Liu Wan met his gaze, her heart fluttered in panic, and she lowered her head to eat again.
She had indeed been fond of wandering off to play that year. She had simply lost her way in the palace and ended up at the Cold Palace.
It was a dilapidated place, utterly out of step with the splendor of the rest of the palace. Several young eunuchs were bullying a little boy outside its gates.
The little fellow's face was bruised and swollen from their blows, but he did not cry. He clung desperately to a winter plum branch he had broken off.
Only when they heard that someone of high standing was passing by did the young eunuchs stop and leave.
Liu Wan wanted to go over and ask whether he was all right, but the little boy got up and ran away. He fell several times without once looking back.
He had not seen her.
Curious, she followed him and discovered that the Cold Palace's windows were broken. There was not even a charcoal fire in the depths of winter. The little boy curled up in a corner, covered his hole-riddled shoes with an old scrap of cloth, and ate a cold, sour steamed bun.
His eyes were pitch-black as he stared at the winter plum branch in his hand, lost in thoughts she could not fathom.
Someone found Liu Wan and brought her back, but she could not stop worrying about that little boy. In weather this cold, would he survive?
Fortunately, Consort Ling later took her and her aunt past the Cold Palace, giving her the chance to make a fuss and insist that they go inside with her.
The moment they opened the door, they saw the little boy buried in the snow, on the verge of freezing to death.
"It was only a coincidence." Liu Wan smiled faintly.
But Xia Siheng kept staring at her, his dark eyes burning with an intensity that left her at a loss for words.
How could it possibly have been a coincidence? he thought.
Liu Wan had always been gentle and well-behaved. Unless she had done it deliberately, she would never have made a fuss in front of her elders.
He had thought that his connection to Liu Wan existed solely because of his gratitude toward Lady Susu.
Even when he began to feel tenderness toward Liu Wan, Xia Siheng kept convincing himself that it was only gratitude.
Who could have imagined that their fate had been entwined from the very beginning?
The one who had pulled him out of the abyss had been Liu Wan all along.
Xia Siheng's lips suddenly curved into a bitter smile. Inwardly, he rejoiced that he had broken his own rules and saved her on the night someone had plotted against her.
Thank goodness there was now a child binding him and Liu Wan together.
It was still not too late.
"Still, it was fortunate that Xie Jin'an treated you reasonably well, and the Marquis's Residence was barely a suitable match for your standing. Back then, I wanted to visit the Liu Residence on Heng'er's behalf to discuss..."
"Mother, that is all in the past."
Xia Siheng interrupted Consort Ling.
Really, Mother, why bring this up out of nowhere? Liu Wan was a married woman. This would only embarrass her.
He did not want anyone to know what had happened back then, either.
Several years ago, the Imperial Family had sought out daughters of distinguished families for him. None had caught his eye, and he had stubbornly waited for Lady Susu to arrange his marriage.
Yet the year Liu Wan reached marriageable age, the emperor sent him off to war. By the time he returned, she was already another man's wife.
Perhaps, because he had failed to see her at the very beginning...
He might never get the chance to truly see her in this lifetime.
Xia Siheng's heart clenched, and a trace of regret rose within him. He should have acted sooner.
By the time they finished their meal, stars were already twinkling outside.
Xia Siheng could not keep her there. Staying overnight would harm her reputation, and the ghosts posed a danger. Although their daughter had some supernatural abilities, Liu Wan was only a defenseless woman.
Yet the moment Liu Wan left, he saw Consort Ling collapse onto the couch, her entire body convulsing.
"Mother! Mother, what's wrong? Summon the imperial physician! No, fetch Master Yuantong! Hurry!"
Xia Siheng felt gusts of icy wind against his back. Turning, he came face-to-face with a woman in white, her long hair covering her face, with no feet!
Remembering Wanwan's inner thoughts, he narrowed his eyes. "You want to harm Consort Ling? Then let me see whether you have what it takes!"
With that, he placed the Black jade pendant he wore on Consort Ling.
An old man had given him this piece of Black jade when he passed the foot of Heavenly Mountain on his way to war. It was said to ward off evil, preserve one's life, and protect against every poison.
He had not believed it at first, either. Later, when an arrow struck him, the Dark Jade blocked it and broke into two pieces.
He took the pieces to Golden Mountain Temple to have them blessed, then had them made into two pendants. He gave one to Little Wanwan and kept the other on his person.
Master Yuantong had said that this object was a gift from the gods, capable of repelling all evil and shielding its bearer from every calamity.
Now that he had given it to Consort Ling, a faint white glow surrounded her.
Unable to approach, the female ghost let out mournful wails and battered against the barrier with increasing ferocity.
If she could not take this woman's life tonight, she would be reduced to ash and smoke.
The Dark Jade's power gradually weakened. Xia Siheng gave a self-mocking smile, then charged outside, throwing all caution aside.
He stopped Liu Wan as she was returning to the Fifth Princess's Bedchamber. She stared at him in astonishment.
"Don't leave yet!"
"Let me borrow the baby for a moment!"
Liu Wan: ...
Xia Wanwan knew that something must have happened to Consort Ling.
[Oh, I forgot to tell Mother. Auntie Imperial Consort Dowager has a ghost clinging to her. She won't live through tonight.]
[I don't want anything to happen to Auntie Imperial Consort Dowager. She was the first person to give me meat to eat.]
[But if Mother lets the villain uncle have me, Auntie Imperial Consort Dowager might survive.]
Liu Wan was so frightened that her hands trembled, and she immediately thrust the little one into Xia Siheng's arms.
She trusted her daughter unconditionally.
She also believed that, given the Ninth Prince's character, he would never let anything happen to her daughter.
Still, she could not set her mind at ease. Supported by Pan Chun, she hurried after the Ninth Prince.
"Eldest Madam, it's getting late. If word of tonight's events spreads, I'm afraid it will harm your reputation," Pan Chun urged as they walked.
"Go, Eldest Madam! Something must have happened to Consort Ling. Your reputation is a small matter compared to the young miss and the Imperial Consort Dowager!" Wang Xia almost wanted to hoist Liu Wan onto her back and run.
But however quickly they walked, they were merely women of the inner household. How could they possibly keep up with Xia Siheng as he flew along using his lightness skill?
Holding Xia Wanwan, Xia Siheng raced all the way back to Consort Ling's Imperial Bedchamber.
Finding that the female ghost was not inside, he immediately put the child down and went to Consort Ling's side.
Xia Wanwan's little nose twitched. Her eyes lit up, and she crawled outside on her hands and knees.
Wails like those of a pig being slaughtered rang out beyond the Imperial Bedchamber. Scared out of their wits, the palace maids scrambled for places to hide.
Good heavens.
What had they just seen?
They had seen a tiny baby climb onto the female ghost in white and then pluck her head clean off.
Xia Wanwan fell to the ground astride the ghost's head, then climbed back up, grabbed her hair, and played at riding a horse!
"Giddyup... giddyup..."
[Huh? This ghost is so useless. Why won't she move?]
She was almost crying with frustration as she looked pitifully toward the ghost's body.
The female ghost was still crouching on the ground, her hands fumbling everywhere as she frantically searched for her head.
"Waaah! My head! Give me back my head!"
"Giddyup..."
"Where did this rotten baby come from? Riding everything you see will only get you hurt..."
"Giddyup..."
Seeing that she would not move, Xia Wanwan smacked the ghost's skull hard.
She lowered her own little head, brushed the ghost's hair aside, and asked, "Go... go... on."
The female ghost let out a piercing wail as the baby tugged at her.
The problem was that this baby was nothing like an ordinary child. Every slap she delivered carried spiritual power.
The pain made her already split mouth twist into an even more grotesque grimace.
Her body finally felt its way to her head. Xia Wanwan pursed her lips and knocked it back with one tiny punch.
"Honored ancestor! You're my honored ancestor! Please spare me!"
The female ghost whimpered tearfully. She had already lost her legs, and now she was going to lose her head, too.
"Go... giddyup!"
Xia Wanwan slapped her skull.
Rolling her head along, the female ghost began to run.
Xia Wanwan had a wonderful time, a bright, satisfied smile spreading across her face.
She rode the ghost's head all the way up to Xia Siheng, swung off her mount, and pointed at the head. "I... give... you."
Before you continue