Peach Blossom.

The projector stopped playing the image, but it was still emitting white light, and the flat wall returned to its original state.

Tao Ye sat alone in the haunted house, her heart unable to calm down for a long time.

Obviously, the day when the divorce letter appeared was Mantangjiao's last day in the Wang family.

It turned out that the divorce letter was written by Mantangjiao imitating Wang Jing's handwriting, and Wang Jing had never seen this divorce letter at all!

It turned out that Lord Minister Wang Yi had gone out of the capital on official business in accordance with the emperor's secret decree, while the empress dowager, the princess, and other subjects were completely unaware.

It turns out that the so-called rumor that the princess and Wang Jing had been having an affair was just a rumor spread deliberately by the princess in order to disrupt the relationship between Wang Jing and Mantangjiao!

And Wang Jing's foot was actually caused by self-injury because he refused to marry the princess!

The saddest thing is that the lover whom Wang Jing protected by self-mutilation, Mantangjiao, ultimately could not escape the cruel fate and died in the lonely and cold night, with blood flowing like a river.

Tao Ye walked out of the haunted house and looked outside. It was still daytime, with the sun slightly westward.

There was no concept of time in the cave. She suspected that she had spent two days and two nights in there, but the feeling of hunger in her stomach was not strong.

She rowed back to where she had borrowed the boat, and the owner was still waiting there.

Tao Ye hurriedly asked the boatman: "How long have I rented your boat?"

The boatman said, "Didn't we agree to rent it for a whole day? The sun is about to set, so even if it's less than a day, the rent will be a full day's rent! It's non-refundable!"

Tao Ye shook his head speechlessly, got off the boat and walked along the river bank towards Situ Mansion, silently wondering what kind of existence that haunted house was. The time inside and outside the cave was obviously not equal.

As she was walking, she saw from afar a small boat in the middle of the Qinhuai River. On it, a young couple were talking and laughing to each other, singing, and rowing the boat. They looked very happy!

She suddenly recalled Wang Jing's happy narration that day: "Remember when we were not married, you fell into the Qinhuai River, I asked you to change your clothes, and you did this, covering yourself so that only your eyes were exposed..."

She thought that the love years between Wang Jing and Mantangjiao should have been as beautiful as those of the young couple on the boat in front of her.

During the time she was at the Wang family, she thought that as long as she could complete her mission, it would be okay to tell a little lie. Besides, she was entrusted by Mantangjiao on her deathbed, so it was understandable even if she impersonated someone else.

But when she learned that Wang Jing and Mantangjiao had such a deep relationship, she suddenly no longer wanted to be a fake. She felt that in their world, the two people were absolutely irreplaceable in each other's hearts.

Unconsciously, she had already walked to the vicinity of Situ Mansion. She was very conflicted. Should she go in and deliver a few more meals? Or just leave?

"Ah Jiao!" Wang Jing ran over from not far away and hugged her, his heart beating fast: "Where have you been? I can't find you anywhere! I'm really afraid that you'll just leave and never come back..."

Tao Ye subconsciously glanced at Wang Jing's feet, feeling a little upset: "Why do you have to run around? Can't you take good care of your feet?"

Wang Jing shook his head, his eyes revealing his fragility: "If I never see you again, I will lose the courage to live, how can I care about so many things?"

Tao Ye looked at Wang Jing, unable to explain the dilemma in her heart. She no longer wanted to pretend to be Mantangjiao, but she did not dare to tell him that the real Mantangjiao was dead.

As dusk gradually fell, Tao Ye picked up Wang Jing's crutches, held his arm, and helped him walk slowly back to Situ Mansion.

Since you're already here, you might as well give us an extra meal!

So Tao Ye said to Wang Jing, "Go back to your room and rest first. I'll make dinner and bring it to you!"

Wang Jingxiao nodded and went back to his room to wait.

Tao Ye walked towards the small kitchen. The light in the yard was dim. As she was walking, she tripped somehow and fell flat on her face!

Before she stood up completely, Princess Si Yao and several maids laughed beside her. Si Yao smiled and said, "Sister, we haven't seen each other for only one day, why do you have to be so polite?"

Tao Ye was not in a hurry to stand up. She raised her head slightly to see Si Yao's position, reached out to grab Si Yao's ankle, and pulled him into her arms with force, causing Si Yao to fall head over heels.

Maids Ruqiu and Rudong hurried to help Si Yao up, while Ruchun wanted to hit Taoye.

Tao Ye was about to stand up, took out a mirror from her arms, and smashed it on Ruchun's face, causing Ruchun's nose to bleed.

Tao Ye also imitated Si Yao's tone: "Sister, it's only been a day since we last met, there's no need to be so excited, right?"

Si Yao had already stood up, his face flushed with anger: "You bring me food during the day and throw yourself into my arms at night, you are so attentive!"

Tao Ye smiled faintly: "Sister, if you are not convinced, you can come and see me off! I am just afraid that if you go at night, your second brother will not sleep with you!"

Si Yao pointed at Tao Ye and ordered his attendants: "Hit her mouth!"

Without waiting for the maids to make a move, Tao Ye rushed to Si Yao's side, grabbed Si Yao's neck with one hand, and pulled out the hairpin on her head with the other hand, and stuck it in front of Si Yao's neck: "My face has been swollen by you once, do you think I will be defenseless?"

The maids all shouted, "Let the princess go!"

Tao Ye's face was gloomy, and she laughed contemptuously: "In order to frame me, you even had the heart to kill the matchmaker you had raised for two years... Oh, no! It was the matchmaker dog! You are so cruel! But I want to remind you that God sees what you do. It's not that I won't pay you back, it's just that the time has not come yet!"

After saying that, Tao Ye pushed Si Yao towards the four maids, and the master and servants almost fell down again.

"If the princess still wants my second brother to continue to be her husband's consort, you'd better not touch me, otherwise... he will fight you to the death!" Tao Ye said this and turned to go to the small kitchen.

Si Yao gritted his teeth, but did not dare to continue to pester Tao Ye.

Ruchun bit her nose and asked, "Princess, do you still want to punish her?"

Si Yao looked at Tao Ye's back, how could she be willing to accept this? She thought for a moment and told Ruchun: "Isn't she going to deliver the food? Go and add some laxatives to the food! I wonder if Wang Jing will dare to eat it again in the future!"

"Ah? She cooked the meal herself and delivered it to her personally. How could I...how could I have the chance to drug her?" Ruchun seemed a little afraid of Taoye.

Si Yao glared at Ruchun.

Ruchun quickly responded: "I will go right away!"

Ruchun quietly came to the door of the small kitchen and peeked inside. She saw Taoye stirring the pot casually with a big spoon and humming a song, looking very leisurely.

There was no one else in the kitchenette.

Ruchun felt vaguely that there seemed to be no fire under the pot, and felt puzzled.

She stood on tiptoe again and looked carefully, and seemed to feel that the pot was also empty.

After a while, Tao Ye looked around and Ruchun quickly retracted his head.

Soon, Ruchun heard the sound of plates and bowls knocking against each other. She leaned over to look and saw Taoye put the empty plates and bowls into the food box and covered the empty pot. Then Taoye walked out carrying the food box.

Ruchun didn't quite understand, but she didn't have time to think too much, so she quickly hid in a dark corner outside the door.

Tao Ye walked out of the small kitchen, and when passing by the old tree that had lost all its leaves, she put the food box on the ground, smoothed her hair, picked up the food box again, and walked towards Wang Jing's room.

Ruchun followed Taoye not far behind, hiding here and there. Her curiosity was so great that she didn't even dare to blink, for fear of missing something.

She followed him all the way to Wang Jing's door. Ruchun hid behind a water tank, but still quietly poked her head out.

Tao Ye entered Wang Jing's room carrying a lunch box, and they smiled at each other. She opened the lunch box, took out the food one by one and put it on the table naturally.

Ruchun looked at the plate full of fish, meat, rice and soup, and felt so frightened that she forgot about the princess' instructions to drug her. She ran towards the princess' bedroom with trembling legs.

Princess Si Yao was sitting in the room sulking. Her maid Ruxia was guarding the door outside. Ruqiu and Rudong placed the food sent from the big kitchen in front on the coffee table, but Si Yao had no appetite at all.

Ruchun stumbled back and almost bumped into Ruxia.

Ruxia saw that Ruchun looked like she had lost her soul, so she hurriedly supported him and asked, "What's wrong with you? Did you fail to do what the princess asked you to do?"

“No… No…” Ruchun shook his head, still in a cold sweat: “There is a ghost! There is a ghost!”

"Is there a ghost?" Ruxia was puzzled.

Si Yao was inside and heard Ruchun's voice, but he didn't hear it clearly, so he shouted: "Is the matter done? Why don't you come in and answer?"

Ruchun's legs were weak and she had difficulty walking, so Ruxia helped her walk into the house.

Ruchun reported: "Princess, Miss Man... Miss Man didn't cook at all, but... but the food is full... There must be a ghost, there must be a ghost!"

Si Yao was completely confused and didn't understand the logic at all: "What do you mean by not cooking but the food is full? Do you know what you are talking about?"

"That's right... I saw it with my own eyes. Miss Man didn't light the fire, the pot was empty, and she only put some empty plates and bowls into the food box! But when she walked into the Prince Consort's room and opened the food box, all the plates and bowls were full of food!"

Si Yao understood this time, but he didn't quite believe it: "Could you have seen it wrong? Or...has the food box been swapped?"

Ruchun shook her head with certainty: "No! How could such a big food box be swapped? Those meals are simply made out of nothing!"

Si Yao and several other maids felt their scalps tingling after hearing this.

Ruxia said: "Miss Man... Miss Man must have a problem..."

Ruqiu said, "Last month, I heard two gatekeepers talking about how Miss Man brought a dead body with her when she left Wang's house and returned. That dead body was her maid Shuangshuang! It is said that Shuangshuang's face and body were already completely bloodless at the time, and she looked very scary. But Miss Man dared to carry her on her back in the deserted street in the middle of the night. She is definitely not an ordinary person's courage!"

Rudong asked: "Could it be that, as Ruchun said, Miss Man is not a human, but... a ghost?"

Si Yao frowned, and the more he listened, the more frightened he became: "Stop talking! Stop talking! My hair is standing on end! She...she has been in the Wang family for eight years and gave birth to a daughter. How could she be a ghost?"

Ruchun thought for a while and suggested to Si Yao: "Princess, I heard that black dog blood can ward off evil spirits and can make evil spirits show their true form! Last time, the princess said that she would have a reunion dinner after the madam recovered from her illness. Later, the madam was already well, but the reunion dinner has not been set up yet. Why not arrange a family dinner tomorrow and prepare a basin of black dog blood in advance, and wait for Miss Man to arrive at the banquet..."

Si Yao had already understood the intention, so he nodded.