Chapter 88

Chapter 88

The steward pushed open the door, and Xia Ximo walked in.

Zheng Ze, who was sitting at the desk, looked up and clearly recognized her.

“I drew… Daddy!”

He pointed at his drawing excitedly, then added, “And me!”

There were two figures on the paper, one tall and one short, one grown and one young. It was easy to tell they were Zheng Daoyuan in his youth and Zheng Ze as a small child.

Xia Ximo glanced at it, then looked toward the ghost drifting beside him.

“Now do you understand the pain of being separated from your closest family?”

“When you caused Liu Shi and her child to die, did you ever imagine this day would come?”

Xia Ximo’s icy words made the ghost’s sobs stop at once.

Clearly, he was shocked that she was speaking to him.

“You… can see me?”

Zheng Daoyuan’s expression was complicated. “Why can you see me? Why can’t my son… see me?”

“Why is this happening?”

As he spoke, his voice trembled, his face full of anguish.

Clearly, he still had not fully accepted the fact that he was already dead.

Xia Ximo said, almost enunciating each word, “You are already dead.”

Those words sent Zheng Daoyuan into an even greater collapse. A cold, sinister wind instantly swept through the room.

The steward had no idea who she was speaking to. When he suddenly heard the wind rattling the windows, he was so frightened that he stood frozen at the doorway, unable to advance or retreat.

At that moment, Wuyou also released the souls of Zhou Zigui’s family of four from the lamp.

The moment Zheng Daoyuan saw them, he was so terrified he tried to flee, but Xia Ximo pinned him in place with soul power.

As Zhou Zigui walked up to him, Zheng Daoyuan’s eyes nearly split with rage and terror. “It was you! It was you!”

He thought the person who had killed him that day was the man before him.

Zhou Zigui did not know why the other man feared him so much. He clenched his fists in fury and cursed, “You dog of an official! You caused my wife to die. Death is too good for you-you got exactly what you deserved!”

Zheng Daoyuan glanced at Liu Shi and immediately burst into tears. “I… I never meant to kill her. I only…”

“For a moment, I was possessed by foolish desire and mistook her for my late wife…”

“If I had known it would end this way, I never would have done it!”

“Madam Zhou, please forgive me!”

Liu Shi merely gave him a cold, cutting look, then said to her husband, “Husband, he is dead now, and he has been separated from his child by life and death. They can never meet again.”

“Once the case is announced to the world, he will also be reviled by everyone and go down in infamy for ten thousand years.”

“Not a single price he ought to pay will be spared.”

Only after hearing Liu Shi’s words did Zhou Zigui slowly calm down. He said coldly, “My wife will never forgive you.”

Zheng Daoyuan’s lips trembled, but he could not say a word.

Then, almost unconsciously, he looked at Zheng Ze again.

At that moment, Zheng Ze was gently tugging at the corner of Xia Ximo’s sleeve, asking with hopeful eyes, “Sister, do you know where my daddy went? Why doesn’t he come see me anymore?”

Xia Ximo did not speak.

The steward outside the door could not see the ghosts, but he could feel the room suddenly turn cold. Fear gripped his heart, but thinking of the young master, he still braced himself and walked in.

“Young Master, have you forgotten? The master has gone on a long journey. It will still be several days before he returns…”

“He will not be coming back.”

Xia Ximo interrupted the steward directly. Looking at Zheng Ze’s confused face, she asked, “Have you ever done something bad?”

Zheng Ze thought about it carefully before answering timidly, “I… have.”

She asked again, “If someone does something bad, they must be punished. Do you understand?”

Zheng Ze nodded, seeming to understand her words. “Daddy also… did something bad?”

Xia Ximo paused slightly.

Under the steward’s tense gaze, she finally said, “He made another family’s children unable to see their father.”

“So his punishment is that for the next several decades, he cannot see you.”

Zheng Ze stared blankly after hearing those words. He lowered his head to look at his drawing and asked softly, “Then when can I see him again?”
Xia Ximo thought for a moment before answering, “Decades from now, you’ll go to a place called the Underworld Administration. When the time comes, ask the ‘people’ there.”

–

At the hour of Wei, Duke Du’s Mansion.

Du Yueming could more or less guess why Ren Fengjue had suddenly come calling.

After all, the two of them had known each other for so many years. This member of the Ren Family was the very definition of someone who never visited unless he wanted something.

So when he heard the servants announce Ren Fengjue’s arrival, the Young Duke claimed he was ill and refused to go to the hall to receive his guest.

He had thought that would spare him the trouble. Who knew that before long, Ren Fengjue would come straight to his courtyard instead?

He had even brought along a Household Physician.

“Since Young Duke is ill, you really should let a doctor take a look.”

Now Du Yueming truly had a headache.

“It’s nothing serious. I’ll be fine after lying down for a while.”

With that, he leaned back on the couch and drew the thin quilt around himself.

Ren Fengjue did not leave. After the servants served tea, he sat leisurely to the side, drinking tea and eating pastries, showing not the slightest intention of avoiding suspicion.

Seeing that he still had no plans to go, Du Yueming could only give in. He threw off the quilt, sat up cross-legged, and said irritably, “Ren Fengjue, whatever you want to know, just ask already!”

Ren Fengjue smiled and set down his teacup. Only after praising the pastries did he say, “What I mainly want to ask about is the background of Manager Bai of Fu Tower. I believe Young Duke should know it quite well.”

Du Yueming knew at once that his guess had been right. He pointed at Ren Fengjue and cursed, “I knew it! You brat, you definitely didn’t go to Fu Tower with any good intentions!”

In the end, it had all been for a case!

Ren Fengjue’s expression turned solemn. “You were also present for what happened at Fu Tower last night. You saw it with your own eyes, so there’s no need for me to say much, is there?”

“Fu Tower is no ordinary restaurant, and Manager Bai is certainly no kind soul.”

In truth, thinking back on what he had seen and heard last night, Du Yueming was still somewhat shaken.

Fu Tower really was strange.

He thought it over carefully before saying, “I only started having some dealings with Manager Bai half a year ago. As for anything else inside Fu Tower, I truly know nothing.”

Ever since Fu Tower became famous in the capital overnight, Du Yueming had been eager to go there and see what it was all about.

However, despite spending a great sum to reserve tokens several times in advance, he never managed to get his hands on one.

There were a great many rules inside the tower. After asking around for seven or eight days, he finally managed to obtain a red token.

But when he went, he was still refused entry. They claimed the place was full.

That incident thoroughly angered Du Yueming, and he quietly nursed a grudge.

He thought to himself, What lousy tower is this? This Young Master doesn’t care for it anyway!

The turning point came not long afterward, at a banquet at Zuihua Restaurant.

During the banquet, Du Yueming had drunk a couple cups of light wine. While slightly tipsy, he brought up Fu Tower to the others at the table.

Because he was annoyed, he casually disparaged Fu Tower a few times and said that most of the rumors in the capital were mere hearsay and should not be trusted.

Just as he was getting carried away, someone knocked on the private room door and said that Manager Bai of Fu Tower wished to invite Young Duke Du over for a conversation.

When Du Yueming heard that it was actually the manager of Fu Tower, he could not help putting on airs. On purpose, in front of everyone, he directly declined.

To his surprise, after a short while, Manager Bai came in person to invite him.

He still remembered that night: a graceful silhouette reflected on the screen by the door. Just that figure alone was enough to set a man’s imagination running wild.

And that soft, alluring voice made every man in the restaurant feel as though his bones had gone weak.

The capital had never lacked peerless beauties, and Du Yueming happened to have a special weakness for exactly this type.

In an instant, all new grudges and old grievances vanished like smoke.

All he wanted was to see her face.

However, once he eagerly trotted over to Bai Qingshuang’s private room, his whole spirit immediately wilted.

As it turned out, apart from Bai Qingshuang, there was one other person in the room.