"I accidentally discovered something, and that thing... is about the princess!"

Xiao Zhixuan's helpless and panicked eyes, like a flash of lightning, ignited the weak flame in Yuan Xi's heart, burning her internal organs. She swallowed the discomfort in her stomach, held Xiao Zhixuan's hand tightly and said, "What happened? Don't worry, tell me slowly..."

At the same time, a dead leaf suddenly flew into the air from the withered branches outside the window. It turned out to be a dead leaf butterfly that had been dormant for a long time. It was finally awakened by the spring breeze. It flapped its wings and circled all the way, and finally landed on an exquisitely carved window frame.

In the diamond-shaped bronze mirror facing the window, a face that was pale but still beautiful was reflected. The princess reached out to touch a wrinkle at the corner of her eye, and gradually resentment appeared in her eyes. Her dark pupils turned around and then fixed on a certain place on her forehead. She stared at it for a long time with wide eyes, then suddenly stood up and threw the bronze mirror to the ground.

Hearing the "clang" sound coming from the inner room, the maids and servants waiting outside the door thought that something had happened to the princess and were about to come in to check, but they heard the princess screaming inside: "Let the remaining nanny come in, and the rest of you stay outside and guard!"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Nanny Yu quickly ran into the inner room with a breath taken, and slammed the door behind her, leaving everyone at the door with a look of surprise on their faces, but they had already gotten used to it.

At this moment, Yuan Xi, who had just finished listening to Xiao Zhixuan's story, also showed a look of surprise. She frowned slightly and asked uncertainly: "You mean, you found that there were many fewer servants in the mansion for no reason in recent years."

Xiao Zhixuan nodded and said, "I secretly checked the roster of the mansion and found that many maids only had records of entering the mansion. There was no mention of when or why they left the mansion, nor was it stated whether they were sold or returned to their hometowns. I even found the indentures of several of them. This means that they were not sold or redeemed, but just disappeared from the mansion."

Yuan Xi frowned and said, "It's possible that he ran away secretly. There are so many servants in the mansion, and not all their whereabouts are recorded. And how do you determine that he has a relationship with the princess?"

Xiao Zhixuan shook her head and said, "But the time these people disappeared is very regular. I calculated carefully and found that the interval between each disappearance is about one year. Most of these people are maids in the princess' courtyard."

Yuan Xi's heart skipped a beat, but she still maintained a normal tone and said, "This can also be called a coincidence. It may be that the princess is a loner, so the maids around her walk more often."

"But..." Xiao Zhixuan saw that Yuan Xi didn't believe her, and suddenly became anxious. She hurriedly said, "The most crucial thing is that in the year of Xinyou, the palace had the most personnel changes. That year, almost all the people in the princess's courtyard were replaced. Except for Nanny Yu, all the maids, servants, and housekeepers were replaced. But they were not replaced at the same time. Instead, they were quietly replaced many times with various reasons, so it didn't attract many people's attention at the time."

Xinyou Year… Yuan Xi silently calculated in her mind, that should be twenty-five years ago. She vaguely felt that this number was somewhat familiar, but before she had time to think about it, Xiao Zhixuan raised her voice anxiously and said, "Twenty-five years ago, that was the year when my eldest brother was born!"

Yuan Xi was shocked by these words, and some guesses quickly emerged. Just as she was about to think carefully, she felt that she was in front of an abyss, and she did not dare to take another step forward. When she raised her head, she bumped into Xiao Zhixuan's equally suspicious eyes. She suddenly came to her senses. This matter was extremely involved, and she must not make a light judgment, let alone spread a single word. So she tried hard to suppress the excitement in her heart, and said seriously: "Xuan'er, you must remember that what you have discovered is just an appearance, it does not represent anything, and it cannot prove anything. So except for me, you must not tell anyone, especially your eldest brother, understand?"

Xiao Zhixuan's expression changed several times. Finally, she suddenly looked straight at Yuan Xi and said in a trembling voice, "Sister-in-law, it was Nanny Yu who killed Aunt Cai because Aunt Cai knew their secret. You and I know it very well. How could Nanny Yu have such great power? Who was standing behind her? It was Gong..."

Yuan Xi shuddered, and quickly stepped forward to cover Xiao Zhixuan's mouth, then bent down and held her head tightly in her arms, covering her sad sobs. She whispered softly and firmly in Xiao Zhixuan's ear: "Don't worry, I will help you. But before this matter is investigated, no one must notice it, understand?"

This voice seemed to have the power to calm people's hearts, and Xiao Zhixuan buried herself in her arms and burst into tears as if she was relieved. Before she came, she had imagined countless possibilities. Her mother was just an insignificant concubine, and she was most likely facing a truth that no one could bear. Her sister-in-law had no reason to help her, but she still wanted to trust her inexplicably. Maybe she was just gambling, gambling on the justice and persistence hidden in those gentle and clear eyes.

The beam of light cast from the window frame moved slowly. Yuan Xi discussed with Xiao Zhixuan for a long time before sending her out the door. She turned and walked back into the room. Suddenly, she felt extremely tired. She asked Li Ma to come in and add some charcoal to the room. It was clearly early spring at this moment, but she felt cold from head to toe.

Opening her dressing table, she unconsciously touched the boxes of hair oil with her hand. Yuan Xi's eyes were somewhat empty, but her heart was filled with shock. The box of orchid hair oil that fell from the sky was obviously a deliberate frame-up. She had guessed that someone wanted to use her to harm the Queen Mother, or to use the Queen Mother to deal with her. How many people in the palace knew that the Queen Mother could not touch orchids, a secret of the palace?

She had not dared to face the suspicion in her heart before, because that person had no reason to harm her. However, the conversation with Xiao Zhixuan just now made her connect many doubts, and many seemingly impossible things seemed to have been explained...

Yuan Xi closed her dressing table tightly, unwilling to continue guessing. She bit her lip and began to calm herself down, sorting out all the clues in her mind. After all, all questions have answers. No matter how difficult the truth is to face, she must get to the bottom of it. For all the innocent souls who died in this mansion.

At dinner time, Xiao Du finally returned home. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Yuan Xi sitting in the shade, concentrating on flipping through a book in her hands.

He frowned, not knowing if it was his own illusion, but after not seeing her for a day, the person in front of him seemed to have become much more haggard. So he walked behind her and quietly took the book from her hand. When Yuan Xi turned around, he shouted in surprise, "You're back!"

Xiao Du pulled her up, looked at her carefully, and deliberately put on a stern face and said distressedly: "Why do you look so haggard?" He suddenly raised the corners of his lips, approached her and said: "Did you miss me too much?"

Yuan Xi smiled and glared at him, but she couldn't feel relaxed in her heart. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt a chill on her wrist. She looked down and saw that a completely emerald green jade bracelet was already on her hand.

The transparent and delicate jade, worn on the fair wrist, looked like a gorgeous new lotus blossoming. Yuan Xi was delighted and looked up at Xiao Du and said, "Why did you suddenly think of giving me a bracelet?"

Xiao Du held her hand with satisfaction and said, "I saw it in a shop and thought it would look good on my wife, so I bought it immediately. Now it seems to suit you very well."

Yuan Xi stroked the warm jade bracelet and chuckled. At this time, Xiao Du changed his outer robe and said, "Oh, by the way, I just met Uncle Zhou. He said that the mansion will start buying items for this year's sacrificial offerings. According to the date, this year's ritual will start soon."

Yuan Xi was stunned and asked, "What ritual?"

Xiao Du smiled and said, "You just married into the mansion, so you naturally don't know. Because mother has always been in poor health, and in order to pray for the mansion, every year after the New Year, mother will invite monks from Guangyuan Temple to perform a ritual in the Buddhist temple. In fact, it is just burning some incense and performing rituals. If the account office needs to be used at that time, Uncle Zhou may come to discuss it with you, so I will let you know first."

Yuan Xi nodded and kept this in mind. At this moment, she suddenly remembered what Xiao Zhixuan said: "The missing maids in the mansion are about one year apart each time." And the mansion happens to hold a ritual every year. Could it be that... She soon remembered that Aunt Wang insisted on renovating the Buddhist temple. At that time, the princess tried her best to stop it, and there was even a rumor of ghosts. What did Aunt Wang find at that time? Is the princess really hiding something?

"Xi'er?" Xiao Du saw her standing there in a daze and couldn't help but call out.

Yuan Xi came back to her senses, and seeing Xiao Du's concerned look, she suddenly felt a little guilty, but she hesitated for a long time, and finally asked: "A'Du, do you still remember that when you were a child, besides Yunniang, you were closest to the servants?"