Earlier in the carriage, Shen Qiyuan had dipped his finger in water to teach her to write. Heye remembered very clearly that this big brother had an otherworldly refinement that no one else possessed, and he had saved her life.

“I’m willing to learn from him,” she excitedly raised her small hand.

Ruyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

When she said she’d find another teacher, she naturally didn’t mean Shen Qiyuan. That person was so busy – how could he have time to teach a child to read?

“The Shen residence has a private school,” Zhao Yanning spoke up from behind. “Although it’s full of children from royal and noble families, having her sit in wouldn’t be a problem.”

“How could I trouble others like that?”

“Does Lord Shen count as ‘others’?”

“……”

Ruyi narrowed her eyes, sent little Heye upstairs, gathered her skirts, and walked to the counter, tapping on the surface: “You’ve always known your place. How did you come to say such words?”

Zhao Yanning looked up and said, “The Boss has always been frank and fearless. How is it you don’t dare admit that Lord Shen has always treated you differently?”

In Shen Qiyuan’s eyes, she wasn’t just “not others” – she was simply a treasure held at the tip of his heart. Before losing his memory, he protected her regardless of everything. After losing his memory, even Song Zhenshan had to introduce himself for a long time to gain his trust, yet he could call out her name the moment he saw her.

“This matter wouldn’t work for anyone else. After all, that private school at the Shen residence was established by imperial edict – even the Crown Prince occasionally goes to listen to lectures. But if you were to speak up, Boss,” Zhao Yanning said, “he would nod without thinking.”

Ruyi disagreed: “You’ve only known him for five years. You don’t necessarily know what he’s thinking.”

These complicated human customs might be important to them, but for god cultivators, they were just unnecessary shackles. Making exceptions didn’t matter.

Zhao Yanning sighed and shook his head: “Human hearts are complex and hard to understand. Perhaps not just five years – even fifty years might not be enough to see through them. But the person in one’s heart is obvious. It doesn’t take five years – five days, five hours, or even five moments are enough for others to understand.”

The more Ruyi listened, the more amusing she found it.

If what Zhao Yanning said was true-that Shen Qiyuan genuinely liked her-then why had they wasted three thousand years?

If he hadn’t been moved by her at first sight, then his later feelings were at most just habit or guilt. No one was obligated to wait in place for him, even though she had been so helplessly infatuated back then.

Ruyi remembered the first time she went down the mountain to return home two thousand years ago.

What god cultivators sought was first the longevity of the family, then the stability of their domain. At that time, she had already obtained immortal bodies for her parents, but the domain hadn’t completely escaped from war. So her parents discussed having her marry a god cultivator from a neighboring city.

Given the situation, then, marriage was the best choice. It would allow the people to live and work in peace, keep her clan eternally safe, and give peace of mind to parents who had worried about her for hundreds of years.

But Ruyi refused outright, remaining unmoved no matter how her clanspeople took turns trying to persuade her.

Her father, who doted on her greatly, got angry with her for the first time. Canes twisted from five strands struck hard against her arms.

“You only need to tell me the reason – even just say who this is for, and I’ll forgive you.”

“It’s not for anyone,” she endured the pain and straightened her back. “I just don’t want to marry.”

The canes fell even harder. Though they couldn’t harm her spiritual consciousness, they still hurt terribly. That day happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival. She couldn’t wait for the full moon to appear before being driven back to Qidou Mountain with her injuries.

“Why must you be stubborn with your parents?” Shen Qiyuan applied medicine for her, but only said, “Marriage isn’t a bad thing. Many fellow cultivators on the mountain are already married, and it hasn’t delayed their cultivation.”

Listening to him then, Ruyi felt her arms hurt, and her heart hurt too.

She had already made every effort she could to be with him. She had no regrets and no remorse.

But if she had to do it again, she wouldn’t be willing.

——”When people look for someone in the forest, they always call out the other person’s name loudly.”

Ruyi came back to her senses and said casually, “If there’s no echo from one direction, they’ll change direction and walk elsewhere.”

Places without echoes weren’t worth running toward, and unrequited feelings were the same.

“The Comfort Wine House is still better,” she said, slowly going upstairs. “I’ll go look tomorrow and see if any fresh young gentlemen have arrived.”

Hearing her earlier words, Zhao Yanning’s fingers paused while moving his abacus.

But only for a moment, then he continued his work.

Those who turn back after awakening are people who’ve hit a wall. He hasn’t hit it yet, so he doesn’t need to turn back.

Someone must have been an informant, because the next day, just as Ruyi reached the entrance of the Comfort Wine House, Shen Qiyuan’s carriage arrived.

He glanced at the several elegant young gentlemen by the second-floor railing and said expressionlessly to her: “Get in.”

Ruyi wasn’t very willing: “The weather is so nice today – are we still going demon hunting?”

“There’s been a death at Princess Jinghong’s residence,” Shen Qiyuan said. “Don’t you want to take a look?”

Hearing this, Ruyi’s expression changed. She gathered her skirts and stepped onto the carriage shaft.

Shen Qiyuan looked again at those gaudily dressed young gentlemen, pressed his lips without speaking, and waved his hand to close the carriage window.

“What happened?” She sat down, frowning slightly. “Isn’t Zhaoying preparing for her wedding? The wedding date is approaching – it’s so inauspicious to be tainted by death.”

“It’s already the best outcome in an unfortunate situation,” he said indifferently. “If she hadn’t had a poor appetite and rewarded that pastry to a servant, she would have been the one to die from poisoning.”

Someone had poisoned her? Ruyi found it incredible.

Though mortals were frail, those in high positions always protected themselves well. Their residences had strict rules, and their food was controlled by trusted people. It wasn’t that easy to poison and murder them.

But this time, they had almost succeeded.

Remembering the assassins ambushed at the hunting ground last time, she said puzzledly: “Is there something special about Zhaoying? She’s just a young girl – why do people always want her life?”

“Princess Jinghong is the daughter of the Prince of Pingbei,” Shen Qiyuan had read the files related to her. “The Prince of Pingbei had outstanding achievements – he became a general at sixteen, and at twenty-six led troops to the gates of Great Xia’s capital. He was the military commander most valued by the late emperor. Unfortunately, heaven envied his talents. He suddenly died of illness in the old capital at thirty-two. The Empress Dowager, grateful for his contributions, made his young daughter a princess and brought her to the palace to raise.”

“The Prince of Pingbei had a Pingbei Army that later came under the Ministry of War’s command, but there are rumors among the people that if Princess Jinghong stepped forward, this Pingbei Army could be mobilized even without military tallies.”

“Court officials have different thoughts – some want to preserve the Prince of Pingbei’s only remaining bloodline, others want to eliminate her quickly. So all these years, there’s been constant killing around Jinghong. Only by the Empress Dowager’s side could she be safe.”

With the wedding approaching, Li Zhaoying wanted to marry the Prince of Pingbei’s residence, which gave people an opportunity to exploit.

After listening, Ruyi raised her eyebrows in confusion: “If that’s the case, shouldn’t the current emperor be the one who most wants the princess dead? What does it have to do with the civil and military officials?”