Chapter 962 Suspicious ghost
The next morning, in the inner courtyard of Prince Xian’s mansion.

In the room, Ling Xiaoxiao, who had just gotten up, sat in front of the dressing table. A maid stood behind her respectfully, carefully dressing her.

Ling Xiaoxiao carefully looked at herself in the bronze mirror, finding herself increasingly haggard. She stroked the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes with her fingers. Although her face showed neither joy nor sadness, she could not hide the sadness and loss deep in her heart.

It is a woman's nature to love beauty. Even though Ling Xiaoxiao's youth is gone, she still cares a lot about her appearance.

In the short one year that Luo Tianjin was away, she seemed to have aged by more than ten years.

"Madam, here... there is another silver thread emerging."

Suddenly, the maid who was combing her hair changed her expression. She quickly stopped what she was doing and looked at Ling Xiaoxiao in the bronze mirror with panicked eyes, as if waiting for her answer.

"What else?"

Before Ling Xiaoxiao could speak, Yan Bugui, who was standing beside her, frowned and scolded, "Pull it out quickly, be careful."

At that time, Yan Bugui was disfigured by a sword from the guardian of Longxiang Mountain, "Wuming", so that half of his face looked hideous and horrible, looking like neither a human nor a ghost.

Now, Yan Bugui covers half of his face with a black veil, which is both a way of avoiding others and a way of protecting himself.

"Yes……"

"Forget it!" Ling Xiaoxiao looked helpless and let out a long sigh. "If I pull out one today, ten will grow back tomorrow. I'm old, so why should I fool myself?"

"lady……"

"Keep it!" Ling Xiaoxiao waved her hand to interrupt Yan Bugui's consolation and said nonchalantly, "You don't have to pull it out again in the future. Just let nature take its course."

"Yes, sir." The maid breathed a sigh of relief, and her movements became more cautious.

"Madam is not old, but she is too worried and overworked." Yan Bugui looked at the pitiful Ling Xiaoxiao with worried eyes, and said sadly, "Inside and outside the Xianwang Mansion, there is nothing that makes Madam worry. She works hard day and night and has to do everything herself. How can Madam's body bear it in the long run?"

"Don't I still have you?" Ling Xiaoxiao forced a smile, "I feel more at ease when you can help me share my worries."

"I am not very talented and well-educated, and I am afraid that I will fail Madam's trust." Yan Bugui said modestly, "I just hope that the young master can recover soon and the young lady can cheer up soon, so that they can shoulder the heavy burden of the Xianwang Mansion for Madam."

When talking about Luo Hongxuan and Luo Ningyu, Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes became increasingly dim.

She seemed to be upset about her two children. She felt heartbroken when she thought about them, so she hurriedly changed the subject: "I heard that Xie Xuan went out last night?"

"Yes." Yan Bugui answered truthfully, "Not only did he go out, but... he didn't come back all night, and only came back drunk at dawn."

Hearing this, a fascinating light flashed in Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes, and her tone was no longer as gentle as before, but became deep and solemn: "Where did he go?"

"It was reported that Xie Xuan went to... Mingling Yayuan last night." Yan Bugui was somewhat embarrassed to talk about Xie Xuan's whereabouts.

"Mingling Yayuan?" Ling Xiaoxiao was shocked. "The lord of the Xianwang Mansion actually went to a brothel?"

"I didn't believe it at first, but after checking from many sources, I found out that Xie Xuan was indeed at Mingling Yayuan last night." Yan Bugui said awkwardly, "And... this is not the first time he has had a secret meeting with a prostitute. I always thought he was a gentleman, but I didn't expect that you can only judge a person by his appearance. Xie Xuan appears to be honest, but he is so unruly behind the scenes."

"This is ridiculous! When did Xie Xuan develop this problem?" Ling Xiaoxiao was more and more surprised and angry as she listened. "When Brother Jin was around, he did everything in a proper manner and never had any bad habits. How come..."

"Perhaps... when the Palace Master was here, he was still cautious and didn't dare to act recklessly. Now that the Palace Master is gone, Xie Xuan is no longer restrained..."

"This Xie Xuan was fashionable and self-disciplined when he was young, but he becomes more shameless as he gets older!"

"Xie Xuan has fallen into depravity. Madam, there is no need to be angry for him."

"I don't care if he degenerates, but I'm afraid he will bring trouble to the reputation of the Xianwang Mansion." Ling Xiaoxiao said angrily, "When Brother Jin was here, from the Seven Heroes to the Eight Sects disciples, who dared to linger in the brothels? Send someone to Mingling Yayuan to ask which vixen seduced him. If...if there is really a lover, redeem her, and then buy a yard in the suburbs to settle down temporarily, so that Xie Xuan doesn't go to the brothels every day and embarrass himself."

"I really don't understand. Madam has been so kind and loyal to Xie Xuan, why is he so stubborn and unwilling to be on the same page with Madam?" "I am not being so kind and loyal to Xie Xuan, I am just trying to protect the reputation of the Xianwang Mansion for Xuan'er. If this matter is made public, I am afraid that before Xuan'er wakes up, the reputation of the Xianwang Mansion will be ruined."

"Madam, please understand!"

"Oh right! The guy who came from outside the Great Wall a few years ago was called Lei... Lei or something, and he seemed to be very close to Xie Xuan."

"Lei Zhen!" Yan Bugui sneered, "This man is a thoroughly greedy and lustful person. According to reports, since he came to Luoyang, he has been eating, drinking and having fun almost every day, hugging women every night, and has never done anything serious. I even suspect... Xie Xuan's addiction to alcohol and sex was infected by Lei Zhen."

"What exactly is his purpose in coming to Luoyang City?"

"It is said that he is tired of living outside the Great Wall and wants to come to the Central Plains to see the world." Yan Bugui looked confused and shook his head slowly.

"There are 'Four Houses of Shangjing' outside the Great Wall, and the Lei family is one of them." Ling Xiaoxiao pondered, "Dad told me that the 'Four Houses of Shangjing' entered the Great Wall one after another years ago and went to different places. Lei Zhen is arm in arm with Xie Xuan in Luoyang City, and Yuan Xiao is currently fawning on dad in Wudang Mountain. The other two families... one is in the Teng clan in Xiangxi, and the other is in the Qin clan in Hexi. Dad believes that this is no coincidence, and there must be a little-known conspiracy hidden in it. Therefore, he told us to be vigilant against Lei Zhen and never take it lightly."

"Alliance Leader Qingfeng is right about what you are worried about. I will immediately send more people to keep an eye on Lei Zhen." Yan Bugui bowed and accepted the order.

"If they are enemies, then it is understandable that they joined the Teng Clan in western Hunan and the Qin Clan in Hexi, but joining Wudang and us is a bit...unreasonable. But if they are friends, why did Lei Zhen act crazy and talk nonsense when he saw me? You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth?" Ling Xiaoxiao hesitated and muttered to herself, "Or...it's really as Lei Zhen said, the 'Four Prefectures in Shangjing' are fighting openly and secretly, and the four families are not harmonious. So they parted ways and each went to the pass to find another place to settle down?"

"In my opinion, no matter what the reason, Madam, you don't have to be too nervous." Yan Bugui smiled nonchalantly, "Even if the four prefectures in Shangjing work together, they are just a group of high-minded and low-skilled rabble. Their strength and foundation cannot be compared with the Central Plains sects. Therefore, no matter what Lei Zhen intends to do, Madam, you don't have to take it to heart."

"No threats are best." Ling Xiaoxiao agreed with Yan Bugui's analysis, so she nodded slowly. "Right now, I don't have the heart to care about these idle people, you can deal with them yourselves. If Lei Zhen follows the rules and just spends his time in Luoyang City, instead of doing anything weird, you don't have to pay attention to him. This man has a huge fortune, and it's a good thing to boost Luoyang City's business. It will save those merchants from complaining to us every day and looking for an opportunity to delay payment. But if you find that Lei Zhen has ill intentions, you don't have to consider his friendship with Xie Xuan, just do what you have to do. If Xie Xuan tries to stop you, just say... it was my idea."

"Madam, don't worry. I know what to do!" Seeing Ling Xiaoxiao was uneasy, Yan Bugui couldn't help but sigh secretly and said angrily, "Ever since the heroes returned from Changbai Mountain in defeat, Liu Xunyi seemed to have disappeared from the world. There has been no news for several months..."

"The person who suffered the most from this incident is none other than Dad." When it comes to Liu Xunyi, Ling Xiaoxiao couldn't help but sigh. "We have been led around by Liu Xunyi time and again, causing dissatisfaction among all the sects and schools. Some shameless people took the opportunity to ask Dad for 'hard work money', with no respect for the leader of the martial arts world, and some even mocked and criticized Dad behind his back. In addition, the court kept putting pressure on Dad from behind, making it difficult for Dad to back down and suffering. Furthermore, Dad intended to take the opportunity to test Xie Xuan's loyalty, but he didn't expect that after Xie Xuan learned that Liu Xunyi was trapped, he turned a deaf ear and did nothing. The bad luck and bad things are all because of Liu Xunyi. As long as this kid is not eliminated, Dad and I will never have peace."

Yan Bugui quickly calculated in his mind and boldly speculated: "Is it possible... Xie Xuan is not a traitor? Have we misunderstood him all along?"

"If he is not a traitor, who informed the young prince of Qin and let Xunzhen rescue Liu Xunyi at the critical moment? If he is not a traitor, why did he make excuses and prevaricate about the hunting down of Liu Xunyi?" Ling Xiaoxiao was entangled, "But if he is a traitor... why did he turn a blind eye to the danger of Liu Xunyi? It may be luck that he escaped our temptation once or twice, but he was flawless every time, which is a bit unbelievable."

"Madam, you are right..."

"Bugui, I'm in a state of confusion now. You're the only person I can trust." Ling Xiaoxiao reached out to touch herself in the bronze mirror, her tone suddenly becoming sinister and cold, "As for Xie Xuan's loyalty and treachery... unless he hands Liu Xunyi over to me personally, I will never believe him. Dad means that if we can't catch Liu Xunyi again, we can only put the blame on Xie Xuan. Expose him for colluding with the traitor and leaking the news, so as to shut up the world's gossips and keep Dad away from the target of public criticism, so that we can get a temporary respite."

"Madam, are you saying... that if necessary, Xie Xuanning should be spared?"

"Yes……"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Just as Ling Xiaoxiao and Yan Bugui were having a heart-to-heart talk, a low knock on the door suddenly interrupted their conversation.

"who is it?"

"Madam, I'm Xie Xuan." Xie Xuan's tired and hoarse voice sounded outside the door, "I have...something important to ask you to see me."

Hearing this, Ling Xiaoxiao and Yan Bugui were both stunned. They looked at each other, with a hint of suspicion between their brows.

"Xie Xuan never comes to visit you unless there is something important. Why did you come here uninvited today?"

Faced with Ling Xiaoxiao's doubts, Yan Bugui was also completely confused.

After pondering for a long time, Ling Xiaoxiao, who was puzzled, simply put aside all distracting thoughts and asked directly, "What's the matter?"

"Xie has found out Liu Xunyi's whereabouts. I would like to ask... Madam to make the decision."

……

(End of this chapter)