Pei Rumo knew that even if he didn’t want to release Ying Lan, with his strength, Ying Lan would be able to force his way out of the First Prince’s residence. Instead of falling out here, he might as well release him. It would be a way to improve Ying Lan’s impression of him.

“I still have important matters to attend to and shall not see you out. Ming Lu, help me to see the guest out.” Pei Rumo instructed his personal attendant to send Ying Lan out.

Just as Ming Lu was about to move over, he was obstructed by Ying Lan. “It is fine, I remember the way and I can return on my own. Your First Highness should be extremely busy and your attendant cannot leave your side. Brother Ming Lu, please stay.” Ying Lan didn’t wait for Ming Lu to ask for Pei Rumo’s approval and had already walked off by himself.

Ming Lu turned to look at Pei Rumo while waiting for his master’s instruction, only to see Pei Rumo shaking his head. Pei Rumo shouted to Ying Lan who had already walked a distance, “It is late at night, Palace Master Ying Lan should be a little more cautious.”

His statement seemed to drift off into the wind as Ying Lan had already executed his movement skill and traveled quite a distance.

When he saw that Ying Lan was far away, Ming Lu muttered softly, “He doesn’t know how to appreciate kindness. There are plenty of people wanting to obtain Your Highness’ favor. What is wrong with him? Such a waste of my efforts over the past two days.”

Ming Lu originally wanted to wait for his master’s instruction, but after waiting for a long time, he didn’t receive any instructions. He immediately turned around and took a glance, only to realize that his master was still staring blankly at the direction where Ying Lan had left.

“Master, Master, what is wrong? The weather is cold! Hurry up and enter the room!” Ming Lu realized that Pei Rumo wasn’t paying attention to him and he waved his hand in front of his master’s face in order to gain his attention. Snapping back to his senses, Pei Rumo returned to his room.

After taking two steps, he suddenly turned back and said to Ming Lu, “Bring the wine to my study room. I shall not waste such precious liquor.”

Ming Lu immediately ran back to the reception pavilion’s table and retrieved the plum blossom brew that was still warm. He turned around and ran back to follow behind Pei Rumo.

After entering the study room, Ming Lu placed the plum blossom brew down and noticed there were still plenty of imperial notices that had yet to be responded to. He immediately felt sorry for his master and complained softly, “It is all Ying Lan’s fault. Even after putting in so much effort, he rejected Master’s good grace. Master still has to stay up late in order to complete today’s work.”

Pei Rumo found it rather funny to see his attendant feeling heartbroken for himself. He couldn’t help but chuckle, “Ha... No wonder everyone is saying that you are immature. The guest has just left but you are already complaining. From what I see, you are not feeling heartbroken for me. You are feeling sad for all the hard work you put in.”

Ming Lu immediately retorted when he heard Pei Rumo’s laughter, “I am not! I merely feel sorry for Master. I am not as old and decrepit like Big Sister Zi Su. Of course there are people calling me immature.”

“You better be careful. If that lass Zi Su hears you saying that, she will peel off a layer of your skin.” Pei Rumo carried on making fun of Ming Lu.

“This servant knows. Master, do you think Ying Lan will give you a satisfactory reply?” Ming Lu asked with curiosity.

Ming Lu had been serving Pei Rumo since he was young and Pei Rumo treated him more like a younger brother than a servant. Hence, he was very easy-going with Ming Lu and would talk to him about most things.

“Probably not.” Pei Rumo’s tone sounded a little helpless but his hand didn’t stop as he continued replying to the imperial notices.

“Ah? Didn’t he say that he will discuss with the members of the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence? Why will they not agree?” Ming Lu opened his eyes wide and didn’t believe that anyone would reject his master.

Pei Rumo glanced at Ming Lu before explaining, “You are still too young and don’t know how things are done. He was only saying that in order to leave the residence.”

“Then why did Master let him go? Wouldn’t all our efforts go down the drain?” Ming Lu pouted and looked very unwilling.

Pei Rumo was originally feeling disappointed but after looking at Ming Lu’s response, all his disappointment disappeared. “Look at you, you even dare to make faces in front of your Master? Earlier on, I tried to use my power to pressure him, but he didn’t react at all. It seems like his strength isn’t inferior to mine. Now that the secret guard commander is sent out to look after Luo Chu, the rest of the guards will not be able to stop him. Even if I don’t want to let him leave, can we keep him here with our abilities? Instead of incurring his ire, why not release him magnanimously and give him a good impression of us?”

“I have already told Master that this person is very unusual and Master didn’t believe me. Look at the situation now. Does Master believe me now?” Ming Lu immediately turned the blame to Pei Rumo.

“I have to say… you are getting more and more disrespectful. Is my First Prince’s residence not good enough for you?”

“However, you are right, this person is indeed very unusual. When he first saw me, he had a very respectful attitude and felt like a lackey, making me feel that the Master of the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence is a person without a backbone. It made me reconsider if I wanted to recruit them. The more I spoke with him, the more I felt something was wrong. This can be considered your second meeting with him. Why don’t you tell me the reason behind his rejection?” Pei Rumo might be teaching the young attendant a lesson for not knowing the immensity of their master and servant relationship, but he didn’t blame Ming Lu. Instead, he wanted to hear Ming Lu’s opinion on the matter.

“This person... He seems to be rather apprehensive. It feels like there is some sort of unspeakable secret behind the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence currently restraining him. Of course, there is a chance he is actually that loyal to his brothers.” Ming Lu stated his thoughts.

Pei Rumo smiled in response and put down an imperial notice in his hand before looking into the distance. After a short while, he opened his mouth and said, “That is true. I think that he is rather apprehensive as well. Be it the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence or Ying Lan, they are definitely not simple. We shouldn’t be in such a hurry to rope in the Palace of Brilliance Resurgence. Let us continue to observe them.”