Yan Lexian’s fleeing figure gradually disappeared beyond the gates of the Xiao residence.
From inside her pocket dimension, Xin Long watched coldly until Ying Tianjiao also left.
She surveyed the courtyard. The constables stood around in small groups, every one of them pale as ashes, their eyes filled with fear. The slap mark on Yan Lexian’s face had clearly terrified them all.
One young constable, about the same height as Xin Long, was crouching by a wall, shivering as he muttered prayers under his breath, obviously frightened out of his wits by the “ghostly slap.”
A glint flashed across Xin Long’s eyes.
In an instant, she silently appeared behind him.
Her hand rose and fell in one swift, clean motion.
The constable let out a muffled groan before collapsing limply to the ground.
Xin Long quickly stripped off his uniform and expertly changed into it herself.
She dragged the unconscious man into a hidden corner, picked up his official cap from the ground, and put it on.
After straightening her collar to make sure nothing looked out of place, she strode out openly and blended into the escort of constables guarding the Xiao family.
The officers were all visibly shaken, whispering nervously among themselves about what had just happened.
“It’s cursed! Lord Yan was actually slapped by a ghost!”
“No kidding—I saw it with my own eyes! A handprint just appeared out of nowhere!”
“This Xiao residence has to be haunted. We’d better get out of here before we bring bad luck on ourselves!”
Everyone was on edge, and the formation had become disorganized.
No one noticed that there was now one extra, undersized “constable” among them.
“Captain Liu… the women of the Xiao family still haven’t been searched,” one constable reminded him timidly, his voice trembling.
Captain Liu was a burly man with a face full of flesh, but even he looked uneasy.
He glanced around and saw that every one of his men was keeping their distance. No one wanted to volunteer.
“W-What are we supposed to do now?” he muttered, rubbing his hands anxiously.
He might love money, but he valued his life even more.
If the Xiao residence was really haunted, he certainly didn’t want to become another victim.
Seeing his hesitation, Xin Long’s eyes flickered.
She stepped forward.
“Captain Liu, I’ll do it,” she said in a deliberately roughened voice.
Captain Liu sized her up. Seeing her short stature and assuming she was the reckless type who cared more about money than her own life, he grinned inwardly.
“Good. You go.”
Walking up to the Xiao women, Xin Long barked harshly,
“Take off all your jewelry!”
Though grief-stricken, the women of the Xiao family knew resistance was useless.
Silently, they removed their jewelry and handed it over to Chu Xiangyue.
Chu Xiangyue gathered everything together and passed it to Xin Long.
Xin Long accepted the jewelry, selected only a few of the poorest-quality pieces, then pushed the rest back.
“These… are too worthless. Don’t want them.”
“These… you don’t want these either?”
Chu Xiangyue looked up in confusion—and met a pair of strikingly familiar eyes.
Her pupils widened in shock.
T-That was…
The Grand Princess!
How… how was she here?
And dressed like this?
Xin Long blinked at her and made a quieting gesture.
“Shh. Hide the valuables,” she whispered.
Then she took two steaming meat buns she had bought earlier on the street from her storage space and slipped them into Chu Xiangyue’s sleeve.
“When they’re not paying attention, share these with everyone.”
“Sister-in-law… y-you… this…”
Chu Xiangyue clutched the warm buns tightly, staring at Xin Long with utter bewilderment.
Xin Long blinked again and pointed at her disguise, signaling her not to expose her identity.
“Jinghe… how is he?” Chu Xiangyue finally understood and hurriedly lowered her voice.
Xin Long spoke softly enough that only the two of them could hear.
“Jinghe has been thrown into prison. He was tortured.”
She paused, watching Chu Xiangyue’s expression before adding,
“But his life isn’t in danger. Don’t worry.”
Chu Xiangyue’s eyes immediately reddened, tears welling up inside them.
She drew a deep breath, forcing herself to stay composed as she choked out,
“We’ve dragged you into this too, Sister-in-law…”
Looking at the kind-hearted woman before her, Xin Long felt a complicated mix of emotions.
She knew Chu Xiangyue meant every word.
It was the Emperor who had framed the Xiao family, yet Chu Xiangyue didn’t blame her in the slightest. Instead, she pitied Xin Long—the very “accomplice” who had been forced into the marriage.
“We’re family. Don’t say that.”
Xin Long lowered her voice.
Then she took out a packet of chocolate candies she had originally planned to feed Jiang Li and slipped it into Chu Xiangyue’s hand.
“These candies can restore your strength. The road from the capital to the outskirts is long. A few buns won’t be enough to keep everyone from going hungry.”
Chu Xiangyue looked at the strangely wrapped candies.
Assuming they were some novel delicacy from the imperial palace, she asked no questions and quietly tucked them into her sleeve.
Xin Long glanced once more at the elderly, the women, and the children standing behind Chu Xiangyue and let out a slow breath.
“Big Sister-in-law, I have to return to the palace. Take care of everyone.”
“We’ll meet outside the city.”
Chu Xiangyue froze upon hearing those words.
Meanwhile, Xin Long returned to the ranks of the constables.
“Captain Liu, the search is finished.”
Feigning respect, she handed over the few shabby pieces of jewelry.
Captain Liu frowned at the pitiful pile of worthless trinkets in his hands.
“That’s all?” he asked suspiciously.
“Reporting to Captain Liu… the Xiao family only had this much. I searched everywhere. There’s nothing else.”
Xin Long kept her head lowered, carefully imitating the timid demeanor of the young constable whose identity she had stolen.
Captain Liu wanted to question her further.
But looking at the devastated Xiao residence and the hollow-eyed members of the Xiao family, he ultimately swallowed his doubts.
He snatched the “loot” from Xin Long’s hands, stuffed it carelessly into his sleeve, and waved impatiently.
“Enough! Move out! Get everyone out of the residence!”
The constables felt as though they had been granted a pardon. They hurriedly urged the Xiao family to leave the estate.
Chu Xiangyue remained where she was, her gaze lingering in the direction Xin Long had disappeared.
Her heart was filled with confusion and unease.
Meet outside the city?
Could it be…
Was the Emperor exiling the Grand Princess as well?
The thought made her heart sink even further.
In the end… the Duke Dingguo’s household had still dragged Her Highness the Grand Princess down with them…
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