Xiao Yu stood there blankly, repeating unanswerable questions to himself, until he felt a hand clap his shoulder. Thinking it was his mother appearing again, he turned with sudden joy, crying out, "Mom..." The person on the other side merely chuckled at the sound, leaving Xiao Yu mortified and flushed with embarrassment.

The one who clapped his shoulder was none other than Wenshu—the one who appeared only to vanish, and vanished only to reappear, eternally mysterious and stealthy.

"What are you doing here? Where did that bed and chest of drawers go just now? Why is it that the moment I leave and turn back to find you, you’ve disappeared?" Xiao Yu fired off a string of questions that made Wenshu’s eyes widen in alarm. She instantly worried she had done something wrong to displease this puppet Crown Prince. That would be a catastrophe; if the Crown Prince was unhappy, wouldn't that directly dictate the moods of the Crown Princess?

So, Wenshu feigned composure and deftly changed the subject. "Did you see Auntie?"

The tactic worked perfectly. Mentioning his mother seemed to have hit a nerve, instantly clearing Xiao Yu's mind of his own thoughts, allowing him to follow Wenshu's lead. However, he didn't stray for long before circling right back to the original topic.

"I did see her. She gave me this locket, and then she vanished abruptly. I’m very worried; I don't understand why this is happening. And you just disappeared from this room without a sound—I didn't even hear you walking out, or the creak of the bed or cabinet moving. Mom was the same, like a drop of water in the air, gone in an instant, and now that I see you again, I don't know if I'll ever see Mom again. Can you explain all of this to me?"

"Well..." Wenshu saw his earnestness, bit her lip, and adopted an expression of deep distress. "You haven't agreed to join us, so naturally, we cannot reveal our secrets to you. Otherwise, not only will I be punished, but Auntie will be implicated as well." As she spoke, she opened the locket. Inside lay a complete family portrait of Xiao Yu’s kin, identical to the photo retrieved by Zhang Yuqiu beside the Jeep. The difference was that the first one lacked Xiao Yu’s face; this one clearly showed his innocent, childlike smile.

With his mother’s safety used as a shield, Xiao Yu naturally couldn't press the matter further. Regardless of whether Wenshu spoke the truth or a lie, gambling with his mother's well-being was unthinkable. Xiao Yu immediately grasped Wenshu’s hand. "Alright, I won't ask anymore. Knowing you are both safe is enough. But Mom was very shocked when she saw I'd become a living dead. She said eternal life that defies heaven brings no happiness."

Hearing this, Wenshu gently turned her head away, walking one step while thinking one step, unsure how to address the profound sincerity in Xiao Yu’s question. She wasn't entirely clear on the details concerning Xiao Yu’s mother herself. She had expected Xiao Yu to return with an ordinary village girl, yet he brought back a locket containing a family photo. This development far exceeded her predictions, and the current problem was beyond her capacity to solve.

After a long pause, Wenshu suddenly turned back, clapped her hands together, and exclaimed cheerfully, "Why don't we go down to the well and ask those two elders? They surely know more than we do!"

Xiao Yu nodded, feeling that the only action left was to seek out those two initiators. Aside from them, Xiao Yu couldn't imagine who else might know about his mother. He prepared to take Wenshu back the way they came toward the White Marble Hall.

Just as the two were preparing to slide down the rope to the bottom of the well, a familiar voice suddenly shouted up from below, "Ming Xiao Yu, it’s Wang Jue! Find a way to pull me up, I heard your voice!"