Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

As the sun rose and set, July arrived in the blink of an eye, a time of comings and goings of ghosts and people.

Two people stood in front of Xuanji Tower, a eunuch and a guard. They were sent by the Crown Prince to find Gui Yao.

They waited in front of Xuanji Tower for two days, but still couldn't see Gui Yao.

On the first day, the restaurant manager kindly approached them.

"My princess has gone out to perform rituals to help wandering ghosts and wronged spirits pass on. She will not return until after the Ghost Festival."

The eunuch didn't believe it. "Where does the princess perform rituals to guide the souls of the dead?"

The Crown Prince always came looking for her, but he never found her. He suspected that Gui Yao was deliberately hiding from the Crown Prince.

We must find out where it is before we can go back and report.

The shopkeeper shook his head, "I don't know. Before she left, the princess only instructed that her meals need not be prepared for the next two weeks."

It was no secret in the capital that Prince Jin had opened a restaurant specifically for Gui Yao so that she could have a hot meal.

The eunuch reported the matter to the Crown Prince, who then ordered him to continue his vigil. Left with no choice, he had to come and didn't dare leave even during the night.

Mao Dan asked Qing Qing from inside the building, "Want to go out and get something to eat?"

Qingqing didn't want anyone to know she was at Xuanji Tower, so she didn't have any food delivered from the restaurant for the past two days. She ate the leftovers and steamed buns that Guiyao had left behind before he left.

Mao Dan has been spoiled and now has a peculiar appetite; it's hard for him to go back to a simpler lifestyle. I'm worried that Qing Qing won't be used to it either.

Qingqing tore off a small piece of steamed bun, chewed it slowly, and said, "The steamed bun is quite good."

With Gui Yao not around, she felt very insecure, afraid of being targeted by the Ghost Market, so she dared not go out.

Mao Dan knew she was worried, "Then I'll bring you back some meat later tonight. You can't just eat steamed buns."

"Even when a girl has no senses, didn't she still eat steamed buns to fill her stomach every day?"

Qingqing has been in Xuanji Tower for so long and has already learned a lot. "Maodan, go and have fun. I really think the steamed buns are pretty good. The young lady also left me a lot of dried meat and food."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Mao Dan nodded, "Then I'll go home when it gets dark."

Qingqing knew about what happened outside Xuanji Tower that day. She learned that a ghost had been living in the tower for the past few days. Although she said she wasn't afraid, she slept with it that night.

The soul has been taken away by its master, but it must still be afraid in the quiet of the night.

It's a man, and when its owner isn't home, it has to take good care of the house.

Qingqing was indeed scared and nodded hurriedly.

Thinking that Maodan was so kind, I should make it an anklet to repay it.

The person and the bird here live in perfect harmony.

In the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince was in a very bad situation.

He hasn't slept for two days and two nights.

After returning to the palace that day, he did not notice anything unusual during the day, but at night he was awakened by crying.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a white silk ribbon hanging in the room, with a woman hanging from it, her neck twisted and her tongue hanging out. She was crying and pleading her innocence in a low voice.

The cries sounded like blades scraping across glazed tiles, sending chills down one's spine.

Realizing what it was, he hurriedly called the palace servants into the room and dared not look up again.

But as far as the eye could see, a soul with a torn back and a bloody mess slowly crawled out from the crack in the wall.

Where it crawled, it left trails of blood, a feeling completely different from when it saw A-Ye-niang during the day.

Perhaps because Aye's mother could speak normally, or perhaps because there were many people during the day, he did not feel afraid, but now fear was creeping over his whole body.

But to save face for the crown prince, he forced himself to stay awake, pretending he couldn't sleep and having all the palace servants stay to take care of him.

He finally made it to dawn, and with dark circles under his eyes and a groggy head, he went to court.

Before he even left the East Palace, a woman with a blue face and spitting black blood blocked his way.

"Your Highness, I die unwillingly! It was Your Highness who fainted on your own, why blame me?"

"That poison has rotted my intestines, Your Highness, look at my intestines..."

The pale fingers ripped out the intestines and held them up in front of the prince.

The crown prince quickly averted his gaze, his legs going weak.

He recognized the ghost as someone who had served him since childhood and was later assigned by the Empress to be his expert in sexual matters. However, he couldn't withstand the woman's touch and fainted.

The Empress Dowager thought that the palace servants had acted improperly and gave them poisoned wine.

He felt a little guilty at the time, but as time passed, that guilt long since dissipated.

Now that this scene had suddenly appeared before him, the prince felt a churning in his stomach, and a sense of guilt gave rise to terror.

His hands, hidden beneath his sleeves, trembled uncontrollably.

He hadn't walked far when another bloated figure appeared before him, with mud gushing from its mouth and ears.

The bloated figure moved slowly along the palace path, muttering, "Leave the palace, go home, see my parents..."

Behind him was a puddle of water and mud.

The prince stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, and began to have difficulty breathing.

The palace servants, unaware of his unease, waited patiently for a long time before reminding him, "Your Highness, you're going to be late for the morning court session."

Left with no other option, the crown prince could only close his eyes and walk forward with his hand on the arm of the palace attendant beside him.

Those filths don't actually exist; you can simply close your eyes and not see them.

He comforted himself.

He finally made it to the square of the Council Hall, where officials began to arrive for court, and he could no longer close his eyes.

But opening your eyes reveals nothing but purgatory.

In the morning light, a hundred ghosts emerged, their headless necks spewing blood mist. An official with arrows piercing his eyes staggered forward, a soldier with severed legs shuffled across the ground, and a palace maid with a wounded abdomen collapsed. Blood-soaked limbs flew about before his eyes...

He quickly closed his eyes again, and his whole body began to tremble.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozu, a woman seized power, and a palace coup occurred here, resulting in a river of blood.

"Your Highness is not feeling well. How about I ask for leave on your behalf?"

The eunuch noticed his unusual behavior and asked with concern.

Just as the crown prince was about to nod, a rotting, maggot-infested face suddenly approached him, and a pale, icy hand grabbed his. "Your Majesty, you've finally come to see me."

"what!"

The prince screamed and flung himself away.

The female ghost caught up with him, her face pressed against his, "Your Majesty, have you grown tired of me...?"

"Ah, get away..."

The prince suddenly retreated, kicking and flailing his arms and legs wildly.

But the sticky feeling on my face and the stench were clearly perceptible even with my eyes closed.

The prince's body stiffened like a piece of wood, and he fell straight down.

To the officials, it appeared as if the crown prince had suddenly gone mad, then collapsed, causing chaos in the square as everyone shouted, "The imperial physician..."

When the Crown Prince opened his eyes again, he was on his bed in the Eastern Palace, with the Empress looking worried.

"What's wrong with you?"

When the Empress saw that he had woken up, she hurriedly asked, "Did the servants not serve you well?"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince suddenly remembered the dead palace servants and said in a trembling voice, "It has nothing to do with them."

They feared that the Empress would order the deaths of several more, which would make the palace even more haunted.

The Empress glanced at Wang Mama beside her, who immediately began to sternly reprimand the kneeling palace servants.

"From now on, you must serve your master even more carefully. If you cause any more trouble for him, you'll lose your heads. Get out of here."

The crown prince didn't want them to leave, but after glancing at the room and finding it unusually clean, he breathed a sigh of relief and told him what had happened.

"Mother, please spend more time with your son."

It must have been the Empress Dowager's majestic presence that scared away those things; he had to stay with the Empress Dowager.

The Empress, feeling sorry for her son, naturally agreed.

Hearing that there were so many ghosts in the palace, the Empress felt a chill run down her spine, but she was mostly filled with anger.

"Someone, convey my imperial decree: summon Gui Yao to the palace immediately."

Only Xiao Huaijin came.

"I don't know why Your Majesty summoned Yaoyao. She had urgent business and left the capital overnight. At that time, the palace gates were locked, so she could not enter the palace to bid farewell to His Majesty and Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive her."

She then looked at the Crown Prince and said, "Please forgive her, Your Highness. When you suddenly fainted, she was terrified and didn't have time to close your Yin Eye before you returned to the palace."

Yao Yao instructed Xiao Wang to make sure she apologized to you on her behalf, and that she would close the book for you when she finished her work.

To maintain the Crown Prince's dignity, the Empress couldn't say that the Crown Prince had been frightened unconscious by a ghost, but she also couldn't ignore it, in case something bad happened.

He then said, "Princess Xuanji is indeed a bit careless. It's July now, and the yin energy is at its peak. If she offends the Crown Prince, it could affect his health."

Wouldn't she become a sinner of the Great Sheng Dynasty, leaving behind a bad reputation, and...?

Come back as soon as possible.

Xiao Huaijin flattered, "Your Highness is a warrior on the battlefield, fierce and valiant. Even evil spirits avoid him like the plague. How could he dare to offend you? Yao Yao thought of this as well, which is why she left with peace of mind."

He seemed to have thought of something, and hesitated before saying, "Could it be that some fearless brat dares to cause trouble in front of Your Highness?"

The empress was speechless.

Can she say that her son has no murderous intent at all?

She could only let Xiao Huaijin go back first. After the Crown Prince fell asleep, she ran to the Imperial Study to complain to the Emperor, saying that Gui Yao didn't take the Crown Prince seriously.

The emperor looked on with suspicion. "It is said that dragon energy protects the body and makes evil spirits retreat. The crown prince is the heir apparent, so he should be half a dragon by now."

Some little devils were indeed crowding around him. Could it be that he wasn't the true heir to the throne?

The Empress was so frightened that all color drained from her face. She hurriedly said that the Crown Prince was not afraid and was perfectly fine. He would never dare to complain about Gui Yao.

Li Deshun watched her hurried departure, his lips barely twitching as he tried to suppress his urge to smile.

He truthfully relayed the young master's words to His Majesty, who then sent people to keep a close eye on the Crown Prince.

Therefore, His Majesty is fully aware of the Crown Prince's actions over the past two days.

The emperor glanced at him and said, "Keep a watchful eye."

The crown prince is eager to be tormented, so let him suffer. He has been living a life of ease for so many years, it would be good for his daughter to toughen him up.

Now that they've seen a ghost, they don't even dare let her mother kill people indiscriminately.

But the relationship between the crown prince and the empire is stable, and they are still siblings. We mustn't ruin them; his son is inexperienced.

Li Deshun quickly composed himself, lowered his head and remained silent, thinking to himself that his young master had something on his mind.

I just don't know where the young master went.

Gui Yao, whom he was thinking about, was lying on a large tree in the mass grave, her hands behind her head, squinting at a crimson figure below.

"You want me to keep an eye on the old lady of the Yue State Duke's mansion day and night?"

She had a blade of grass dangling from her mouth.

"You won't even tell me your identity, so I'm not going."

I've heard that old woman is utterly debauched, sleeping with young men every night; it's an eyesore for me.

Under the tree, out of sight of anyone, an old woman with her hair neatly combed was looking up.

"I know you are Princess Baozhu. If you help me, I will tell you who harmed you."

The foxtail grass that had been dangling from her mouth stopped abruptly. Gui Yao sat up. "Do you know the price of lying to me?"

"I know, I will never go back on my word."

The old lady said solemnly, "Just keep an eye on the Ghost Festival, and then you will know my identity."

Gui Yao scrutinized her for a few moments, then leaped down from the tree and channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the old woman's brow.

"Deal. With this spiritual power, you won't escape my grasp, whether you're in the netherworld or the underworld."

The old lady smiled kindly and placed her hand in Gui Yao's palm. "The princess is right."

Gui Yao glanced at her, then lightly touched the ground with his toes and led her straight to the Duke of Yue's mansion...