"Twenty-five years ago, there was a woman living in Feihan Courtyard. She and the princess became pregnant at about the same time. I suspect that the master deliberately took the princess and the woman to the outer house to give birth in order to give the child a name, and then brought them back to the mansion in the name of twins. Who knew that the woman's child was born, but the princess's pregnancy was aborted. I don't know how the master persuaded the princess to give the child to her own name, so the princess has been staying in the Buddhist temple all these years, not because she was unwell after giving birth, but because she was greatly stimulated, which led to her current appearance."

Xiao Zhixuan's face changed several times after hearing this, and after a while she sighed and said, "So, the princess is also a pitiful person. But who is that woman in Feihanyuan? Is she a concubine of my father? Why didn't he take her in as his wife, but had to use this method to arrange her children? Where does this put the princess?" Although she has always suspected that the princess killed Aunt Cai and hated the princess in every way, she is still a woman after all, and when she heard such a thing, she couldn't help but feel indignant for the princess back then.

Yuan Xi shook her head, her eyes a little confused, and said, "I don't know either, but I always feel that the identity of this woman is very crucial. Otherwise, why would they insist on not revealing anything at this point? Even Yunniang would risk killing the princess's baby for that woman."

Xiao Zhixuan thought for a long time, and finally shook her head helplessly, and asked with concern: "Where is my eldest brother? How is he now?"

Yuan Xi sighed and said, "It's not good. He doesn't want to face the old man and doesn't know how to face the princess. He just locks himself in his room every day. I don't know how to persuade him."

At this time, several servants who had bought offerings and incense candles returned to the mansion and were listening to the steward's instructions to arrange the things in the courtyard. A vague sound came into the room, which made Yuan Xi's heart move. She walked to the window and looked for a long time, then suddenly turned around and asked, "Is the annual Buddhist ceremony in the temple about to begin?"

Xiao Zhixuan nodded without knowing what was going on: "Yes, we have to start preparing at this time every year."

Yuan Xi suddenly asked, "Xuan'er, do you want to know what secrets are hidden in the princess's Buddhist temple?"

Xiao Zhixuan was startled, looked at her blankly and replied: "What secrets could there be in the Buddhist temple?"

Yuan Xi's eyes gradually deepened, and he said, "I don't know, but I always feel that the princess must have done something secretly while hiding in the Buddhist temple these years. Do you still remember that Aunt Wang insisted on asking the master to renovate the Buddhist temple? I think she must have discovered something. I even think that the deaths of Aunt Wang and Aunt Cai are inseparable from this matter."

Upon hearing about her mother's death, Xiao Zhixuan's eyes became gloomy again. She scratched the table with her nails, looking a little upset. Yuan Xi walked over and held her hand and said, "Xuan'er, I will do what I promised you. Although the princess is pitiful, it does not mean that she can hurt others. I even think that woman was also..."

Her eyes flickered and she didn't want to say anything more, but Xiao Zhixuan understood a lot from her eyes. She suddenly felt a chill all over her body. She couldn't imagine how her brother would face it if all this was true.

On the day the ritual began, candles were lit brightly in front of the temple, and the smell of sandalwood was lingering. Several purple-red sandalwood sticks were inserted in front of the door, and large bronze sacrificial stoves were placed in front of the altar. A beast head floated above the stove, staring fiercely at the people standing in the hall.

The sound of chanting sutras rang out, and the abbot of Pudu Temple, Master Zhengyan, led many monks wearing blue-gray robes, standing in front of the altar, clasping their hands, closing their eyes and reciting the sutras devoutly. Behind them were the people from the Marquis' Mansion who were participating in the ritual, and at this moment they also showed solemn expressions as they chanted the sutras.

The princess was supported by Nanny Yu and stood in the front, staring at the sacrificial hearth in front of her with a sullen look. The green smoke around her was dancing around, almost wrapping her body in it, causing Yuan Xi, who was standing behind her, to squint her eyes, but could not see her expression clearly.

Yuan Xi also turned his attention to the sacrificial stove. According to the steward in charge of the preparations for the ritual in the government, the annual ritual is nothing more than chanting sutras and praying in front of the Buddha Hall, and then burning all the incense, candles and offerings in the sacrificial stove. The sacrificial stove is prepared in advance and filled with incense ash. After all the items are burned out, they will be disposed of by a special person.

Yuan Xi deliberately stepped forward to see what was inside the stove, but she couldn't see it clearly. The corner of her sleeve accidentally touched the princess, who turned around and glared at her in confusion. Yuan Xi realized that she had crossed the line and quickly stepped back. But she always felt that this ritual was a little strange, and the strong sandalwood scent kept entering her nose, making her cover her mouth and cough a few times.

Standing beside her were Xiao Du, who also had deep eyes, and Xiao Zhixuan, who was restless. This year, because too many things happened in the palace, the mentality of the people participating in the ritual was somewhat subtle. The loud chanting of sutras lingered in the hall. Could the long-lasting Buddhist teachings really help to get rid of the nightmare in their hearts?

When the chanting was over, Master Zhengyan read aloud: "The abbot offers incense and prays, and the high priest bows." Then he read another hymn, and the princess put her hands together and bowed, saying: "Princess, Lord, the sacrifice ceremony can begin." The princess nodded, glanced at the old Lord standing beside her, raised her hand and ordered the stewards to bring up the offerings and incense candles and throw them all into the sacrifice furnace. Suddenly, the flames shot up to the sky, making everyone's face a little red.

In just a few days, the old marquis looked much older, with the wrinkles on his face becoming more and more obvious. His vision became blurred in the rising black smoke, and he seemed to see many faces in it, but in the end they were all swallowed up by the flames.

At this time, Yuan Xi's brows wrinkled tightly. She felt that the fragrance was a bit strange. Too many incense candles had been lit for this sacrifice. Since early in the morning, the smell of sandalwood filled the entire courtyard. But when the offerings were put into the sacrificial stove, a strong and strange fragrance rose. Yuan Xi couldn't tell what the fragrance came from, but it must be buried in the sacrificial stove. So she pulled Xiao Zhixuan's sleeve and asked, "Did the previous rituals also have such a strong fragrance? Where does this fragrance come from?"

Xiao Zhixuan nodded, as if she was already used to it, and said, "The princess said she doesn't like the smell of smoke, so every year when burning incense, some spices are added to the middle. As for what they are, I'm not sure."

Yuan Xi became more and more confused, but her head hurt because of the overwhelming strange fragrance. She sniffed hard, trying to distinguish the other flavors in the aroma, but she couldn't help feeling nauseous in her stomach. Finally, this strange feeling made her a little overwhelmed. She swayed, but soon fell into a strong embrace.

She looked up with a pale face and saw Xiao Du's concerned eyes looking at her. Yuan Xi quickly held his hand tightly, trying to get some warmth from it. At this moment, although there were candles all around, she felt extremely cold.

Xiao Du noticed her strange behavior and whispered in her ear, "What's wrong? If you feel uncomfortable, go back to your room and rest."

Yuan Xi held his hand with a trembling voice, and whispered in his ear: "There is something wrong with this ritual...very wrong!"

Xiao Du's gaze became deeper and deeper. He ignored the gazes of the people around him and let her lean on his arms. He then covered her eyes with his thick hands and whispered in her ear, "Then don't look at it. Let's talk about it after it's over."

The princess saw this scene, and a barely perceptible sneer appeared at the corner of her lips. She held on to Nanny Yu's hand tightly and turned her head back, her nails almost digging into her flesh. Nanny Yu gasped in pain, but dared not make a sound. At this time, she saw the princess' lips opened, but no sound came out. She could see clearly that the princess said: "You will do it yourself later." Nanny Yu's heart sank, and she nodded gently.

After the ritual was over, everyone dispersed and returned to their own courtyards. After Nanny Yu waited for the princess to return to her room, she personally took a few servants to load the sacrificial stove onto a cart, and then drove it through many alleys, finally arriving at a cool hill.

Nanny Yu raised her hand to ask them to stop, turned around and looked around. Seeing that no one followed, she ordered everyone to pour out the incense ashes in the sacrificial stove. Then she suddenly frowned and said, "I have to go to the bathroom, you go outside and wait." She told the servants to quickly carry the sacrificial stove to the car and push it outside the mountain to wait. Nanny Yu walked to the pile of incense ashes, took out a few pieces of meat and threw them on top, and blew a whistle softly. Then a group of wild dogs ran over, fighting for the piece of meat on the ground, and then began to search and chew in the incense ashes with ease.

Nanny Yu smiled mysteriously, brushed off the ashes on her body, turned around and walked out. At this time, a dark guard in black clothes and black boots suddenly jumped down from the tree, first drew out a knife to drive away the wild dogs, then covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and began to search carefully in the pile of incense ashes.

The black incense ash was mixed with purple-red candle oil. When he searched deeper, he found some offerings that had been burnt beyond recognition. Finally, he stopped and bent down to pick up a piece of burnt black bone. He frowned and quickly identified it: it was a human leg bone.