Chapter 30

A restless, sleepless night ensued.

That evening, Xiang'er helped Shimei with her evening routine.

But Stone Meimei was lost in thought.

"Sister Meimei?" Xiang Yi asked, "Do you want to wear the pink dress or the pale yellow one?"

"Huh?" Stone Meimei, propped up by her elbows on the edge of the bathtub, was daydreaming.

Sighing, Xiang Yi left a pink nightgown outside for her and went to wash her hair, asking, "What's on your mind?"

Stone Meimei continued to be distracted and after a while suddenly exclaimed, "I'm so hungry! I didn't eat that other stuffed crab orange, what a waste!"

"What?" Xiang Yi, bewildered by the sudden outburst, carefully dried Stone Meimei's hair with a towel, lit the incense Stone Meimei had selected, and then noticed the delicious aroma wafting in from outside.

Deeply inhaling the fragrant air, Stone Meimei's stomach growled audibly. She hurriedly joined Xiang Yi in rushing out, only to find Hong Ye and Zan Yu setting up a late-night snack on the stone table in the courtyard.

There were several steamed baskets of crab roe buns, a small bowl of fresh soup, and a large plate of stir-fried shrimp noodles.

Stone Meimei quickly scurried out, "It smells so good."

Everyone sat down to eat.

Hong Ye and Zan Yu exchanged glances, debating who should ask. Just as they were about to speak, they heard a maid announce, "Sister Xiang Yi, Little Xi Shi said something was delivered from Bai's residence. It's in the outer courtyard for you to collect."

"Okay, I'll get it." Xiang Yi quickly stood up and, accompanied by a maid, left for the outer courtyard. The inner courtyard where Stone Meimei and the others resided was off-limits to men.

Zan Yu and Hong Ye both asked Stone Meimei, "What could be sent so late? What did they send?"

Stone Meimei shook her head, unsure of the answer herself.

Soon after, Xiang Yi rushed in with a food box, exclaiming, "Sister Meimei, Bai's residence has sent us a late-night snack, perfect to pair with our meal."

Stone Meimei inquired, "What did they send?"

Xiang Yi placed the food box on the table and opened it to reveal several stuffed crab oranges neatly arranged. The second layer contained a box of top-quality Pu'er raw tea, probably to accompany the late-night snack, helping to avoid weight gain after a hearty meal.

"Wow, how thoughtful!" exclaimed Hong Ye. Stone Meimei, feeling a whirlwind of emotions, petted the curious Little Fu Zi perched on her leg and looking at the table. She asked Xiang Yi, "Did you thank them?"

"Of course, and I generously rewarded the servant from Bai's residence who brought the food," replied Xiang Yi, carrying dishes out with the maids and murmuring, "Bai's residence truly knows how to treat people well, being such a prestigious family."

Stone Meimei wondered, "Do we have something to reciprocate with?"

Pondering, Xiang Yi said, "That's a bit difficult... Bai's residence is not only wealthy but also has disciples and followers all over the world, so they can obtain any rare item, not inferior to the palace. Anything we could offer, they probably already have."

Stone Meimei frowned, propping her chin with one hand, eating the stuffed crab orange with a spoon, and enjoying the stir-fried noodles and crab roe buns.

"Meimei?" Hong Ye leaned in and asked, "What happened today?"

Stone Meimei recounted the day's events.

Hong Ye frowned, "So, you knew that ghost from before?"

Stone Meimei, unable to reveal she was not Chen Shi Mei, simply said that she didn't remember many things from before.

Zan Yu pondered and then remarked, "Meimei, there's something you might not remember."

"What is it?" Stone Meimei asked Zan Yu, thinking that Zan Yu might know since they had always lived together in the royal mansion and were quite close.

"Before the fire in the fragrance workshop, you said you'd discovered a big secret and were contemplating whether to tell the prince or not," Zan Yu revealed.

Stone Meimei, puzzled, inquired, "Did I end up telling the prince?"

Zan Yu thought for a moment and shook her head, "I don't think so. You initially said the secret could make the prince emperor and wanted to choose a critical moment to reveal it so he would cherish you forever... But then the prince got angry with you, and you were heartbroken for a while, deciding to ignore him for now and talk about it later... But soon after, the fragrance workshop burned down."

"I see..." Stone Meimei pondered, then asked, "Did anyone else know about this?"

"Probably not. You didn’t tell anyone else," Zan Yu replied, shaking her head. "Even if you did, everyone would likely think you were just being delusional again." As Zan Yu spoke, Hong Ye nudged her gently to stop, not wanting to upset Stone Meimei by bringing up painful memories.

Stone Meimei, however, seemed unconcerned about the past, now more puzzled about whether Chen Shi Mei's death was an accident or a deliberate act of sabotage.

After the late-night snack, everyone sat in the courtyard for a while before retiring to their rooms.

Stone Meimei took off her shoes and got into bed, where Little Fu Zi curled up next to her on the bedding. She lay there, pillow under her head, gently scratching behind Little Fu Zi's ears, unable to fall asleep. Her thoughts alternated between suspecting Chen Shi Mei's death was a murder and recalling Bai's recent kiss. Eventually, she ended up rolling around in bed with Little Fu Zi.

Looking down, they saw Xiaofu lying on his back, exposing his white belly and chest, his chubby legs dangling, tail wagging, and making a contented sound.

Teasingly, Stone Meimei pinched it, saying, "Why are you calling me mom? I'm not even married yet!"

Little Fu Zi moved gently with Stone Meimei’s actions, rubbing against the bedding. In the outer room, Xiang Yi's breathing deepened, indicating she had fallen asleep.

Feeling it was time for her to sleep too, Stone Meimei snuggled deeper into her covers.

Little Fu Zi turned over, looking directly into Stone Meimei's eyes, its tail wagging and rubbing against Stone Meimei's hand gripping the bedding.

Stone Meimei tossed and turned for more than an hour, still unable to find sleep.

Finally, she sat up, exasperated, and exclaimed, "This is so annoying!"

Little Fu Zi, tilting its head, watched her as Stone Meimei got out of bed, carrying it, and pulled aside the beaded curtain.

Actually, Xiang Yi and Stone Meimei shared a room. Originally, there was a partition between them, but Stone Meimei, feeling sorry for Xiang Yi's small space, had it removed. Xiang Yi refused to move into Stone Meimei's main house, insisting that a personal maid should stay in a separate space. Stone Meimei offered to consider her as a sister, but Xiang Yi declined, preferring her role as a maid.

In the end, Stone Meimei had the partition replaced with a beautiful beaded curtain, effectively making it one large room shared by both.

Stone Meimei approached Xiang Yi's bed and climbed onto it, whispering, "Xiang Yi?"

Xiang Yi, deep in slumber, was used to the old Chen Shi Mei, who hardly slept and often woke her up. Now, as Stone Meimei, she slept soundly through the night and was reluctant to wake up in the morning.

After a few days like this, Xiang'er too was able to sleep soundly at night.

Stone Meimei called out to Xiang Yi twice before she murmured a sleepy, "Hmm?"

Gently patting her face with Little Fu Zi's paw pad, Stone Meimei said, "I can't sleep."

"Hmm?" Xiang Yi responded, still half-asleep.

"Can you keep me company and talk for a bit?"

"Mmm..." Xiang Yi, without opening her eyes, just turned over and continued to snore, facing Stone Meimei.

Seeing her fatigue and knowing how busy she had been during the day, Shi Mei didn't want to disturb her. She slipped on her wooden clogs and wrapped herself in a cloak, gently carrying little Fu Zi out without waking Xiang Er, then made her way to Zan Yue's room.

Gently pushing the door open...

Zan Yue was propped up in bed, engrossed in a book, a candle still burning on the table.

Shaking her head, Shi Mei noted how studious Zan Yue had become since leaving the royal residence, often studying late into the night.

"Zan Yue," Shi Mei approached the bed and called out to her.

Zan Yue, not yet fully asleep, slowly opened her eyes at the sound. Startled to find someone beside her, she was about to scream but then heard a soft "meow."

Taking a closer look, Zan Yue yawned, set aside her book, and settled down, "Mei Zi, you're still awake?"

"I can't sleep," Shimei, hugging Xiaofu, crawled into Zanyue's bed, "Can we talk for a bit?"

Zan Yue, groggily nodded, "Sure, go ahead..."

Holding little Fu Zi, Shi Mei lay there lost in thought for a while before asking, "Zan Yue, what do you think... Bai She means?"

"Hmm..." Zan Yue hummed softly, but when Shi Mei looked again... she had fallen asleep.

……

In the Red Leaf room.

Red Leaf's sleeping pose was far less graceful than Zan Yue's; her blanket was kicked to her feet, her nightgown had ridden up to her belly, exposing her legs clad only in underwear.

Shi Mei glanced at her and thought, "Oh no!"

Red Leaf, originally vigilant, had gradually lost her alertness and martial air after moving into the Xiang Fen residence. Since Shi Mei entered without any malice, Red Leaf didn't take notice at first. But when she realized someone was beside her bed, she sat up with a start, only to see Shi Mei propping her chin with one hand, lying next to her, with sleepy little Fu Zi beside the pillow.

“Mei Zi... what are you doing here?” Red Leaf woke up and instinctively clutched the blanket.

“Hmm…”

Lost in thought, Shi Mei absentmindedly pinched little Fu Zi's belly.

Red Leaf asked, “What’s wrong? Can’t sleep because you’re thinking of Bai She?”

Shi Mei's face flushed, her heart skipped a beat, thinking, "What's wrong with me? Am I pining for a man so much that I can't sleep?" Embarrassed, she quickly picked up little Fu Zi and said, “I should go back to sleep... You too, get some good rest.”

With that, she hurried out, clattering in her wooden clogs.

Now fully awakened by the disturbance, Red Leaf found herself unable to fall back asleep, tossing and turning in bed, wrapped in her blanket.

As Shi Mei was yawning in the courtyard, about to return, she suddenly heard a rustling sound above her and a white figure appeared before her eyes.

Shi Mei opened her mouth in shock.

Inside the Xiang Fen residence, only the three girls had their own rooms. The second courtyard had a few maids and old maids who took turns on night watch. The third courtyard housed several female guards skilled in martial arts. Further out was the outer courtyard, where Zhong Bo, Xiao Xi Zi, and some resting guards lived. The outermost area was guarded by elite imperial guards and skilled protectors of the Bai residence, with two gatekeepers and guards changing shifts every few hours.

Due to the presence of the Fragrance House on their street, which attracted frequent patrols by the official guards, Shimei and her companions felt completely secure. The house was impregnable; who could possibly intrude into such a place?

Shi Mei was shocked, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was Bai She.

“You…” Shi Mei was puzzled, but quickly remembered she was only in her nightgown and hastily covered herself with little Fu Zi, ready to dash inside. Bai She, however, gently stopped her, whispering, “They're here!”

Shi Mei blinked, thinking, what does he mean by 'they're here'?

Before she could figure it out, Bai She swiftly turned and disappeared behind the nearby rockery.

“Um…” Shi Mei stood bewildered. Just then, Red Leaf’s door opened, and hearing the noise, she peeked out. She saw Shi Mei standing in the yard, with Bai She about to hide behind the rockery.

Red Leaf was stunned, thinking, was this some sort of illicit affair? But why would Bai She need to hide? As she was trying to make sense of it, she saw Bai She gesture to her to stay inside.

Being streetwise, Red Leaf quickly realized there must be a reason and closed the door, waiting inside... Indeed, moments later, she heard noises on the roof.

Bai She had already alerted the surrounding guards, who remained still.

Soon, Shi Mei saw a white figure descend into the courtyard. The disheveled hair was now tied up, the face powder washed off, yet still pale and haggard, dressed in plain white – it was the ghostly woman from the temple!