Chapter 30: Confronting the Female Corpse

  "Sorry!" I hugged him tightly and whispered in his arms, "I'll stand by your side from now on, even if you're going to kill someone, I'll try my best to stop you, and won't provoke you intentionally again!" My heart was filled with fear, fearing that one day, I would lose Xuan Yuan Mu forever.

  The night was quiet, Xuan Yuan held me tightly and put me on the 'bed', a smile crossed his mouth, looking so happy. He said that with me by his side, he felt like he had the whole world. A person who has died once knows that nothing is more important than having someone to accompany you forever.

  At night, I dreamed of the pond in the Qi Wang Fu. The female corpse was floating on the water's surface, her eyes bulging out and staring at me coldly. Her hair grew longer and longer, stretching out of the water and wrapping tightly around me in the pavilion, then pulling me into the water. Her eyes were right in front of me as she floated in the water, wearing a white dress, staring blankly at me and letting out an icy laugh. Slowly, she pulled me down into the deeper and deeper water...

  "Lingxue? Lingxue......" Xuan Yuan woke me up at dusk.

  He reached out his hand to wipe away the cold sweat on my face: "Did you have a nightmare?"

  "I had another dream about the female corpse in that pond, this time I was on the shore and she could still pull me into the water. Xuan Yuan Mu, I feel like there must be a severance between us, it seems like we can connect, but this connection is terrifying!"

  Xuanyuan Mu tightly hugged me, 'kissing' my hair: "Alright, you have time to go find Xuanyuan Qi, but whatever you do must be agreed by me first."

  "Hmm..." I nodded heavily, and in my mind, the smile of that 'female' corpse kept appearing, eerily terrifying.

  To clarify the cause of Princess Ye Lan's death in the Qi Wang Fu pond, and to clarify my relationship with her as soon as possible, after obtaining Xuan Yuan Mu's consent, I decided to visit Xuan Yuan Qi with Xue Qiu Feng early on.

  Xuanyuan Qi was still his usual self, elegant and refined. He was playing with a bunch of flowers and when he saw me coming, he couldn't help but wave at me: "The treasured maid of the Third Emperor has arrived? Your father is truly foolish, demoting you to a commoner, yet in doing so, he's given you freedom. Without the burden of your identity, you can come to my Qi Wang Fu as you please."

  I smiled and looked at the beautiful woman beside him, and I couldn't help but wonder if Xuan Yuan Qi was a romantic person or a playboy.

  That night when he was drunk and shouting "Ruo Lan", his voice was so sorrowful and painful, relying on a woman's intuition, I felt that he must have had an unusual relationship with Princess Ruo Lan.

  "Is anything wrong?"

  "I once saw a person in the backyard pond, and later I showed her portrait to Third Prince Wang. He said that was Princess Ruolan." I didn't beat around the bush and directly spoke to Xuan Yuanqi on the main seat: "I'm not trying to interfere with the affairs of Qi Wangfu, but since Princess Ruolan mentioned your name, I thought it's better for me to tell you, Your Highness."

  "Her?" Xuan Yuan Qi was taken aback, then waved his hand to let the people around him retreat. He looked at Xue Qiu Feng behind me with a hint of vigilance.

  "He is the one Xuan Yuan invited over, Fourth Master can rest assured."

  "What about my royal brother?" Xuan Yuan asked strangely.

  "She's pregnant!"

  "Alright! Let's talk in the study." Xuan Yuan Qi flicked his folding fan and sauntered towards the study.

  Xue Qiufeng looked at the whole yard, shaking his head constantly. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but seeing Xuan Yuanqi in front of me, I shut my mouth.

  Arriving at the study, Xuan Yuan Qi personally closed the door and turned around to grab my shoulder: "You said you saw Lan? Did she mention me?"

  Xue Qiufeng was taken aback for a moment, wanting to step forward and protect me, but seeing Xuan Yuanqi not making any further moves, he stopped.

  "Yes, in the pond, last time I jumped into the water, she grabbed my foot and wouldn't let go..." I told him about the two times I met 'female' corpse Ruo Lan, and what she said while looking at me.

  A hint of surprise flashed across Xuan Yuan Qi's face.

  "How did she die?" I asked him back.

  "He was killed, but I don't know the specific cause of death." Xuan Yuan's eyebrows were tightly furrowed as he let go of me and sat down in a chair, looking utterly exhausted.

  "Is the Fourth Prince raising a corpse?" I asked cautiously, afraid that he would use his status as a prince to tell me to mind my own business.

  Xuanyuan Qi didn't use his identity to intimidate others: "I know that three years ago, Princess Yulan went missing and the entire imperial city secretly searched for a long time but couldn't find any news of her. But I know she's at the bottom of the lake in the 'flower' garden within the palace grounds, tied to a rock and drowned. If I find out who killed her, I'll chop that person into pieces!"

  Xuanyuan Qijue said fiercely, his fists clenched tightly.

  "This king has been keeping her corpse, just to investigate the cause of her death." Xuan Yuan Qi took a sip of the cold tea on the table and continued: "Three years ago, the Imperial City's secret service was searching for the missing Princess Ruolan. I had a dream that she was in a body of water, struggling to get out but couldn't. Later, I secretly went to the imperial palace and found her corpse in the lake under the Wind and Moon Pavilion in the 'Flower' Garden. I learned the method of preserving corpses, just to find out why she was murdered."

  "This king cannot just watch her die..." Xuan Yuan's eyes turned red.

  "On my birthday that day, the steward told me about what happened in the 'flower' garden pond. I didn't expect you to have really seen her. It's been three years, and apart from throwing some supplies into the water for her every month, I've also gone into the water myself, but I've never seen her. Sometimes I see her vaguely in my dreams. I didn't think she would be willing to meet you?"

  "Mei Ling Xue!" Xuan Yuan Qi stood up, looking at me seriously: "You and Ruo Lan have already resonated with each other. I...I hope you can help me, help Ruo Lan, find the culprit who harmed her."

  I lowered my head and recalled the horror of the female corpse underwater grabbing my foot and pulling me down, a chill ran through my heart.

  "So who do you think is the murderer? Xuan Yuan Zi is dead, the Empress has gone mad, are these related to Princess Ruolan?" I asked curiously.

  "For the past three years, I have been investigating whether Princess Yulan had any conflicts with the Crown Prince before. The Crown Prince has troubled her several times, and some people say it was his doing, but I don't have any evidence." Xuan Yuan Qi stood up and looked at me "Mei Lingxue! Can you help me? Help me investigate Yulan's death? Only you can get in touch with her, I know it's very dangerous, but there really is no other way!"

  I didn't give Xuan Yuan Qi a direct answer, instead I told him to ask Xuan Yuan Mu, after all I am a person of the Mu Wang Fu.

  On the way, I asked Xue Qiufeng what he had discovered in the Qi Wang Fu and why he shook his head and sighed.

  Xue Qiufeng replied, "The Qi Wang Fu appears to be a royal mansion on the surface, but in order to raise corpses, it has been built into a house that gathers 'yin' energy according to feng shui. Although this is beneficial for the corpse, it causes great harm to living people."

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