Ever since she returned from Yongxiang, Sister Zhi had been like a different person.
The Sister Zhi of the past was so lively, so clingy; she was always full of energy, trailing after him, her smile sweet and adorable. If he said one, she would never say two. She would even grow jealous when he praised their younger sister, demanding to know which one he liked best.
But now? She looked at him as if he were a complete stranger, cold and detached.
This was not his Sister Zhi!
Was she possessed?
Yongxiang was a place of heavy, ominous energy. Pei Shangyan had indeed heard many rumors of hauntings, whispers that the spirits of deceased concubines would return to demand lives or seek out bodies to possess. Their younger sister had even warned him last night, noting that Sister Zhi seemed strange.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
At this thought, Pei Shangyan’s gaze turned razor-sharp. He lunged, gripping Mu Yuanzhi’s wrist tight. "You are not Sister Zhi!" he barked in a rage. "Speak! What kind of demon are you?!"
*?!*
*Is he insane?*
Mu Yuanzhi was truly at her wit's end.
She tried to pull her hand away, but when that failed, she forced herself to remain patient. "I am Mu Yuanzhi. If the Crown Prince does not believe me, you may summon the Grand Preceptor."
Although Mu Yuanzhi had little interaction with the Grand Preceptor, based on her previous life, he was at least not one of Pei Yunxi’s people; he would not spout nonsense and put her in danger.
Pei Shangyan clearly did not believe her. His Sister Zhi would never speak to him like this. Without another word, he dragged her along with him.
"Let go of me! I am going to the Back Mountain to hunt! Pei Shangyan, are you out of your mind?!"
Seeing his sister glaring at him with such fury, Pei Shangyan was only further convinced that she was possessed.
Even when Sister Zhi used to scold him, it was always sweet and soft, like a playful tease. How could she possibly be this sharp-tongued and biting?
He dragged her along quite roughly. The palace servants along the way began pointing and whispering, and rumors spread like wildfire in an instant.
When it came to raw strength, Mu Yuanzhi was no match for Pei Shangyan. Even as he raged, no matter how she tried to reason with him, he refused to let go.
"Grand Preceptor!"
"Grand Preceptor!"
Pei Shangyan called out twice, but there was no reply. The others at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau didn’t know where the Grand Preceptor had gone; only the Assistant Director was present.
"Crown Prince, what is the meaning of this..." the Assistant Director asked, his face paling as he hurried over.
"You have served the Grand Preceptor for a long time; do you know how to tell if someone has been possessed by a demon?" Pei Shangyan asked, getting straight to the point.
The Assistant Director caught on immediately. He swept a glance over Mu Yuanzhi and nodded. "In reply to Your Highness the Crown Prince, I naturally do."
At these words, Mu Yuanzhi caught a flicker of craftiness in the Assistant Director’s eyes.
This man was malicious!
He pointed to the nearby pool and said, "One need only submerge their head in the pool; any demon or evil spirit will be forced to reveal its true form."
*Exactly as I thought!* Mu Yuanzhi knew this man was no good—he was likely one of Pei Yunxi’s pawns!
"Crown Prince, I have only just recovered from a cold!" Mu Yuanzhi truly could not fathom how Pei Shangyan’s brain worked. How could she have ever thought he was brilliant?
Then again, if he were truly smart, he wouldn't be danced around by Pei Yunxi. This entire family, save for the great-grandmother, was brain-dead!
However, to Pei Shangyan, Mu Yuanzhi’s words were merely the defensive stalling of someone hiding a secret. Without a second thought, he seized her and shoved her into the pool!
A suffocating sensation washed over her. Mu Yuanzhi felt her brain deprived of oxygen, her lungs seemingly flooding with water. She was completely overwhelmed by a rising tide of terror.
*It hurts!*
*Someone, save me!*
Her hands, thrashing at the surface of the water, grew weak.
*Crown Prince...*
*Pei Shangyan...*
*No!*
*I cannot die like this!*
*After finally living a second life, I absolutely cannot die such a pathetic death!*
Gaining strength from somewhere unknown, Mu Yuanzhi actually broke free of Pei Shangyan’s grip!
"Sister Zhi!"
Pei Shangyan had been timing it, intending to pull her back up, but he hadn't expected the sudden force to break his hold. He watched, stunned, as Mu Yuanzhi sank!
Almost instinctively, Pei Shangyan jumped into the pool without a second thought. The splash soaked the Assistant Director, who only then realized the Crown Prince had jumped in!
His head wouldn't be enough to pay for this disaster!
"Someone, help! Save the Crown Prince!" The Assistant Director couldn't swim, and the pool was deep—very deep. He didn't dare jump in, and he was so panicked he felt like his head might explode.
Mu Yuanzhi, slowly sinking to the bottom of the pool, could no longer hear any sound. It was as if she were being swallowed by darkness, her consciousness fading.
*I am so unwilling,* she thought. *Is this really how I die?*
A blinding light pierced through her tightly squeezed eyelids. Everything before her was a warm, silvery white.
She reached out with all her might and grasped a hand, just as warm.
...
Mu Yuanzhi woke up, her eyes resting on a familiar yet strange ceiling.
This is... my bedchamber?
"Cough..." Mu Yuanzhi tried to speak, but the movement triggered a coughing fit.
The imperial physician, who had been checking her pulse, beamed the moment she stirred. "Her Royal Highness the Princess has awakened!"
"The Princess is awake!" Hongdou and Linglong looked at each other and wept.
Thank heavens!
Mu Yuanzhi was still gripped by lingering fear. Her fingers were trembling, and she had no heart to pay attention to the others in the room.
The physician was busy scribbling a prescription, and the two maids were bustling about, though she didn't know what they were doing.
Pei Shangyan, the instigator of it all, was nowhere to be seen, and Mu Yuanzhi didn't care whether he was there or not.
The person who saved her in the water was definitely not Pei Shangyan.
The light she saw must have been the reflection from a man's jade hairpin. Who was it? The Grand Preceptor? Or someone else at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau?
Outside the door, Pei Shangyan heard the news that Mu Yuanzhi had woken up, and the heavy weight in his heart finally lifted. He did not have the face to go in and see her; the Grand Preceptor had already come by earlier and confirmed she was not possessed.
This should have been a happy occasion, but he couldn't bring himself to rejoice. His feet felt like lead, and the weight of his guilt made it hard to breathe.
But why had Sister Zhi’s personality changed so drastically?
The matter of the hidden weapons—could she have truly been framed?
But their younger sister would not lie. Could there be some other misunderstanding?
Pei Shangyan thought that he had to go in and see her; he wouldn't be able to rest otherwise.
He pushed the door open and entered. The physician was just leaving, and Pei Shangyan signaled for the two maids to withdraw as well.
Mu Yuanzhi looked gaunt and miserable, her presence silent and desolate. Pei Shangyan froze, recalling the moment she had been on the brink of death, and his heart tightened. "Sister Zhi... it was my misunderstanding... you..."
"Leave. I want to rest." Mu Yuanzhi did not even look at Pei Shangyan. She cut him off impatiently, and the agitation caused another fit of coughing.
From now on, she would have to be even more on guard against him.
"Sister Zhi, is there somewhere else you are feeling unwell?" Pei Shangyan stepped forward in anxiety.
He was filled with regret. Sister Zhi had only just recovered from a cold; her body was at its weakest.
"I said I want to rest! Can you leave?!" Mu Yuanzhi suddenly raised her voice, her brow furrowed with unconcealed disgust.
Pei Shangyan stood stunned, his foot awkwardly hovering before he pulled it back.