"in case."

"……yes!"

Madam Gui quickly accepted the order and left, but she was utterly shocked. She couldn't imagine how she would deal with it if Hao Yuchun really did consume a man's essence. But then she thought, the one who had the leverage was Aunt Cui, and she was just a servant. Even if Hao Xuan came back to punish her, he would deal with Cui Ruliu first. She could then think of a way to deny everything and claim she knew nothing about it.

The moon pierced through the clouds, only to be obscured again by thin, veil-like clouds. The moonlight that fell upon it was hazy and pale.

Xiang Wan carried a lantern and followed Hao Yuchun to the place where she claimed to have buried her beloved items when she was a child.

The servants of Zhijin Pavilion had long been dismissed. In the dead of night, Hao Yuchun said she had remembered something and couldn't sleep, so she insisted on going over to check it out. Xiang Wan then said that she couldn't sleep either, and a clandestine visit wouldn't be bad.

The master and servant traveled westward, this time not to the artificial hill, but to the courtyard of a concubine Hao Xuan had taken long ago. That concubine had died before Xue Rumei, and the courtyard was regularly cleaned, so it didn't seem desolate; in fact, it was much better than Xue Rumei's courtyard.

Hao Yuchun walked further in, and Xiang Wan had already noticed the slight footsteps behind her, but she pretended not to hear them.

Upon entering the inner room, Hao Yuchun took out a tinderbox, lit a candle, and placed it on the windowsill.

The room was neither too big nor too small, and it had all the necessary furniture, but it lacked household items, decorations, and plants.

The candlelight gradually burned, and a familiar scent wafted through the air; the show was about to begin.

Before she fainted, Xiang Wan glanced at the roof beam and seemed to see a pair of peeping eyes.

She thought to herself, "Oh no," and then closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground.