Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It turned out that these noble ladies were all accompanying Ashina Jia to Xi Ming Temple for prayers. Ashina Jia had deliberately sent them away when she came to the plum garden to look for Cui Xun but did not return for a long time, causing everyone to become anxious. The Sage Emperor doted on this Turkic princess, and if anything happened to her, their husbands' careers might be ruined.

Wang Ranxi was astute and capable. She directed the other ladies, "This plum garden isn't large. Let's split up and search; we will surely find Consort Hui."

Everyone nodded and separated with their servants to look for Ashina Jia. Wang Ranxi hurriedly searched with her servants. Suddenly, one of her servants seemed to hear something and turned around to look in the direction of the sound but saw nothing. When she turned back, Wang Ranxi was gone.

Wang Ranxi also heard the sound, but it came from a different direction. Thinking it might be Ashina Jia, she quickly walked towards the source of the sound. However, as she entered a grove of plum trees, surrounded by red, white, and green plums, she found no sign of Ashina Jia.

Sweat poured down Wang Ranxi's face. As the daughter of the prestigious Wang family of Taiyuan, she had always been proud and ambitious. Despite being implicated in the Taichang massacre and marrying a minor official from a humble background, she worked hard after marriage. Her husband now held a high-ranking position, and she herself was titled Lady of Jincheng County. Logically, her life should have been complete, but she still had one concern: her only son repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and spent his days drinking and consorting with courtesans, bringing shame upon her among the noble ladies of Chang'an. Her husband, Pei Guanyue, disliked their son and refused to help him secure an official post. In desperation, Wang Ranxi planned to curry favor with Consort Hui, hoping she would speak on behalf of her son to the Sage Emperor and secure him a position in the Qianniu Guard, which would offer better prospects for advancement.

Thus, Wang Ranxi accompanied Consort Hui to pray early on Yuanxiao Festival, but unexpectedly, Consort Hui disappeared.

Suddenly, Wang Ranxi heard a sound coming from behind a plum tree. Overjoyed, she thought perhaps Consort Hui was hiding there. She rushed around the tree but found no one except a long-burning lamp on the ground.

Wang Ranxi picked up the lamp, puzzled, reading the inscription on its base: "Princess Yong'an ~ Li Ying."

This was Princess Yong'an's long-burning lamp.

Wang Ranxi recoiled as if she had touched a snake or scorpion, dropping the lamp and falling to the ground. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she frantically called out her servant's name: "Chuntao, Chuntao!"

The servant hurried over to help her up. "What happened, my lady?"

"Who put this long-burning lamp here?" Wang Ranxi pointed at the lamp and demanded sternly.

The servant looked confused at the ground. "My lady, there is nothing here."

Wang Ranxi stared at the ground, where the lamp lay. "You say there is nothing?"

The servant nodded. "Nothing."

Wang Ranxi's lips began to tremble. "There's a ghost! There's a ghost!"

Terrified, she clung to the arm of the servant she usually despised. "Quick, back to the mansion! Back to the mansion!"

"But, my lady, aren't we supposed to keep looking for Consort Hui?"

"No more searching! No more searching! Quick, back to the mansion!"

Wang Ranxi, supported by her servant, fled the plum garden.

Behind the plum tree, Li Ying slowly emerged.

Her palm glowed faintly, and the long-burning lamp on the ground slowly vanished.

Wang Ranxi's reaction confirmed Li Ying's suspicion that her death was connected to Wang Ranxi. Otherwise, Wang Ranxi wouldn't be so afraid.

She watched Wang Ranxi's retreating figure. She couldn't appear before others and should seek Cui Xun to interrogate Wang Ranxi, but she hesitated due to Cui Xun's current condition.

Li Ying pursed her lips and quickly followed Wang Ranxi.

-

Wang Ranxi rushed out of Xi Ming Temple and into her carriage, still trembling with fear.

She gripped a string of small-leaf rosewood prayer beads, her face pale, eyes closed, and mouth murmuring the six-character mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum." Suddenly, she heard another sound and opened her eyes to find a long-burning lamp in the carriage.

She immediately recognized it as the lamp she had seen earlier, dedicated to Li Ying.

Wang Ranxi screamed in terror, throwing her prayer beads at the lamp, trying to dispel the evil spirit. However, the beads passed through the lamp and fell to the floor of the carriage.

Wang Ranxi froze, screaming, "Chuntao, Chuntao!"

But this time, Chuntao, who was right outside the carriage, seemed to hear nothing, and even the driver continued driving without noticing.

Wang Ranxi cried out desperately, "Stop the carriage! Stop the carriage!"

A clear, young voice responded, "It's useless; they can't hear you."

Green ghostly flames flickered in the carriage, and a delicate girl in a snow-white fox fur coat appeared before Wang Ranxi. The girl, with her lips like rosy clouds and teeth like pearls, looked beautiful and ethereal. Wang Ranxi's teeth chattered in fear. "Ghost! Ghost!"

Li Ying gazed calmly at Wang Ranxi. "Why are you so afraid of me?"

Wang Ranxi cowered in the corner, shrieking, "Ghost! There's a ghost!"

"It seems you know me," Li Ying said. "Should I call you Lady of Jincheng County, or Cousin Zheng Yun?"

"Zheng Yun..." This long-forgotten name suddenly awakened Wang Ranxi. "Yes, it was Zheng Yun who killed you! Don't come after me! Don't come after me!"

"Was it really Zheng Yun? You had nothing to do with it?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Wang Ranxi, her hair disheveled, waved her hands wildly, losing all composure. "I didn't kill you!"

"If you didn't kill me, why won't you look at me?"

Wang Ranxi remained silent, huddled in the corner, crying out desperately, "I didn't! I didn't!"

The green ghostly flames in the carriage gradually dimmed, and Li Ying felt a surge of sweetness in her throat. Her psychic power came from the long-burning lamps her mother offered at the temple, which allowed her to remain in the mortal world, walk during the day, and perform small tricks like making the lamps appear. However, this did not mean she could forcibly manifest herself or create illusions to frighten mortals.

If she continued to use her psychic power to trap Wang Ranxi, she would suffer divine retribution.

Li Ying felt a burning pain in her organs, her brows furrowed, and her vision darkened. She had to get answers from Wang Ranxi quickly.

She glared at Wang Ranxi. "Since you claim you didn't kill me, dare you swear? Dare you swear that if you have any connection to this matter, you will forever fall into the hell of Avici and never be reborn?"

Wang Ranxi dared not swear. Suddenly, she knelt and repeatedly bowed. "Princess, please spare me. Thirty years ago, I was momentarily blinded and... and..."

"And what?"

Wang Ranxi suddenly stopped speaking, continuing to bow. "Please spare me, please spare me. I will offer long-burning lamps for you at the temple and pray for you every day. Please spare me..."

Li Ying's throat grew increasingly sweet and bitter. The green ghost fire in the carriage finally went out completely. Wang Ranxi suddenly sensed silence and hesitantly raised her head, only to find that the carriage was now empty.

-

On the day of the Shangyuan Festival, the sky was clear and the weather pleasant. However, by evening, large snowflakes began to fall. In front of Cui Xun's residence, a small official from the Prosecutor's Office hurriedly arrived.

The mute servant was sweeping the snow. The official asked, "May I ask, old man, where is the Undersecretary?"

The mute servant pointed at the tightly shut door. The official understood: "Could you please inform him? I have urgent matters to discuss with the Undersecretary."

The mute servant shook his head. The official had no choice but to step forward quickly and knock on the closed door. Still, there was no sound inside. The official did not dare to barge in and instead called out loudly, "Undersecretary, this is Liu Jiu. You asked me to keep an eye on the Pei residence. Today, something strange happened there."

Inside the room, it remained silent. It was unclear whether Cui Xun had heard or not. The official continued, "This morning, the Lady of Jincheng went to Xi Ming Temple to pray. On her way back, she encountered a ghost. Being scared in broad daylight, she became delirious and is now bedridden."

After finishing, the official paused and listened closely, but still heard nothing. Disappointed, he bowed and slowly retreated.

After the official left, the mute servant continued sweeping the snow in the courtyard. In the pitch-black study, a white porcelain lamp from Xing Kiln slowly lit up.

Under the flickering red flame, a pale face emerged, as white as jade.

Cui Xun was not wearing the deep crimson robe required for officials of his rank. Instead, he wore a plain white gown, his clothes as white as snow and his hair as black as ink, appearing almost divine.

Yet beneath this divine appearance, through the collar of his white gown, one could glimpse the numerous scars on his skin.

Cui Xun slowly closed his eyes, his body beginning to tremble slightly. Endless torment and humiliating abuse in the Yinshan Mountains shattered all his dignity and pride as a son of the Cui family of Boling.

As the lamp oil was about to run out, Cui Xun slowly opened his eyes again. He stood up, opened the wooden door, and stepped outside into a world of snow. The mute servant straightened up, staring blankly at Cui Xun in his white gown.

Finally, Cui Xun spoke calmly, "No need to sweep anymore."

"With the snow, it's cleaner."

-

Chang'an was under curfew, with Imperial Guards patrolling the streets, torches in hand. One muttered, "What a strange day, sunny in the morning and heavy snow at night."

Another said, "With such heavy snow, surely no one would violate the curfew to admire the snow."

Just then, they saw a young man in a white gown, his black hair tied with a blackwood pin, carrying a red bamboo lantern, walking steadily through the snow.

As he approached, they noticed the snow covering his white clothes and black hair. A snowflake swirled in the wind and landed on his dark lashes, turning to frost. They exchanged glances, wondering if this might be the ghost of a Wei-Jin scholar, drawn by the beauty of Chang'an's snowy night. But one skeptical Imperial Guard shouted, "Who are you? Stop!"

The young man did not stop, continuing to walk with his lantern. The guard, annoyed, was about to approach when his companion pulled him back, pointing at the young man's purple gold fish bag and shaking his head.

The purple gold fish bag was reserved for high-ranking officials of Great Zhou, allowing them to travel during curfew and enter the palace gates. There were only twenty such officials in Chang'an, none as young as this one.

However, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor could grant such bags to lower-ranked officials as a sign of favor. Looking at the beautiful young man, everyone thought of the same name.

Lotus Scholar, Cui Xun.

-

Cui Xun carried the lantern and searched until he found the collapsed girl outside Danfeng Gate. Her face was pale, her eyes closed, her breath faint, and a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

Cui Xun dropped the lantern and bent down to lift the girl. She felt as light as a feather in his arms, her body cold and without warmth.

Holding the girl, Cui Xun looked at the closed Danfeng Gate. Inside lay Daming Palace, Penglai Palace, and her mother. He pursed his lips, tightened the fox fur around Li Ying, and turned away from Danfeng Gate.

In the snowstorm, the young man in a white gown, carrying the unconscious girl, his footsteps gradually covered by falling snow.

Vanishing without a trace.