Rumors and gossip, like willow catkins in spring, drifted and eventually reached Shu Bai's ears.
That morning, two servants sweeping the porch were whispering excitedly to each other.
"Have you heard? Last night, white smoke was rising from the well in the west courtyard again!"
"That's right! Everyone says that the one our young master married... cough cough, has a lot of evil aura, attracting all the wandering ghosts and spirits outside!"
"Even an extremely yang body can't suppress it? Could it be..."
Before the words were finished, a voice rang out from behind:
"Go on, I'm listening."
The two froze, slowly turning around to see Shu Bai standing there, his face calm, but his eyes as cold and terrifying as a frozen lake.
Shu Bai ignored the two trembling servants and instead glanced at the steward who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, his face filled with fear.
"When did the Prince's mansion become a marketplace teahouse, where servants can gossip about their masters?"
His tone wasn't harsh, but it made the steward's face turn pale instantly.
"Your Highness, please calm down! It is this servant's fault for not disciplining you properly!"
"Anyone on duty today who speaks ill of the emperor should go to the accounting office to settle their three months' wages and leave the palace."
Shu Bai's gaze fell back on the two pale-faced servants. "As for you, go now."
After dealing with this minor incident, Shu Bai turned and walked back.
Li Yuheng, who had been hiding beside him and only he could see, was now floating next to him with his arms crossed, laughing so hard he could hardly open his eyes.
"How impressive is Madam!" Li Yuheng said in a high-pitched voice, waving the emperor's small handkerchief. "She dealt with the servants with just a few words. She truly pleases me!"
He finished speaking and then added with a mischievous grin, "But the 'white shadow' they were talking about, isn't it the unlucky water ghost I accidentally scared a couple of days ago when I was just wandering around bored? It's such a coward, I only glanced at it and it was so scared it started puffing out white smoke."
Shu Bai stared straight ahead, his lips barely moving: "...If you keep wandering around scaring the local ghosts, I'll have 0090 make you a golden cage, so you can't go anywhere, and I won't keep you company."
"The heart of a husband is most venomous! I was just checking for potential security risks in the palace! What if there are evil spirits lurking around? I'm just being prepared, taking precautions!"
"Then I should thank you?"
"You're welcome, it's my pleasure." Li Yuheng accepted the offer without any shame, and then asked with great interest, "But why didn't you say that the ghost was me just now? It would have been a good opportunity for me to show myself and intimidate these ignorant people."
"...Tell them that the Crown Princess of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion is just a childish ghost who scares her own kind when she has nothing better to do, and almost scared her own water ghost to death."
I still have a sense of shame.
Li Yuheng is a complete idiot.
It's hopeless.
Li Yuheng was momentarily speechless, but he quickly rallied, floating in front of him with his hands behind his back, his tone deep: "Superficial! I went deep into the grassroots to understand the people's conditions! Only by understanding the living conditions of the lower-class ghosts can I better lead... Okay, I was just bored."
He readily admitted it, then changed the subject, "However, this matter has escalated to a point where those guys from the Zhenling Division are probably going to get restless."
As if to confirm Li Yuheng's words, an uninvited guest arrived at the Prince's Mansion in the afternoon.
Zhao Wuwang, the deputy commander of the Zhenling Division, arrived uninvited, accompanied by two subordinates dressed in black close-fitting clothes and wearing spirit locks at their waists.
The aroma of tea wafted through the living room, yet it couldn't dispel the intangible sense of heaviness.
Zhao Wuwang was about forty years old, with a sharp face and a keen eye that carried a hint of deliberate arrogance.
He did not sit down, but merely bowed symbolically to the Prince of Zhenbei: "Your Highness, there have been many rumors in the capital recently that your residence... is not quite peaceful. I have come to investigate on the orders of the Commander."
The Prince of Zhenbei remained expressionless, stroking his beard as he said, "Thank you for your concern, Commander Zhao. It was just some servants making unfounded accusations; I have already dealt with it."
"Oh?" Zhao Wuwang raised an eyebrow, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Shu Bai, who was sitting quietly to the side. "Your Highness, it's not that I'm being nosy. It's just that the young master's wedding is unusual, and the bride is not someone to be trifled with. With strange occurrences happening frequently in the manor, it's hard not to speculate."
What if... some 'evil spirit' is inherently difficult to change, or it attracts its own kind, disturbing the Prince's residence, or even endangering the peace of the capital... the consequences of that are something even the Prince cannot bear.
The accusations and implications in these words were almost undisguised.
Attributing the unusual events at the Prince's residence to the newlywed "ghost wife" was an attempt to accuse the Prince's residence of "lax management and allowing ghosts to cause trouble."
Upon hearing this, the princess's expression changed slightly, and she looked at her son with concern.
Shu Bai slowly put down his teacup, making a crisp sound that drew everyone's attention.
He looked up at Zhao Wuwang, a faint smile curving his lips: "Commander Zhao, are you saying that my Zhenbei Prince's Mansion can't even handle its own 'family affairs' properly, and that the Zhenling Division needs to overstep its bounds and do the work?"
Zhao Wuwang gave a forced smile: "Your Highness is too kind. It is the duty of the Zhenling Division to protect the order of Yin and Yang in the capital region. All evil spirits that cause trouble are within our jurisdiction. Even the Prince's Mansion is no exception."
"The order of Yin and Yang?" Shu Bai repeated softly, his tone tinged with amusement. "Does the Commander know that the extreme Yang fire within me has subsided considerably recently?"
Zhao Wuwang's eyes narrowed slightly. He had indeed heard about this, but he didn't know if it was true or not.
Shu Bai continued, "This is all thanks to my wife's skill in harmonizing with pure yin energy. If, as the commander says, my wife is an 'evil spirit,' then is her suppression of my yang fire a merit or a fault?"
Will the Spirit Suppression Division reward her for maintaining the balance of Yin and Yang, or punish her for... touching an extremely Yang body she shouldn't have?
He spoke slowly, yet every word was like a knife, completely disrupting Zhao Wuwang's logic.
Zhao Wuwang was speechless for a moment.
Just then, Li Yuheng was floating behind Zhao Wuwang, performing a ritual on the back of his head.
He formed a mudra with his hands and chanted, "Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Bald God, please grant me your power! May my hairline recede like a receding tide, may my head reflect light like a mirror! May I lose a handful of hair when I comb it, clog the drain when I wash it, and have my forehead exposed when the wind blows, so that I may become inseparable from hats from now on!"
Come on, let's all support Li Yuheng and sincerely wish Zhao Wuwang a speedy ascent to the summit of Brightness and the start of a brand new and refreshing life!
Hearing Shu Bai call him "wife," even though he knew it was just for show, Li Yuheng couldn't help but stroke his chin, thinking to himself: Tsk, he calls his wife quite naturally.
His eyes lit up, and a mischievous thought suddenly came to him.
Li Yuheng leaned close to Zhao Wuwang's ear, channeling a faint trace of Yin energy to mimic a woman's ethereal sigh: "Alas—my lord is so fierce..."
Zhao Wuwang felt a chill run down his spine and turned around abruptly, only to find nothing behind him.
Only a gust of wind swept through, lifting a few strands of his hair.
His face paled slightly, but he forced himself to remain calm and turned back.
Shu Bai took in his reaction, but feigned confusion: "Commander Zhao, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing."
Zhao Wuwang composed himself and realized that he might have been imagining things.
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