"You want to use my Buddhist temple?" The princess had just swallowed a bowl of medicine, wiped the stains on her lips with a handkerchief, and looked up at Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi nodded, trying to find something in her eyes, but she only saw a deep pool. A trace of doubt flashed through her mind, but she still said what she had prepared before: "I have been married for a year, but I have not been pregnant yet. I feel a little guilty towards my mother-in-law and father-in-law. A few days ago, I went to the temple to ask a monk for advice. He gave me a spell and said that as long as I serve Guanyin in seclusion in my own Buddhist temple for two days, I can ask the gods to bless me to get pregnant soon." As she spoke, she couldn't help but put her hand on her belly, with a sad look on her face, and said: "I have been restless day and night because of this matter. I just want to add a boy or a girl to the Xiao family as soon as possible. I hope that my mother-in-law can understand and fulfill my wish."

She was about to cry as she spoke, but the princess just looked at her coldly with arrogance. After a long time, she smiled coldly and said, "It's hard for you to have such a heart, but this Buddhist temple..." She played with the sandalwood Buddhist beads wrapped around her wrist and deliberately stopped talking.

Yuan Xi's heart was lifted up with her words, and she kept rehearsing in her mind how to deal with various reasons for rejection. Unexpectedly, the princess stretched out her hand and asked Nanny Yu to help her stand up. She walked to her side and said, "This Buddhist hall belongs to the Marquis's Mansion, and it doesn't belong to me alone. Now that you want to use it, I'll give it to you." Yuan Xi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but suddenly caught a glimpse of the princess's mocking and sarcastic smile. Her heart skipped a beat. At this time, the princess slightly bent her body, slid her fingernails across her cheek, and said, "Be careful, don't damage my place."

Yuan Xi couldn't help but shudder, and forced a smile on her face, and replied: "Yes, mother-in-law, Yuan Xi will remember it."

When Yuan Xi left, Nanny Yu glanced at the princess nervously, but the princess sat down leisurely, showing a look of contempt, and said: "Since it has come to this, I want to see what tricks she can play."

It was dark, but the temple was brightly lit. Yuan Xi knelt before the statue of Guanyin, reciting sutras devoutly, but her eyes were a little dazed, looking in an unknown direction. Suddenly, a shadow flashed outside the temple. Yuan Xi turned around and heard a gentle knock on the lacquered door. She quickly stood up and quietly opened the door, and then was pulled into a thick embrace by a pair of big hands.

The familiar and steady breath made her feel very safe. Xiao Du lowered his head, smoothed the hair on her forehead, and said softly, "Are you tired of kneeling?"

Yuan Xi smiled and shook her head. Considering that this was a Buddhist temple, she quickly got out of his arms and said hastily, "I have observed the surroundings for a long time during the day, but I can't see anything wrong. If there is a corpse hidden somewhere, there must be a bloody smell, which cannot be covered by sandalwood."

Xiao Du said: "Is it because the body was taken away that we can't find it?"

Yuan Xi still shook his head and said, "No matter how clean it is, it can't fool the ants. When I came here, I secretly brought in a leech. This kind of insect likes the smell of blood the most, but it couldn't find its way into this Buddhist temple."

Xiao Du frowned and said, "What do you think happened? Did we go in the wrong direction?"

Yuan Xi stepped on the green bricks under her feet, her eyes flickering. Xiao Du followed her gaze and said with sudden enlightenment: "You suspect that there is a cellar under the temple."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Now we just need to find the mechanism and the way in, and then we can discover the secret here."

The two of them did not delay any longer and began to search carefully in the temple. At first, Yuan Xi thought that if they were digging a cellar, there must be gaps, so he tried to pour water into the gaps between the bricks to see where the water would flow. However, after struggling for a long time, they did not find anything. As the sky was about to turn white, they suddenly became anxious.

At this moment, someone outside the door suddenly shouted, "There's a fire, there's a fire." Yuan Xi and Xiao Du looked at each other, and hurriedly opened the door to look outside. Unexpectedly, when they were distracted and looking around, a candle in the Buddhist hall suddenly fell down, and then quickly spread, emitting a blazing flame.

There were many flammable items in the temple, and once the fire started, it was hard to put it out. Xiao Du frowned and quickly pulled the frightened Yuan Xi to the side, fearing that she would be burned by the flames. Yuan Xi was tightly held in his arms, staring blankly at the raging fire in front of her. Thick black smoke obscured the face of the Bodhisattva, and even the gods and Buddhas standing high up seemed to be shaking and about to fall.

By this time, many servants had already rushed over. After the initial surprise, they immediately picked up tools and started to put out the fire. At this time, the princess and the old marquis finally arrived. The princess's hair was disheveled, and she was only wearing a cloak over her thin clothes. It was obvious that she had just been called and rushed over. Her unpainted face looked a little distorted in the firelight. She looked at everything in front of her in disbelief. Suddenly she turned around and pointed at Yuan Xi, saying, "You! I was kind enough to lend you the temple, why did you do such a rebellious thing!"

Yuan Xi was still in a trance, and was speechless when she heard this. Xiao Du suddenly saw the princess, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings. But at this moment, he immediately held Yuan Xi's hand tightly, signaling her not to panic, and said loudly: "It's not her fault. I was with her just now, and I saw with my own eyes that she didn't do anything."

The princess's face seemed to be soaked in ice. She stared at Xiao Du coldly for a long while without saying anything. Then she sneered and said, "She was the only one in the temple tonight. It wasn't her doing. Where did the fire start from?"

"That's enough," Xiao Du was about to argue, but the old marquis said, "It's dry and flooding is common. Don't make it public. We can just repair it tomorrow."

"This temple is a place for worshipping gods. Now there's a fire and the statues have been damaged. Are you planning to just let it go so easily?" The princess said coldly, her usually weak voice suddenly gaining momentum.

The old marquis frowned and looked at her, but the princess stared at him relentlessly, her intention was very obvious, tonight she must seek an explanation for the fire in the Buddhist temple. The old marquis and the princess were in a stalemate for a while, and realized that it would be difficult to convince the public if he did not do something, so he sighed and said, "Well, let Yuan Xi be locked up for a few days first, as a way to atone for what happened today. As for other matters, we can talk about it after the truth is found out."

Xiao Du suddenly became furious and quickly protected Yuan Xi behind him, saying: "I'm also in the Buddhist temple today. If you want to punish..." Before he finished speaking, Yuan Xi had already stepped forward. Her face was still a little pale, but her tone was firm: "My husband, you don't have to protect me. I am willing to take responsibility for this matter myself." Then she turned around, straightened Xiao Du's collar and bun, but the meaning in her eyes was clear: they could not be punished together.

Xiao Du was getting anxious and almost impatient, ready to argue for her again. But Yuan Xi suddenly smiled, for the first time ignoring everyone's gaze, hooked his neck and whispered in his ear: "You look so anxious. What can I do in the mansion? I can only be locked up for a few days. Don't worry about me. Just concentrate on your work."

Xiao Du knew that she didn't want him to step in at this time, so he had to swallow his reluctance, held her hand and said, "Okay, I'll decide where and how to lock you up. I hope that parents will not make things difficult for me for my sake." He paused after saying the word "father" before continuing to speak the whole sentence.

The princess' eyes dimmed, and she stared at Xiao Du's face for a long time. When she saw the two of them leave together, she felt so upset that she held Yu Ma's hand, trembling a little. But she still said coldly, "Now that the fire is out and the punishment has been paid, let's go back."

After saying this, she walked straight past the old marquis and walked forward. When she passed by Xiao Zhixuan, she heard her whisper, "I know about the fan..."

The princess shuddered and turned her head to stare at Xiao Zhixuan. Xiao Zhixuan's eyes were filled with mockery and she raised her chin slightly and said, "I saw everything. Don't think that you will be alright if you lock up your sister-in-law. Your scandal will soon be exposed to the public."

The princess dug her nails into Nanny Yu's wrists, but tried to turn her head away, as if nothing had happened, and continued to walk forward. Behind her, Xiao Zhixuan's smile deepened, but her eyes were somewhat sad, and she murmured: "Sure enough...are you afraid sometimes?"

On the other side, the princess pretended to be calm and walked back into the room. She sent away the maidservants and walked to the table with a blue face. Her hands began to tremble violently. Suddenly, she threw everything on the ground like crazy, muttering: "She said she saw it, she said she saw it! How could she see it, you tell me! How could she see it!" With the last sentence, she pointed directly in the direction of Nanny Yu, and her red eyes revealed deep fear.

Nanny Yu hurried forward, held her shaking hands, and calmed her down, "Don't listen to her nonsense. That little girl might just be trying to scare us."

"But how did she know about the fan, and speak so confidently about it?" The princess sat down softly, still looking flustered.

"Maybe it's just a wild guess?" Nanny Yu frowned, feeling a little unsure.

The princess bit her lip tightly, as if she was thinking about something. At this moment, a flash of lightning suddenly flashed outside the window, illuminating her face. A dark patch slowly gathered in her pupils. She stared at Nanny Yu and said, "We can't take the risk. Think of a way for me to stop her from speaking."

Thunder roared again in the night sky, and a heavy rain fell again, and the quarrels in the house were all drowned out by the roaring thunder and rain. Many people could not sleep well that night, and after this night, many long-buried chronic illnesses were finally exposed to the sun.