Housekeeper Wu quickly made a report to Yun Lan after seeing Yun Ruoyan’s carriage leave.

Yun Lan had been cultivating on top of a large stone in his yard. He had specially taken a day’s leave in order to welcome the Slaughtering King’s arrival.

The Slaughtering King’s manor was in the northwestern corner of the capital, exactly opposite the location of the Yun manor. Traversing the crowded streets of the capital took about two hours each way.

Yun Moxiao had volunteered to accompany Yun Ruoyan to the Slaughtering King’s manor, but she rejected him—Li Mo didn’t seem like someone particularly enthused about guests.

Having nothing to do, Yun Moxiao went out shopping early in the morning. Yun Ruoyan’s carriage coincidentally passed by his side, and Yun Moxiao recognized it immediately. As a result, he immediately began following the carriage in hot pursuit.

“Mistress, Mistress!”

On the carriage, Qiuqiu suddenly chirped at Yun Ruoyan while she rested.

“What’s the matter, Qiuqiu?”

“You can take this opportunity to have the Slaughtering King bring you around and shop for poisonous ingredients. I’m sure he’ll know where to look!”

“That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that?” Yun Ruoyan exclaimed. “And if Li Mo won’t do it, then I can just ask Li Qianhan.”

How had she forgotten about those two?

There wasn’t much foot traffic so early in the morning, and they reached the Slaughtering King’s manor easily within two hours. Yun Ruoyan got off the carriage and headed to the entrance, where she was quickly intercepted by guards.

Yun Ruoyan frowned. The day Li Qianhan had escorted her from the manor, she clearly remembered that the guards guarding the entrance were clad in black, so why were they wearing steel armor today instead?

“I’d like to see the Slaughtering King,” Yun Ruoyan proclaimed. “Please let him know.”

The two guards glanced at each other. The slightly fatter one responded, “You’re here too early. The Slaughtering King had too much to drink last night with the Third Prince, and he’s still not up yet. Why don’t you return in a few hours?”

If Li Qianhan was also here, then she didn’t have to expend any effort to find him.

“Do you know when he’ll be able to receive guests?”

“It really depends on the situation. Sometimes he’s drunk for a day or two, but he might recover within a few hours on other occasions.” This time, it was the skinnier guard who replied.

Yun Ruoyan blinked a few times and retreated to a tree near the entrance as she waited.

Not long later, a woman emerged from the entrance in a green dress. Yun Ruoyan recognized her immediately and quickly stepped forward to hail her.

“Sister Li Luo!”

When Li Luo heard someone call out to her, she turned around to see Yun Ruoyan standing before her. She wore a light pink dress and a phoenix-orchid gauze patch. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun, revealing her beautiful, refined features.

Her appearance was almost incomparable to when she’d last entered the manor, unconscious and with her face half-swollen.

“Miss Yun…?” Li Luo hesitated for a moment before replying. “Are you here to seek the Slaughtering King?”

Yun Ruoyan nodded with a smile.

“Follow me.”

The day Yun Ruoyan arrived at his manor, she was too overwhelmed to appreciate its architecture. As a result, she ooh’ed and aah’ed as Li Luo led her to the Slaughtering King’s quarters.

The manor really wasn’t too different from a regular manor in the capital. The only thing that she noticed was that it was quiet, too quiet by far.

The Yun manor was large and filled with servants, so she could almost always hear their hushed discussions wherever she went. In the Slaughtering King’s manor, however, all she could hear were the cawing and chirping of birds.

“This manor’s so quiet!”

“The Slaughtering King enjoys silence, you see. There are only about ten of us servants scattered all throughout the estate, and it’s rare to even spot someone else while walking.”

Yun Lan didn’t live with his three brothers, and two of his concubines were elsewhere in the capital. There really weren’t too many Yuns in the manor, and yet they had at least a hundred servants combined.

Li Mo really seemed quite ascetic in comparison.

Li Luo brought Yun Ruoyan to a little guest hall and bade her stay while she summoned Li Mo. After Li Luo left, Yun Ruoyan strolled around the guest hall and peeked outside to have a view of the scenery. There was a pond not too far away over which lotus leaves were scattered. Now that it was the end of summer, the lotus flowers had wilted, leaving only their seed pods behind.

“They’re pretty tasty. Do you want to try some?” A low, familiar male voice suddenly emerged by Yun Ruoyan’s ears, giving her a big fright.

“My goodness, how are you so silent?!” Yun Ruoyan turned around, clutching her heart.

She was always quite mindful of her surroundings. Even when she was lost in thought, she would respond to even the smallest interruption. Because it was so rare that Yun Ruoyan was ever frightened by a commotion, she was affected quite strongly by his sudden appearance.

Li Mo’s heart suddenly thumped upon seeing Yun Ruoyan’s face turn white, and he reached out to caress her face.

Yun Ruoyan subconsciously ducked away, leaving Li Mo’s outstretched hand touching nothing but air.

Li Mo raised an eyebrow and extended his other hand as well. With both hands, he clamped down on Yun Ruoyan’s shoulders and dragged her to his front as he continued gazing at her.

“Slaughtering King, it’s good to see you again.” Yun Ruoyan stuck out her hands against Li Mo’s chest, preventing him from dragging her closer.

Li Mo’s lips curled up. “Yan’er, why have you grown so distant?”

Yun Ruoyan glanced up at him, at his inky hair and black robes, at the dashing features hidden behind his hair. She couldn’t help but doubt herself. Was the silvery man she’d seen that night in the forest of dead souls just a figment of her imagination?

“You brat, how can you be lost in your thoughts while staring at me!”

Li Mo rapped on her head before she could doubt herself any further.

“Ouch! What’re you doing?”

“Clearing your head, of course.” Li Mo glanced askance at her. “You didn’t come searching for me this early in the morning just to stare at me, did you?”

“No, of course not.”

Li Mo waited for her to continue, but she didn’t know how to broach the topic.

Rather than rush her, Li Mo simply tugged on her hand as he dragged her into the guest hall. As soon as he sat down, a maid came over to serve them breakfast.

“I’ve already eaten…”

“This is the lotus seed soup made from the lotus flowers you saw in the pond. Have a taste.” Li Mo pushed the jade tureen closer to her.

Yun Ruoyan had had a few snacks from the manor the last time she visited. She was famished at the time, but she clearly remembered how tasty the pastries were.

She scooped up a little soup and found it to be sweet and refreshing, and couldn’t help but take a few more spoonfuls.

“Do you want more?” Li Mo smiled. Only then did Yun Ruoyan realize that he was staring at her with a bright smile, making her feel particularly uncomfortable.

Yun Ruoyan felt as though Li Mo had subtly changed. Under usual circumstances, he would pounce on her the moment he saw her, hugging and kissing her, but he seemed to be far more courteous today.

“Where’s Sister Li Luo?” Yun Ruoyan decided to go with small talk before bringing up her request.

“She’s out shopping for groceries.”

“How about the Third Prince?”

“Still drunk. He’ll probably only wake up tomorrow morning.” Li Mo smiled wolfishly as he replied.

“Tomorrow morning?” Yun Ruoyan appeared slightly disappointed. “I was hoping he could do me a favor.”

Li Mo immediately stood up and walked to her side. “Yan’er, is there anything I can help you with?”

Li Mo was really behaving quite strangely today, but she found that she quite liked how helpful he was.

“I do have a request for you, Slaughtering King,” Yun Ruoyan finally began.

“Oh?”

Yun Ruoyan turned to face him. “I’d like for you to inform my father that our betrothal from the flower-viewing party is still valid. Of course, these are just empty words; I simply need my father to believe that I’m betrothed so that I won’t be blindly married off to someone else.”

“Yan’er,” Li Mo stared at her seriously. “That betrothal has always been valid. Have I ever mentioned otherwise?”

“What?!” Yun Ruoyan widened her eyes in shock. “But no one else has taken it seriously!”

“So? I’m not everyone else. If I say it’s valid, it’s valid; if I say it’s not, then it’s not.”

Yun Ruoyan didn’t know what to say in response. Li Mo wasn’t wrong: no matter what others thought, he was the one who had the final say.

“Then, is it valid or invalid?” Yun Ruoyan felt a sense of weakness pervade her, as often it did when she came into contact with him.

“Yan’er, which would you prefer?”

My goodness, what was wrong with the Slaughtering King today? He was actually asking for her opinion!

“Temporarily valid, and invalid in the future.”

“Sure,” Li Mo replied quickly, before his eyes flashed. “In that case, I have a request for you too.”

“Ah?” Li Mo agreed so smoothly that Yun Ruoyan was caught off-guard. “What request?”

Li Mo mumbled something indiscernible.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Yun Ruoyan leaned in, not hearing his words clearly.

“I said…” Li Mo slowly leaned in to Yun Ruoyan’s side before quickly pushing her head towards his.

Their soft lips coupled and pressed together.

Yun Ruoyan widened her eyes in shock, unable to resist.

In the Yun manor, Yun Lan gave up the seat of honor in the great hall to Li Mo. Proper etiquette dictated that Yun Ruoyan should stand behind Yun Lan, but Li Mo refused to let go of her hand.

Yun Ruoyan sighed. Li Mo was still his usual, mentally diseased self. A fool she was, to think him changed! She couldn’t help but be relieved that she’d told Yun Lan not to make a big deal of welcoming him on account of Li Mo’s dislike of crowds. Otherwise, she really would be embarrassed to have everyone see her holding hands with the Slaughtering King so brazenly.

“Official Yun, I apologize for not following up sooner with regards to my betrothal with Ruoyan,” Li Mo began.

“Your schedule must be packed, Slaughtering King, and I perfectly understand.”

“I wouldn’t mind marrying Ruoyan at any moment, but she’s still underage at the moment. I must insist that you take care of her for another year, Official Yun.”

“Of course, of course.”

“In that case, I’ll take my leave now.”

Yun Lan hurriedly stood up. “Slaughtering King, please stay for a meal, at least!”

“No, that’s quite alright. I’ll be taking Ruoyan out on a stroll, Official Yun.” Li Mo pulled her out of the great hall before either of them could react.

“Where are you bringing me?”

“Didn’t you want to go buy poisonous ingredients?”

“How did you know?” Yun Ruoyan was startled: this wasn’t something she’d had a chance to tell Li Mo yet, so how would he have found out?

Li Mo smiled as he glanced at her. “Because I can read your mind.”