"You said that woman was pregnant! Why did you say that?" After being shocked, Xiao Zhixuan asked quickly.

"Look here!" Yuan Xi pulled out the account book from the princess' room and compared them one by one: "Danshen, Poria, and Angelica, according to the left imperial physician, these are used for regulating the middle part of the body, and these are used for calming the middle part of the body." She couldn't help but take a deep breath and said: "Not only is the woman pregnant, but the pregnancy period is very likely very similar to the princess's, so they have been using the same prescription to calm the fetus."

Xiao Zhixuan frowned and asked, "Who is this woman? What is her relationship with Yunniang?" She suddenly widened her eyes and said with a guilty conscience, "Sister-in-law, do you think it is possible that she has something to do with Daddy..."

Yuan Xi shook her head and held the papers tightly in her hands, her doubts growing. For a moment, the room was strangely quiet, with only the occasional "crackling" sound from the candles, which made the two people's thoughts swirl.

Finally, Yuan Xi spoke again: "There are many possibilities for this matter, and it is not easy to draw a conclusion. I think the only way now is to find the house where your eldest brother was born. The truth may be hidden there. Do you still remember? Granny Fang said that the red house also had many lanterns hanging. Xuan'er, is there an outer house in the Marquis' Mansion that is painted all red?"

Xiao Zhixuan thought about it carefully, then shook her head in confusion and said, "How could there be such a strange house? I have never heard of it, nor have I seen it before."

"It's not painted all red. What does the red house mean?" Yuan Xi sighed helplessly. She knew that with just these few words, her hope was slim. However, she was unwilling to let the clues end. She stood up, but accidentally tripped over the table leg. Xiao Zhixuan quickly supported her and said, "It's hard to see outside at night, so be careful."

Yuan Xi was startled, and suddenly remembered something. She turned around and asked, "Granny Fang can't see, so how does she know that all the houses are red?"

Xiao Zhixuan also realized this and murmured, "Yes! Or maybe she heard it from someone else?"

Yuan Xi looked out the window thoughtfully. The night was pouring out like thick ink. The lantern swaying under the eaves opposite was like a blood-red pupil, igniting a faint red light in the darkness.

She suddenly turned around and said to Xiao Zhixuan: "What do you think a blind person thinks is red?" Before Xiao Zhixuan could answer, she continued: "It could be red fire, red flowers, red lanterns, and... blood." Xiao Zhixuan's eyes widened, imagining the scene, and she couldn't help but shudder. Yuan Xi then said: "Let's think about it again. When the princess gave birth, she went to the outer house with the old man, Granny Fang, and Yunniang. Since that house could be used as the mansion of the old man and the princess, it must not be too small, at least more than three entrances. The house should always have lights on, and Granny Fang might have accidentally touched it, and then she had the memory of fire. Another possibility is that the ground dragon was burning, and being in a very hot place would also remind her of red fire."

"But since it was already April, why did we still need to light the floor heating? Also, which room needed the lights on all the time?" Xiao Zhixuan couldn't help but interrupt.

"The lights may be turned on because of the darkness or because of the humidity." Yuan Xi said slowly: "And the outer house of the Marquis's Mansion should be in a spacious place. I guess it is because of the humidity. This place is likely to be close to water or lakeside. Because of the humidity and coldness, it is necessary to burn ground dragons to keep warm." Her tone gradually became firm: "So the place we are looking for should be a large enough yard with lights on all year round. It is likely to be built by the water. There may be red flowers planted inside and outside the house. Oh, and there are red lanterns hanging outside. So in Granny Fang's memory, she would think it is a red house." She suddenly paused and said, "It is very likely that she also smelled the smell of blood."

Xiao Zhixuan looked up at her suddenly and found that both of them had similar fear and confusion in their eyes. Yuan Xi walked over to her and held her trembling hand, with a soothing look in his eyes, "No matter what, let's find that house first. I think everything should have an answer."

The two immediately followed the clues to investigate. Although the Marquis's Mansion had many industries, it was not difficult to find one that met these conditions in the capital. Soon, they found a house that was very similar to the clues. Qingxin Garden was the house that the late emperor gave to the old Marquis. It was in a very unique location. It was built in the center of Qiuye Lake and was surrounded by lakes on all sides. Living in it, it felt like being by the water and enjoying the wind. Many exotic flowers were planted in the courtyard, and it was said that they could bloom into the house through the windows. But the strange thing was that in the past twenty years, there had been no expenditure in Qingxin Garden. It was supposed that such an outer house would be managed by someone, but it did not leave any personnel account records, as if it had never existed.

Yuan Xi closed the book and couldn't help wondering: What kind of house is this? But she didn't have to wait too long. The next day, she and Xiao Zhixuan found Qingxin Garden.

The water was clear and the breeze was blowing, but the mansion standing in the middle of it had lost its former glory. The flowers in the yard had withered and weeds were growing everywhere. The lanterns hanging under the eaves had long been broken and dilapidated. The red shell had rotted away, leaving only the hollow lantern frame, swaying coldly in the wind.

Yuan Xi's eyes moved down from the bare lantern stand, and she felt uncomfortable standing in this courtyard. She didn't know where this strange feeling came from, but she hugged her body unconsciously and felt a little cold.

Xiao Zhixuan held her hand and said timidly, "Are you sure this is the place? It's already like this, is there anything else we can find?"

Yuan Xi looked around and was a little uncertain. He said, "I don't know either. How about we look in every room first?"

The two of them pushed open many doors together. Apart from finding that no one had lived here for a long time, they did not find anything unusual. After searching for a long time, they both felt a little tired, and their expectations were getting weaker and weaker. Just as they pushed open another door with some frustration, they opened their eyes at the same time, and were frightened by the strange scene inside.

The room was filled with tambourines, small clothes, shoes, and blankets. It looked like a room for children. But the room, which should have been warm and cozy, now exuded a stale atmosphere. A thick curtain hung over the small rocking bed. The curtain had many holes and was covered with layers of cobwebs.

Yuan Xi frowned, not knowing why she felt uncomfortable in her stomach. She turned around and found that Xiao Zhixuan's face had turned miserable, so she gently squeezed her hand to comfort her, walked over, took a deep breath and lifted the curtain.

Dust flew up from the curtains, causing the two to cough violently. Yuan Xi quickly took out a handkerchief to cover her mouth and nose, then squinted her eyes to look at the rocking bed, but when she saw it clearly, she couldn't help but scream.

In the pink cradle, there was a dark and cold tablet. There was no writing on the tablet, it was just neatly placed on the bed, as if it was the owner of the room, and they were the rude visitors who disturbed the long-lasting peace.

Xiao Zhixuan took a step forward and was so frightened when she saw the tablet that she covered her mouth with both hands and could not speak for a long time. Yuan Xi seemed to have finally come to his senses at this time. Although his face was very ugly, he said in a deep voice: "Look carefully! The owner of this tablet may still be in this yard!"

Xiao Zhixuan was only fifteen years old, and everything she saw was beyond her ability to bear. She didn't dare to imagine what else she would find, so she just covered her mouth, shook her head and kept backing away. Yuan Xi saw that she was already in a trance, and quickly grabbed her tightly, saying, "It has come to this, are you going to give up? Don't you want to find out the truth about your mother's death?"

Xiao Zhixuan looked at her blankly, biting her lips tightly to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and finally nodded heavily.

The two walked into the yard, each broke off a branch and searched among the weeds. Finally, Yuan Xi stopped at a place, squatted down and observed for a long time, and said: "Here... there seems to be traces of burning paper money, see if it is true."

Xiao Zhixuan followed her and looked over. As expected, she saw gray and yellow traces in the soil, which was different from the soil elsewhere. She nodded and asked, "What should we do now?"

Yuan Xi's eyes showed a determined look. He went to the woodshed to find a shovel and said, "You watch over here while I dig."

Xiao Zhixuan had already lost her mind at this moment. She just stood aside, biting her nails and looking restless, watching Yuanxi shakily drop the first shovel. It was easier said than done. Yuanxi had never done this kind of work since she was a child. After digging a few times, blood blisters appeared on her hands. Xiao Zhixuan cried with heartache and held her back, saying, "Forget it. Let's go back to the mansion and find someone to help."

Yuan Xi shook her head stubbornly and said, "Before we figure this out, we must not let anyone know!"

She rested for a while, then tried to dig deeper. The cold wind blew her hair. In this spacious and desolate house, her body looked thin yet full of strength.

Finally, the shovel touched something. Yuan Xi turned to look at Xiao Zhixuan with joy, and threw the shovel away. The two continued to dig with the branches. The color of the loess gradually faded, and the white and red colors mixed together, which made the two of them a little dazed for a while. Yuan Xi frowned, and gently picked up the thing with the branch, showing her the white bones and rotten meat inside. Her stomach suddenly churned into a ball, and she quickly threw the thing away, bent down and vomited violently.

A strong smell of rotten flesh immediately dissipated, and buried in the soil was an unborn baby.