heard it was good wine, he could no longer move his feet. He sat down on the spot and started drinking with him.

Only once the wine had warmed them and loosened their tongues did Yu Lang begin to fish for information. After going back and forth like this, he really did manage to uncover something wrong.

“That gatekeeper told me the cousin young lady in the manor is actually already dead…”

At this point, Yu Lang’s expression also turned grave.

One of Ren Fengjue’s brows lifted slightly. “What do you mean?”

“His exact words were that Miss Xia froze to death in a side courtyard. But three days after she was buried, she crawled back out of the ground to claim lives.”

Even as Yu Lang spoke, a chill ran down his spine. “He had drunk quite a bit at the time, and his speech was a little slurred, but he was absolutely certain about that.”

“Because on the night that ‘cousin young lady’ returned after her death, he was the one who opened the gate for her. He saw it with his own eyes.”

At that, Yu Lang boldly voiced his own speculation.

“So I started thinking. If what he said is true, then Xia Ximo may have died long ago. Right now, there are two possibilities-”

“First, both of the ones in the capital could be impostors!”

“Second, one of them very likely isn’t human!”

Ren Fengjue suddenly smiled, but asked, “Aside from that, did Vice Minister Yu find any actual basis for this?”

No sooner had he spoken than there came a sound from the window, and Yaoguang, dressed all in black, leapt lightly inside.

“How could the words of a drunken old man count as any kind of basis?”