The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 241: The Great Misfortune

Chapter 241: The Great Misfortune

"Yes," Nanli said. "You’re lucky. Someone else bore the death curse on the skulls, otherwise you’d have to draw lots to decide who would sacrifice themselves."

Fan Yunxi couldn’t help but turn to Xie Beihan, her eyes filled with gratitude and pity. As she looked at him, she recalled their kiss, feeling her lips tingle and her face and neck flush red. Thankfully, it was the middle of the night, and the dim candlelight in the hall prevented others from seeing clearly.

Fan Shizhong, feeling deeply apologetic, stepped forward and bowed to Xie Beihan. "It was the Fan family that implicated you, Noble Prince Xie. Rest assured, the Fan family will do everything in its power to find a way to lift the death curse on you."

The ’great misfortune’ Xie Beihan, however, seemed unconcerned, waving his hand dismissively. "Don’t worry about me. Just take care of your own matters."

He then looked at Nanli with hopeful and pleading eyes.

"Don’t worry, your death curse is temporarily suppressed. You won’t die for now," Nanli reassured him. "Now, I’ll break this headless corpse formation."

"Thank you, Ninth Princess," Fan Shizhong said hurriedly. The Ninth Princess had been busy in the Fan family residence from day to night, and he was deeply grateful.

Nanli, having no time to waste, began the process of breaking the formation. First, the skulls needed to be placed back on the corpses. Then, using talismans, the resentment and evil energy surrounding the corpses had to be gradually gathered and dispelled.

This process would take three days. To ensure nothing went wrong, Nanli decided to stay at the Fan residence. Xie Beihan, naturally, stayed as well, hoping to learn more skills and thus avoid having to return home and inherit his title.

With the skulls returned to their bodies, the talismans suppressing their souls could be removed. Once the talismans were taken off, the previously preserved corpses began to wither rapidly. As the corpses regained their integrity, the resentment dissipated and the evil energy quickly weakened. The formation of talismans to dispel evil would finally break the headless corpse formation.

Nanli then collected the spirits into a spirit pouch, intending to take them back for Master Yuanfan to perform rites for their salvation. Xie Beihan felt he had learned a lot visually, but his hands had yet to master the skills. He didn’t have the heart to ask Nanli to draw the talismans again, knowing they consumed her energy. Yet, even if he watched three more times, he doubted he could learn it properly.

Feeling a bit down, he soon accepted that he was indeed not very talented.

Nanli, unaware of his inner struggles, saw him standing nearby and asked him to help paste talismans around the Fan residence to slowly clear the remaining evil energy. The evil energy lingering on the people would no longer cling tightly and could be dispelled with the talismans.

The Fan family, without needing Nanli to say it, noticed their improved health and spirits. The most notable change was in Fan Yunxi. Previously, she couldn’t leave the house without tripping or being hit by bird droppings. In the past two days, she hadn’t tripped and bird droppings hadn’t touched her. Most importantly, her maids, who interacted with her, no longer shared her misfortunes.

This was incredibly exciting for Fan Yunxi. Grateful beyond words, she personally made several kinds of pastries to thank Nanli before she left.

As it happened, Xie Beihan was also present. Seeing him, Fan Yunxi immediately wanted to turn away. In her haste, she tripped over her skirt and nearly fell. Luckily, her experienced maid caught her just in time. "Miss, are you alright? Could it be that the bad luck is still with you?"

Fan Yunxi, fearful, stammered, "It can’t be..."

Her voice drew Nanli’s attention.

Nanli came out and said, "So it’s you, Fourth Lady Fan. Your luck has improved quite a bit."

Previously, Fan Yunxi had been surrounded by misfortune, her forehead clouded with darkness. Now, her complexion was bright and rosy. While she still had some residual bad luck, it wouldn’t cause her as much trouble or affect others as before.

Fan Yunxi, unable to do anything else, awkwardly turned and bowed. "This is all thanks to the Ninth Princess."

Xie Beihan, always one for excitement, also came out to see what was happening, but he regretted it the moment he stepped out. Due to the earlier incident, he had been avoiding Fan Yunxi within the Fan residence. Normally, he wouldn’t come to the courtyard where his sixth sister stayed, but today, here they were, face to face.

However, being a man, he felt he needed to show some dignity. He said directly, "Fourth Miss, that day I slipped accidentally. It was absolutely unintentional. Now that you’re here, I can’t just hide like a turtle. Rest assured, once I return to the capital, I’ll have my father arrange a marriage proposal."

The sudden change in topic made Nanli stumble and turn to Xie Beihan with an expression of disbelief.

Fan Yunxi had initially felt only embarrassment, but hearing Xie Beihan’s words made her angry. Her face turned bright red.

"You yourself said it was unintentional. Do you think I’d chase you here to force you to marry me? It was just a kiss, and it can be washed clean with water. I don’t care that much," Fan Yunxi said, her eyes reddening, but she still politely bowed to Nanli. "I came to bring some pastries to thank the Ninth Princess. Please accept them. I’ll be leaving now."

With that, she pushed her maid forward. The maid quickly handed over the food box, glaring at Xie Beihan as she turned away. Her mistress had once been shrouded in bad luck, and no one dared to propose to her, but things were different now. Did he think her mistress would be desperate to marry into a noble family in the capital?

Fan Yunxi and her maid hurriedly left.

Nanli opened the food box and found the pastries exquisitely made, clearly prepared with care. This made her even more upset. "Noble Prince Xie, if you don’t know what to say, it’s better not to speak at all."

Xie Beihan wasn’t a fool and could see Fan Yunxi’s anger. He said, "I was trying to take responsibility. Why did she get angry? You don’t know, but making that promise today will definitely get me scolded by my father and aunt."

He felt he was being quite the gentleman.

Nanli went inside, washed her hands, and then began to savor the pastries. She said helplessly, "The way you spoke, it doesn’t matter whether you take responsibility or not. But since the Fourth Miss said what she did, don’t dwell on it anymore. We’ll stay here a couple more days and then leave."

Since there was no trouble in Ruyang City, it seemed He Wen hadn’t come this way. Staying longer would be pointless.

After finishing a chestnut cake, she moved on to an osmanthus cake, her cheeks puffed out adorably.

Xie Beihan felt a bit frustrated. "Her words were too much. She basically called me dirty."

"You’re just realizing that?" Nanli raised an eyebrow. "With all the concubines you’ve had, you were never clean."

"..." Xie Beihan thought of the Ninth Prince’s spotless household and had no retort. Still, he didn’t think he was that bad and muttered, "I’ve reformed. I have many good qualities too."