Ten days later, an ordinary horse carriage entered Beimin’s capital, and if it hadn’t been for the number of guards from the Prince Hao Residence escorting it, nobody would have been any wiser who was inside.
The monks and daoshi were poised to request an audience with Pei Qianhao now that he was back, and they would undoubtedly be making the request to perform rites on Su Xi-er to find out if there was another soul in her body.
The streets were silent as the carriage passed, but immediately exploded into fervent discussion once it was out of sight.
“Prince Hao is back. Would he agree to the request of those monks and daoshi who want to perform rites on the Princess Consort?”
A scholarly old man with a white beard then said, “His dignity would be gone if he agreed, so I don’t think he will. But if he doesn’t, those people won’t give up either. Beimin is not the only nation involved in this; both the Western Region and Nanzhao have been implicated too.”
“That’s right! The news must have already reached the Western Region and Nanzhao by now. Would they send envoys here?”
“If it really is Ning Rulan, it would be a huge blessing for Nanzhao’s Emperor. He was very close to his elder sister!”
The buzz continued until Yuchi Mo came by on patrol about an hour later, dispersing the crowds and sending everyone back to their daily lives.
The monks and daoshi who were staying in the compound belonging to Commandery Prince Xie rushed out to the main hall upon hearing the news, but they were stopped and pushed back by the guards.
“Commandery Prince Xie isn’t keeping his word. Prince Hao has already returned. Taking over someone else’s body is a major issue. It’s an evil spirit!”
A guard raised his halberd and said, “The Prince Hao Residence is not a place you can enter and leave as you please. Go back into the compound and wait for further news!”
A daozhang among the group said, “We’ve seen how Commandery Prince Xie stalls for time. The public will not be appeased if this matter remains unsolved. Even if Princess Consort Hao has nothing to fear, the rumour has already spread far and wide, and it will cause great damage to her reputation.”
The daozhang then flung his sleeves and walked back, with the others following after him shortly.
Su Xi-er and Pei Qianhao were currently in the hall of the Prince Hao Residence with Xie Yun and Xie Liuli; they had already been informed of the situation.
“Commandery Prince, are you feeling better?”
Xie Yun laughed. “The Princess Consort should be concerned for yourself instead. What do the two of you think about this?”
Standing behind Xie Yun, Xie Liuli said, “To me, it doesn’t matter who the Princess Consort really is. I’ve looked into the rites these people want to perform, and they’re hugely disrespectful. They would tie you up and scatter ash all over you before hitting you with a frozen stick.”
“I never thought that an exorcism would be so similar to corporal punishment.” Not the least bit afraid, Su Xi-er laughed at this.
“This Prince doesn’t care about these people. What I’m more interested in is who spread the rumour.” Despite what he said, Pei Qianhao was fully aware that Yun Ruofeng would be the only one despicable enough to do something like this.
Since Xie Yun was still unaware that Yun Ruofeng was alive, he said, “We’ve looked into it for the past few days, but we didn’t manage to find the source. The culprit planned this very well.”
“The monks and daoshi are no cause for concern. We just need to capture the culprit behind this, and everything will be solved.” Su Xi-er spoke calmly, thinking to herself, To think that Yun Ruofeng actually did something like this.
Xie Liuli’s eyes glinted. “This means that resolving the problem is only a step away! Any guesses on who the culprit is?”
