“Be... because...” Ying Lan felt a little embarrassed to speak and he could see that Bai Luochu was feeling a little frustrated. He stammered as he spoke, “Yesterday night, when Pei Rumo tried to entice me, I instantly rejected him. However, he was unwilling to let me go and I had to say that I would consider the matter of cooperation. According to Guan Yue’s analysis, he already knows that I will not give him a reply, therefore, he will definitely move against you.”

Bai Luochu was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had been framed by her subordinates. She instantly felt helpless and she thought about how a simple desire to be left alone for several days couldn’t be achieved.

Bai Luochu rubbed her temples and spoke to Ying Lan, "Ying Lan... I didn’t notice this in the past but other than being proficient in other areas, you are brilliant when it comes to throwing your mistress under the bus. I only started to enjoy my peaceful days but look at what happened. With Pei Rumo’s personality, I would be in for busy days.”

Ying Lan turned into a pouting child as he replied, "I'm sorry, it slipped my mind! Mistress, please punish me!" Ying Lan knelt on the ground with a ‘plop’.

"Enough. You may stand up, I do not have the intention to blame you. However, this is indeed a little troublesome. I understand Pei Rumo rather well and if we are really going to mess with each other, the winner is still undecided.”

Bai Luochu was speaking the truth. She had already exchanged moves with Pei Rumo back at the First Prince’s residence and she had yet to taste defeat. The worst-case scenario was a mutual step back without anyone taking the advantage. Bai Luochu was merely feeling sorry that she didn’t have time to cultivate.

“Mistress, this subordinate shall make a move. If something really crops up, I hope mistress will not shoulder it by yourself. Please head over to the Remote Paddy Inn to discuss things over with this subordinate.” When Ying Lan saw that Bai Luochu wasn’t angry at him, he immediately felt relieved. He was still worried that his mistress might be at a disadvantage when facing Pei Rumo and he gave her a kind reminder.

Ying Lan saw Cai Ling standing at the entrance of the room, ill at ease. He instructed, “Don’t forget, you are to protect Mistress no matter the cost. If you notice anything strange, report back to me. Otherwise, I shall hold you responsible.

Cai Ling didn’t understand Ying Lan’s instructions but she still acknowledged the order.

Cai Ling entered the room after Ying Lan had walked far away. She closed the doors tightly and quickly asked Bai Luochu, “Mistress, what did Commander Ying say to you? He even specially instructed me to protect you. Did something happen?” Cai Ling was rather afraid after learning that Bai Luochu had the guts to steal the Phoenix King Valley Elder’s spirit ring. She didn’t want her mistress to hide anything from her in the future. She was a servant girl and her heart wasn’t as strong as these masters and mistresses.

“Nothing much. The First Prince might come these few days and I won’t be able to cultivate peacefully.” Bai Luochu spoke indifferently as though it was nothing abnormal.

When Cai Ling saw how indifferently Bai Luochu was, she felt something tingling in her heart . However, she didn’t dare to believe it. She was afraid that her mistress would cause some trouble behind Commander Ying’s back.

“Is this true? Mistress won’t lie to me, right?” Cai Ling stared intently into Bai Luochu’s eyes, trying to find some abnormality.

“Hiss… All of you subordinates are getting more and more disrespectful. All of you even dare to doubt the authenticity of my words.” Bai Luochu felt rather helpless when she saw Cai Ling’s doubtful expression.

Cai Ling pouted her lips and muttered softly, “Isn’t it all because Mistress stole the spirit ring behind this servant’s back…”

Bai Luochu was struck speechless. It was reasonable to say that this servant girl had been doing everything she could to serve Bai Luochu. She didn’t utter a word of complaint no matter how hard she worked. It was true that Bai Luochu should not conceal anything from Cai Ling and a feeling of guilt appeared on her heart. “Don’t worry, nothing is going on this time. I shall continue to cultivate. I believe I will be busy from tomorrow onwards.” bai Luochu patted Cai Ling’s shoulder and reassured her.

Cai Ling saw that her mistress was confident and knew that there was no way to persuade her otherwise. She quickly withdrew from the room and guarded the door.

...

In the First Prince’s residence, Pei Rumo had already returned from the morning imperial assembly and he was preparing the invitation to Bai Luochu.

“Master, why did you prepare so many invitation cards? How many individuals are you planning to invite to our residence this time?” Ming Lu saw that the invitation cards beside Pei Rumo were already stacking up high like the imperial notices and he voiced his concern.

“I am not going to invite multiple guests. I am merely inviting the same guest at different timings and locations.” Pei Rumo smiled at his attendant before turning his attention back to his cards.

That attendant took a glance at the content of the invitation card and actually saw the words, ‘Luo Chu’. “Master, are you sure that all these invitation cards are for Young Lady Luo Chu?”

“Who else am I going to give them to? We have already used our warm faces to stick on Ying Lan’s cold backside. Are we going to keep doing so? Won’t it be disgraceful for someone of the imperial clan to beg someone?” Pei Rumo’s hands didn’t stop as he merely raised his brows a little.

“That might be true, but Master is inviting Divine Physician Bai. Furthermore, you are inviting her to different places using different reasons. This... isn’t too good, right? In any case, she can be considered Master’s future sister-in law.”

Pei Rumo chuckled in response, “Haha? Sister-in-law? That might not even happen. Furthermore, she resided in my residence for such a long time using Divine Physician Bai’s name. Even if I want to distance myself from her, it is impossible. Whatever. Why don’t we just go all out and put on a show for others to see?”