Tingyun returned to the prince’s residence and reported Yan Zhuxing’s situation to the prince.
Since that young lady was so fierce, the prince probably wouldn’t make him go undercover in the Marquis’s Mansion to protect her anymore.
Xie Yining frowned, a flicker of disgust flashing in his eyes. “What kind of place is this Dingyuan Marquisate that devours people without spitting out bones? It actually forced a noble young lady like her to become a willful heiress who has to rely on a wooden stick to protect herself.”
Then he issued a new order.
“Find someone to infiltrate the Marquis’s Mansion and keep an eye on her, so she won’t be bullied again by her black-hearted parents, malicious younger sister, and blind elder brother. The things I gave her are not to be taken by anyone else.”
Tingyun responded with an “Mm” and was about to leave when Xie Yining called him back.
“Forget it. Tonight, accompany me to the Dingyuan Marquisate again.”
He wouldn’t feel at ease without seeing his little lifesaver in person.
Night fell.
Yan Zhuxing prepared her props early.
She changed into a maid’s outfit and quietly slipped out.
During the day, she had gone to Yaohua Yuan to confirm that the dog hole she dug in the corner of the courtyard wall as a child was still there. She could sneak in through it.
As she wriggled through the dog hole on her hands and knees, she had no idea that two people were watching her from behind.
Tingyun glanced at his prince.
What noble young lady would crawl through a dog hole? Surely the prince would be disappointed now.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yining murmured to himself, “She can squeeze through such a narrow hole—her body must be too thin. I need to find a way to make her eat more.”
Tingyun: …
The prince’s focus was truly peculiar. He was left speechless.
The two followed Yan Zhuxing into Yaohua Yuan, wanting to see what she was up to.
They saw Yan Zhuxing crouch beneath the window of Yan Mingyue’s bedroom, take out a handkerchief stained with chicken blood that she had prepared in advance, and draw several long finger marks on the window screen, like a vengeful ghost crawling back from the underworld to claim a life.
“Young lady, I’m~ so~ cold~”
She put on a terrifying ghost mask, pinched her throat, and softly called out to Yan Mingyue, who was sound asleep.
Seeing no response, she grabbed a snowball and hurled it hard at the raised outline on the bed.
“Thwack!”
The shattered snow exploded into icy blossoms on Yan Mingyue’s neck, the bone-chilling cold startling her awake as she sat up abruptly.
The charcoal fire in the copper brazier had long gone out, and a faint, elusive scent of blood lingered in the room. Trembling, she reached for the silver bell by the bed, wanting to call her maid in.
A strange voice, accompanied by the cold wind, crept into her ears.
“Young~ lady~ where~ is~ my~ head~”
“Where~ has~ my~ head~ gone~”
Yan Mingyue’s blood froze in her veins.
She remembered the servants reporting that when Mo’er’s body was carried away that day, her head had been separated from her body.
“Mo’er, I didn’t kill you. Don’t come for me. It was Yan Zhuxing. Go, go find her,” she blurted out in her own defense, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
Yan Zhuxing beneath the window suddenly looked up. The moonlight illuminated her terrifying ghost mask, with its long tongue dangling in mid-air.
“Ah, young lady, I found you!”
Yan Mingyue felt as if her heart had been squeezed tightly. After a moment’s pause, two words trembled out of her throat: “A ghost—!”
Then her eyes rolled back, and she fainted completely.
Yan Zhuxing sneered. “What a coward. How boring.”
She muttered as she left, tiptoeing slightly, leaving behind a series of footprints that seemed almost inhuman.
After circling around, she returned to Yulan Courtyard.
Immediately, she tossed all the incriminating evidence into the furnace, burning them to ashes.
Xie Yining, who had witnessed the entire process, wore a satisfied expression.
His little savior was truly clever. As expected of a woman who had been on the battlefield—her considerations were thorough.
He thought for a moment and instructed Tingyun to follow suit, heading to Wen Rushuang’s courtyard to play the ghost and frighten her.
“You know qinggong, so you’ll look more like a ghost.”
Tingyun: …
Was the qinggong he had painstakingly practiced for years meant for playing ghosts?
Whenever the Prince encountered matters related to Miss Yan, it was as if he had been bewitched.
Tingyun felt bitter inside, but he dared not say it aloud.
He could only obediently follow orders, drifting around Wen Rushuang’s courtyard dressed in white robes.
He even pinched his throat to imitate Yan Zhuxing, uttering words demanding vengeance, frightening Wen Rushuang so badly that she nearly lost her wits.
Early in the morning.
Shuangli reported the news she had gathered to Yan Zhuxing.
“Miss, last night, the courtyards of the First Madam and Second Miss were haunted. It’s said that Mo’er returned to seek vengeance.”
“What?” Yan Zhuxing was stunned.
She had only gone to frighten Yan Mingyue. What happened with Wen Rushuang’s side?
Could it be that Mo’er’s ghost had truly manifested?
If so, Mo’er should have come for her. Why would she go after Wen Rushuang instead?
“Could it be that she’s afraid of me?”
Yan Zhuxing rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
Soon, she reached a conclusion.
Ghosts, like people, prey on the weak and fear the strong.
In the past, she was weak, allowing everyone in the Marquis’s Mansion to walk all over her. Now that she had stood her ground, they had backed down.
Even ghosts dared not provoke her anymore.
Yan Zhuxing was quite pleased with her transformation.
After finishing her breakfast, she decided to go out. The cloak that Second Miss Pei had given her had been cleaned and needed to be returned.
She left Shuangli behind to look after the courtyard and took another maid, Ban Tang, with her.
She went to the Marquis’s Mansion to request a carriage, but without the approval of the Marquise, the coachman dared not take her out.
However, times had changed. The Miss now had the Empress’s backing.
The coachman, not daring to offend anyone, clutched his stomach and said, “Miss, what unfortunate timing. I’m suffering from severe stomach pain and unfortunately cannot take you out today.”
With that, he ran off, still clutching his stomach.
Yan Zhuxing sneered. Did he think this would stop her?
In her previous life, she had even been to the battlefield. Driving a carriage was nothing to her.
“Get in,” she told the maid to board the carriage while she took the reins and drove out of the Marquis’s Mansion.
The coachman was dumbfounded.
He hurriedly reported the matter to the Main Courtyard.
Upon learning of this, Yan Mingxiu angrily stopped the carriage: “Mother and sister are ill, yet you still have the mind to go out?”
Yan Zhuxing replied unhurriedly, “I need to visit Weiguo Duke’s Mansion. Lord Pei said that if I don’t return the cloak in person, he will bring Second Miss Pei to visit. Surely you don’t want him coming to the Marquis’s Mansion again?”
Yan Mingxiu’s expression stiffened. This was indeed difficult to obstruct.
If Pei Mingjing were to show up again, the Marquis’s Mansion would once more become the talk of the capital.
He grumbled, “But you should at least visit Mother and sister. After raising you for so many years, you ungrateful wretch.”
Yan Zhuxing shot him a cold glance. “Go back and ask Wen Rushuang properly—whether I am ungrateful or she harbors evil intentions.”
“How dare you address Mother by her name directly?” Yan Mingxiu stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide.
“A good dog doesn’t block the path. I’ll count to three. If you don’t move aside, I’ll drive right over you.” Yan Zhuxing couldn’t be bothered to waste time on this fool.
Remembering how Yan Mingxiu had tried to shatter her soul in her past life, Yan Zhuxing felt a surge of anticipation.
He tried to shatter her soul; she’d let the horse trample his leg. Just collecting a bit of interest—was that too much?
“Who are you calling a dog?” Hearing her outrageous words, Yan Mingxiu grew furious. “If you dare harm me, Father and Mother will never forgive you.”
“One, two…”
Before Yan Zhuxing could count to three, Yan Mingxiu quickly scrambled aside.
He could see it in her eyes—no hesitation, no fear. She truly would drive the carriage right over him.
But in his frantic haste, he twisted his ankle and tumbled backward, landing in an undignified heap, limbs flailing.
As the carriage left the Dingyuan Marquisate, the maid Ban Tang inside was trembling with fear.
The young miss truly was different now—she wasn’t even afraid of the second young master anymore.
She would have to serve with extra care, making sure not to anger the young miss.
Yan Zhuxing didn’t head straight to the Weiguo Duke’s Mansion.
Although Second Miss Pei had lent her an old cloak, she couldn’t just return an old cloak.
She couldn’t give away treasures bestowed by the Empress, so she had to go out and buy a new cloak as a token of gratitude.
First, she went to a brokerage firm and hired a carriage and driver.
She didn’t plan to keep using the Marquisate’s carriage and people—the Dingyuan Marquis’s household wouldn’t tolerate her for long.
Who knew if they might tamper with the carriage later?
Thinking of this, Yan Zhuxing touched the silver ingots she had brought with her, feeling even more grateful to the Empress.
Afterward, she went to Jiuzhang Tang and bought a cloak in moon-white with pine-frost green accents before finally making her way to the Weiguo Duke’s Mansion.
“The eldest young miss of the Dingyuan Marquisate is here to see me?” Pei Wu frowned slightly.
She didn’t have much connection with that person, did she? What could she possibly want?