One of the men didn’t manage to dodge Yun Lan’s attack in time. Struck, he fell from the eaves to the corridor. The other man managed to avoid the attack and began to tussle with Yun Lan, but he clearly was no match for him.

The injured man lying on the corridor jumped up and attacked Yun Lan’s back. Yun Lan whirled around and sent another spiritual technique flying at him, which he barely dodged. However, given the severity of his injuries, he wouldn’t be able to last long against Yun Lan either.

“Leave!” the injured man shouted at his companion.

“We’ll leave together!”

“We need to finish our mission! Leave!”

The uninjured man grit his teeth, summoned his sword, and began flying off.

Yun Lan knocked the injured man away with a fist and darted toward the fleeing man. His cultivation might not be on par with Yun Lan’s, but his sword was capable of moving far more quickly than Yun Lan’s own, and Yun Lan was unable to catch up.

In anger, he shot out a beam of spiritual energy toward the fleeing man’s back with all his strength, but he couldn’t tell if it had hit. The man’s shadow quickly became nothing more than a speck in the horizon. Yun Lan glanced at the vanishing shadow and turned back, ready to finish off the injured man only to find that he had already committed suicide by ingesting poison.

Yun Ruoyan returned to the Slaughtering King’s manor with her maids in tow.

“Xi Lan, Peony! You won’t have to suffer now that you’re with Miss Yun!” Ling Lan exclaimed happily.

“Indeed,” Li Luo replied. “Since Ruoyan was back, why didn’t the two of you tell her about your woes? She was sleepless the entire night worrying about you!”

“I’m sorry for troubling you, Miss. Will you stop being angry at us?” Xi Lan timidly asked Yun Ruoyan.

On the way back, Yun Ruoyan had been seething with anger. She said not a single word to Li Luo, Xi Lan, or Peony. Even now, when they had returned to the Slaughtering King’s manor, she still looked upset.

“I’m sorry, Miss. We’ve made you worry.” Peony knelt down with Bao’er, and Xi Lan did the same with Qiao’er.

When Yun Ruoyan saw what they were up to, she had no choice but to respond. “Stand up.”

“Miss, if you won’t forgive us, we won’t stand up,” Peony replied.

“Yes, we’ll kneel here until you forgive us, Miss,” Xi LAn added.

Yun Ruoyan sighed and slumped into a chair. “I’m not mad at you, but at myself. Why didn’t I make sure the two of you were sent to the Slaughtering King’s manor when I married Li Mo? I’ve made you suffer so much these few years—but don’t worry, once Official Yun leaves his closed cultivation, I’ll make sure to seek justice for both of you.”

When she thought of how her two dear maids had been married off to human scum, abused daily, forced to separate from their children, an overwhelming sense of guilt and anger consumed her.

“Miss—” Xi Lan and Peony again began to cry. Li Luo and Ling Lan helped them up and handed them washcloths and a basin, until they were finally able to accept their brand-new lives. She instructed Li Luo to bring everyone breakfast, then returned to her rooms to rest. Ling Lan left with Li Luo.

After everyone had left, Yun Ruoyan sat alone in her rooms. Perhaps because of how emotional she had been, her stomach was in turmoil. She could almost feel her baby turning over; even though the sensation was painful and difficult to bear, Yun Ruoyan couldn’t help being delighted by her baby’s vitality and energy. “Don’t worry, you’ll be out in another month. Your father will bring you soaring through the skies, and you’ll have the limitless freedom you’re hoping for,” she murmured.

Suddenly, a black shadow darted through her window and knelt in front of her. “Su Xi greets Consort Yun.”

“Where’s Su Dong?” Yun Ruoyan asked.

“We tailed Third Miss Yun for a while and found nothing suspicious, but after you left the Yun manor, Consort Yun, Third Miss Yun headed to a secluded location in the Yun manor protected by a misdirection array. It was there that we found Official Yun in closed cultivation. Su Dong and I stayed in the vicinity to see if there was anything suspicious, and we did find something of note.”

“What was it?” Yun Ruoyan pressed.

“Su Dong and I were perched by the eaves outside the windows of the cottage, and we overheard Official Yun murmuring to someone within. Official Yun called that someone Lin Yuemei.”

“What?!” Yun Ruoyan stood up. “Repeat that name.”

“Lin Yuemei, Consort Yun,” Su Xi replied definitively.

Su Bei, Su Nan, Su Xi, and Su Dong were four of Li Mo’s most trusted guards, and Yun Ruoyan didn’t doubt their capabilities. She had only repeated her question because of her shock. “Continue, Su Xi.”

“Su Dong and I agreed that I would leave to report the situation to you while he stayed behind and continued his observations. Just as I was about to leave, Official Yun discovered us. Su Dong stayed behind to distract Official Yun, allowing me to return safely.”

Su Xi’s face suddenly turned crestfallen.

“Don’t worry, Su Xi. I’ll head to the Yun manor immediately to save Su Dong.”

“There’s no need, Consort Yun. Su Dong’s no match for Official Yun, but there’s also no way he would let himself get caught. By now, he’s probably committed suicide.” As Su Xi finished his report, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, then slumped to the ground.

“Su Xi!” Yun Ruoyan immediately stepped forward, only to find his chest dyed red with blood. Because he was dressed entirely in black, the blood hadn’t been visible at first glance.

When Li Luo walked into Yun Ruoyan’s room, having assigned Xi Lan and Peony to one of the servants’ cottages in the manor, she was shocked to find Su Xi slumped on the ground. “I’ll get a physician at once!”

“No need,” Yun Ruoyan replied. “His heart’s been pierced through by spiritual energy, and there’s no saving him now.”

Yun Ruoyan closed Su Xi’s eyes gently. To have rushed back to her and given her the important information that she’d requested before succumbing to a lethal injury—none but Li Mo’s guards would have been able to achieve anything of the sort.

“When will Li Mo return?” Yun Ruoyan asked Li Luo.

“His Highness has already been gone for two days, so I suspect this matter will take quite a while to resolve,” Li Luo replied. “But with you around, Ruoyan, I’m sure His Highness will return quickly.”

If not for her pregnancy, Yun Ruoyan would have headed back to the Yun manor immediately. Even if she couldn’t openly confront Yun Lan about the matter, she could have snuck into the manor at night to confirm what Su Dong and Su Xi had paid their lives to discover. Now, however, she had to place her baby first.

After mulling things over, Yun Ruoyan was certain that she would get nothing out of questioning Yun Lan directly. Her cultivation was still currently no match for Yun Lan’s, and she wasn’t about to sacrifice any more of Li Mo’s guards. In that case, she had no choice but to wait for Li Mo to return.

For the next two days, Yun Ruoyan stayed put in the manor, waiting fervently for Li Mo’s return. The Lin siblings came by to visit her, but Yun Ruoyan didn’t tell them about the news regarding her mother. She was worried that they might cause a commotion if they knew and accidentally let something slip to Lin Zainan.

And if her grandfather were to find out, he might very well storm to the Yun manor on the spot, and that surely wasn’t going to solve the problem. As a result, Yun Ruoyan didn’t tell her cousins anything and quickly excused herself, claiming that she was weary.

Before they left, Lin Qingchen told Yun Ruoyan that Whitey had undergone a shocking transformation and asked for her to take a look when she was feeling better. Back on the Mingyuan continent, after Pi Batian was burnt to a crisp by the demonic dragon forefather, Yun Ruoyan had picked the ring up from amidst the pile of ashes and returned it to Yun Ruoyan.

After Lin Qingchen returned to the Lin manor and returned Whitey to its pool, she discovered that something, perhaps the higher ambient spiritual energy density on the Mingyuan continent, had sparked a dramatic change in Whitey. Lin Qingchen had come to the Slaughtering King’s manor to ask Yun Ruoyan to have a look, but she didn’t want to force her to do so if she wasn’t feeling well.

“Sister, when you’re feeling better, please make sure to come to the Lin manor. You should bring the Slaughtering King, as well—I’m sure you’ll both be shocked to see Whitey!” Lin Qingxue exclaimed.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to visit with Li Mo when he’s back,” Yun Ruoyan replied.

After sending away her cousins, Yun Ruoyan’s smile vanished. She had been particularly restless the last few days, and even though she had been resting regularly, her thoughts were all in turmoil. Her mother, Lin Yuemei; her father, Long Yin; the man whom she’d called Father for sixteen long years, Yun Lan—what exactly had happened all those years ago?

She fell into an uneasy sleep. When she woke up, it was evening. A quilt was thrown around her body, and cold snacks had been placed on the table. Li Luo must have prepared them, but she chose not to wake me up when she found me asleep. Her stomach felt a little empty—although she didn’t quite feel hunger anymore, the baby in her stomach would require nourishment, and Yun Ruoyan had to eat a little something.

She got up from her futon and prepared to find something to eat, only to find Xi Lan and Peony walking to her rooms with a lunchbox.

“Where are you headed, Miss?” Peony asked. “Xi Lan and I made this for you—your favorite osmanthus cake and phoenix-orchid soup! Have a taste, Miss.”

“I was hungry and just about to head off to find something to eat, and here you are!” Yun Ruoyan laughed.