Chapter 33

Ruan Xiaowei was utterly shameless and impossible to shoo away. Though he hadn’t done anything truly outrageous, his constant hovering right in front of them was truly irritating.

Whenever he stared at Nangong Yunshang, Tao Chuyi glared back at him with deadly intensity. If looks could kill, he would have died a hundred times over by now.

This man was truly detestable.

Tao Chuyi viciously shoved a chunk of fish into her mouth. She really wanted to punch him.

Ruan Xiaowei didn’t take this fool of a prince consort seriously at all—what did an idiot like him know about jealousy or possessiveness? He showered Nangong Yunshang with every honeyed word he could muster, deploying the full extent of his flattery with the confidence of a seasoned womanizer. In his experience, what woman didn’t like to be praised? He just had to keep flattering her.

An unloved princess wasn’t even worth as much as the daughter of a powerful minister. Besides, he was only making playful remarks without any real advances; there would be no evidence against him.

Unfortunately, he had no idea that Nangong Yunshang utterly despised such sycophantic behavior. Nor was she the delicate damsel he imagined her to be.

“Does Captain Ruan have any other business? If not, why not be on your way?”

The order to leave couldn’t have been clearer, yet Ruan Xiaowei continued to play dumb and dense. He claimed he had nothing else to do and wanted to accompany the princess on a stroll to enjoy the sights.

“No need.”

Nangong Yunshang reached out and patted Tao Chuyi’s head. “With the prince consort here, this princess has no need for anyone else’s company.”

The moment she was singled out, Tao Chuyi immediately straightened her back, bursting with vigor.

But of course, Ruan Xiaowei had no fear of this fool of a prince consort. “Princess, don’t jest. Can the prince consort sense when you’re cold or hot and tend to you? Or compose poetry to share moments of elegance with you? Let this subject accompany you instead.”

He reached out a hand, ostensibly to pour tea for the Third Princess. But Nangong Yunshang’s hand was already on the teapot. He pretended not to notice and placed his hand atop hers anyway—fortunately, she dodged quickly.

“Insolent!”

The sharp rebuke actually gave Ruan Xiaowei pause. In his mind, Nangong Yunshang was still that pretty but useless princess despised by His Majesty and bullied by her siblings. For all her title, she wasn’t as imposing as the daughter of some powerful minister.

Yinghong, who had been standing guard outside the door, hurried over upon hearing the commotion. “Your Highness, do you require anything?”

“No need.”

Nangong Yunshang was already growing angry, but when she glanced at Tao Chuyi by her side, she held back. She didn’t want to frighten the child.

By now, Tao Chuyi had both hands clenched in the hem of her clothes, looking as if she might pounce and start punching at any moment. But Fairy Sister had told her not to hit people recklessly—she had to persuade with reason.

Persuade with reason…

Tao Chuyi’s gaze drifted over to the braised carp. Without a care for the scalding heat, she snatched up the dish and slammed it straight onto Ruan Xiaowei’s head. Amid his screams—like a pig being butchered—she poured the fish soup right into his collar, drenching his clothes completely.

The incident happened so abruptly that no one could react in time. It was only Ruan Xiaowei’s scalded howls—more hideous than any pig’s squeals—that finally made everyone snap to awareness.

“Your Highness?”

Yinghong rushed in with the guards, only to witness this bizarre scene.

Tao Chuyi let out a soft huff, returned to Nangong Yunshang’s side, tugged at her sleeve, and pursed her lips as if on the verge of tears.

“No crying,” Nangong Yunshang said, cutting her off.

Tao Chuyi swallowed it back down. “Oh.”

The guards awkwardly hauled Ruan Xiaowei away—or rather, dragged him out like a sack. The restaurant staff cleared the mess and prepared a fresh braised carp.

Nangong Yunshang seized Tao Chuyi’s hand and saw that the pad of her index finger was slightly red—clearly burned.

“He was spouting nonsense. Why bother with him? Now look what you’ve done, getting yourself burned.”

Tao Chuyi said indignantly, “He was bullying Sister, so I beat him up.”

This little fool—always ready to throw punches. What if she ran into a real expert and got hurt?

Nangong Yunshang lightly tapped her forehead. “What happened to persuading with reason?”

Tao Chuyi eyed the fresh braised carp that had just arrived. “Persuade with carp.”

Yinghong, who had been eavesdropping at the door: “…”

What a perfect “persuade with carp.”

The murder of the Vice Minister of Personnel remained unsolved, yet rumors began circulating through the streets that the Qin Mansion was haunted. Not only had passersby heard a woman’s cries, but night watchmen had too. Even the mansion’s servants bore witness, and the Dali Temple guards who investigated reported the exact same sounds.

Deep into the night, amid pitch-black skies and howling winds, a woman’s wails rang out in misery, interspersed with a man’s shrill laughter. Everyone from top to bottom in the sealed-off Qin Mansion was nearly driven mad by the racket.

When word of this reached the Princess Mansion, Nangong Yunshang refused to believe it. Ghosts in this world? If they truly existed, her mother—whom she had never met—would surely have come to see her.

The Princess Mansion’s guards mobilized, and Nangong Yunshang headed to the Qin Mansion personally. Tao Chuyi tagged along, declaring she would protect Her Highness the Princess. Nangong Yunshang didn’t take it to heart, dismissing it as childish chatter.

“Your Highness, perhaps this servant should take some men inside?” Yinghong suggested.

Nangong Yunshang shook her head. “No need. This princess wants to see just what this ghost looks like.”

They arrived at the Qin Mansion by evening. By midnight, Nangong Yunshang dismissed everyone else, leaving only Tao Chuyi at her side.

“Are you afraid?” Nangong Yunshang asked with a smile.

Tao Chuyi stared at the room’s single flickering candle and shook her head. “Not afraid. I have to protect Sister!”

Whether true or not, the words were heartwarming to hear. Nangong Yunshang smiled and patted her head. The child’s head was perfectly round, her hair thick and black as ink. Petting it felt just like stroking a puppy—such a delightful texture.

Tao Chuyi loved having her head petted and would even lean in proactively. If Nangong Yunshang didn’t pet her, she would pout and nudge closer until she got her way.

Suddenly, the window banged open in a gust of wind, letting in a blast of icy chill. Nangong Yunshang clutched her chest and coughed twice. The cold wind slapping her face was most unpleasant.

“Chuyi, be good and stay right here. Sister’s going to close the window.”

She walked to the window and was about to shut the panes when a ghastly pale face smeared with blood suddenly dangled down from the eaves, staring right at her.

Nangong Yunshang’s eyes widened in shock. Before she could cry out, the malevolent ghost reached out to seize her.

“You bold ghost! Release your ghostly claws!”

With lightning speed, Tao Chuyi charged over, yanked Nangong Yunshang back to safety, and bared her teeth at the ghost.

“Act all fierce, will you? I’m fiercer!”

As she and the ghost squared off in a snarling contest, Nangong Yunshang shouted. The guards poured in and subdued the specter in short order.

The bloodstained white robes, disheveled wig, and deathly pale mask were all stripped away and tossed to the floor. Without them, the “ghost” was revealed to be nothing more than an unremarkable household servant.

Nangong Yunshang fixed her gaze on the man kneeling in the room. “Who are you, and what grudge do you have against the Qin family? Why masquerade as a ghost to terrorize them?”

The man held nothing back, confessing that he was the uncle of Minister Qin’s concubine. His niece had been forced into the role by family pressure, left with no choice. But then Minister Qin had driven her to suicide, so he had snuck into the mansion to play ghost and scare the inhabitants.

Nangong Yunshang frowned. “So you’re the one who administered the poison?”

The man denied it vehemently. “No, that wasn’t me! I only wanted to frighten them—I didn’t have the guts to poison anyone!”

His word alone wasn’t enough to clear him of suspicion. Nangong Yunshang ordered him taken to the Dali Temple for rigorous interrogation. Just then, however, the Qin Mansion steward came forward with new information implicating none other than Ruan Xiaowei.

According to the steward, Ruan Xiaowei had come to their master last month on some business, but the meeting had ended in discord. Perhaps that’s why Minister Qin had been targeted.

With this sudden new suspect, doubts multiplied.

While others racked their brains for the killer, Tao Chuyi stayed glued to Nangong Yunshang’s side, eager for cuddles.

“Be good. We’ll cuddle more when we get back.”

Tao Chuyi ignored her, clinging fast to Nangong Yunshang’s side and refusing to budge—even when her own father arrived to report.

Tao Siqing glanced over. Perhaps finding the sight too much to bear, he quickly bowed his head. “Tao Chuyi, Chuyi—get down from there. Don’t squash the princess.”

Tao Chuyi paid no mind. She kept clinging, draping half her body over Nangong Yunshang—and that wasn’t enough, so she started inching toward the other side too.

Three days without a beating, and she’d climb the roof and rip off the tiles.

Under Nangong Yunshang’s warning glance, she finally settled down. She clambered off slowly and sulkily. Seeing the two ignoring her, she grew bored and began fiddling with Minister Qin’s corpse.

The Qin Mansion steward cried out in alarm. “You can’t touch that!”

Hearing the shout, Tao Siqing realized his precious child was messing with a dead body again and hurried to pull her back.

“Why must you pick at the corpse instead of going somewhere else to play?”

Tao Chuyi pointed at the coffin. “Bug. Underneath.”

“What?”

The guards heaved up one corner of the coffin together and indeed found a bee. But it wasn’t like any ordinary bee.

How had a bee gotten in here?

Tao Siqing immediately summoned the coroner for a reexamination. This time, something new emerged. There were traces of blood in the corpse’s ears—and deeper inside, a dead bee.

Everyone froze upon hearing the results. They knew of a method used by Jianghu outlaws: killer bees. It was subtle and hard to detect.

“Investigate everyone in the capital who keeps bees.”

At the Temple Minister’s order, the guards split into three teams to search. Tao Chuyi and the others remained at the Qin Mansion, awaiting word.

News faster than any killer bee arrived from the Dali Temple dungeons. Ruan Xiaowei couldn’t withstand the torture and confessed within half a day. He had originally bribed Minister Qin to handle some business for him, but when the minister took the money without delivering, Ruan Xiaowei hired someone to poison him out of spite.

Yet this revelation brought no relief. Though Minister Qin had drunk the tea, he hadn’t died from the poison in it—but from the killer bees.

This thing could grow large or small. If it spread into a disaster in the future, it would casually claim lives left and right, leaving everyone to live in constant fear and uncertainty.

While they waited, Tao Chuyi didn’t idle about. She peered east and west, curious about everything she saw.

Nangong Yunshang sat perfectly still. “Chuyi, aren’t you tired? Come sit down and rest for a bit?”

“No.”

With that, she bounced over to the other side.

Nangong Yunshang shook her head helplessly. There was just no helping it—Chuyi’s energy was boundless.

Tao Chuyi slipped from the bedroom into the study, with Fendie trailing behind her. The others felt reassured with the maid watching over her.

“Young master, let’s go back. The stench of blood is overpowering here, and there’s nothing worth seeing.”

No matter how long Fendie tried to persuade her, it did no good. Chuyi simply wouldn’t listen.

Tao Chuyi swept everything off the desk and onto the floor. If Minister Qin found out, he’d be so furious he might just burst a vein.

But when she got to the inkstone, no matter how hard she pushed, she couldn’t budge it.