Her words seemed to trigger some mechanism, and the eyes of the person before her immediately blazed with heat.

Spring was deepening. A fine, dense drizzle fell in Lin’an, soaking the green tiles while willows grew lush along the embankment. Boats carved through the jade-green waves in the small river, gracefully passing beneath the arched stone bridge. Flower-selling girls swayed their pale wrists lightly, and fragrance drifted across the water to fill the neighborhood streets and alleys.

The civilian dwellings outside the city had been repaired to about seventy or eighty percent completion. Refugees were assigned houses and fields according to their registration records. The city once again became lively and prosperous, and the shadow of that great natural disaster was gradually dispelled by the spring sun.

Ruyi lazily leaned against her jade pillow, humming softly when she was scooped up by long arms and held on someone’s lap.

“I don’t want to get up.” She mumbled with closed eyes. “Too tired. Let me sleep a while longer.”

Shen Qiyuan gathered her black hair and began skillfully braiding and arranging it into a hair bun: “You just received a task – aren’t you going to do it?”

Wasn’t it just to please him? Ruyi pursed her lips: “I can do it anytime. What’s the rush?”

“It’s already past noon.”

“I won’t listen, I won’t listen.” She raised her hands to cover her ears, only to discover that all her black hair seemed to have been combed up.

Somewhat surprised, Ruyi opened her eyes and picked up the bronze mirror to look.

The Nine Heavens Flying Immortal hair bun – the most complex and intricate hairstyle – and he had already finished half of it?

Setting down the mirror, she was about to ask where he had learned this when she caught sight of a book on the nearby table. The pages were open, showing illustrations of various hairstyle arrangements.

The corner of Ruyi’s mouth twitched: “You… why are you learning this?”

“A book that Zhou Tingchuan accidentally picked up when buying other books.” Shen Qiyuan’s expression was impassive. “Since it was already bought, I thought I’d try it.”

Such a thick volume – how blind would Zhou Tingchuan have to be to buy the wrong book?

Ruyi chuckled softly but didn’t expose him. She simply leaned back and let her head sway left and right.

Shen Qiyuan was quite patient with her antics. When it became difficult to braid, he would wait. When she was tired and stopped moving, his hands would continue their work.

The two of them cuddled by the bedside like this for nearly an hour.

“Boss!” He Tinglan suddenly came knocking at the door. “There’s a tricky matter.”

Shen Qiyuan concealed himself to the side while Ruyi got up, went out, and pulled He Tinglan into the corridor: “What’s wrong?”

“Remember the case we took earlier about Lady Yuncheng’s suicide? I don’t know who spread the word, but another client has come looking for us.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” She leaned against the railing with a smile. “Consider earning some extra money.”

“It’s not about the money.” He Tinglan scratched her head frantically. “The people who came are from the He family.”

Ruyi straightened up.

It had been a long time since she’d heard news of Ningyuan Marquis’ Manor. The last time was when He Zeyou took a concubine. She had thought that bastard was living quite well, never expecting he would come looking for her.

What kind of matter would make him swallow his pride like this?

“Let’s go.” Glancing once at the room, Ruyi led He Tinglan downstairs first.

Zhao Yanning, Hua Fuman, and Zheng Qingyi were all already seated in the main hall. Across from them, the old steward of Ningyuan Marquis’ Manor kept wiping sweat from his forehead while chattering about something.

“The manager has arrived.” Zhao Yanning turned her head. “Please make the decision.”

The old steward naturally recognized Liu Ruyi and rather awkwardly greeted her: “Manager, may you be well.”

Ruyi strode in and sat in the center position, fanning herself with a silk fan as she asked: “What kind of business is this?”

“Inner courtyard matters – not suitable to entrust to the authorities.” The old steward wiped his sweat. “This old servant has a blood brother at the Yun Manor who told me some details about the Yun Manor case. He said your inn harbors hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and that you’re tight-lipped – a trustworthy place.”

Everything else was secondary; being tight-lipped was most important. Inner courtyard matters concerned the manor’s reputation – they absolutely couldn’t afford to let half a word leak out.

Ruyi smiled: “Your marquis and his wife have quite a deep grudge against me.”

“How could this old servant not know? But there’s no other way now. If this matter isn’t investigated clearly, there won’t be a single day of peace in the household. The marquis has no other choice.” The old steward sighed deeply. “It’s been nearly a year now – surely the young lady should let go?”

“They were the ones who did wrong. How can you ask the victim to let go?” Ruyi scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t hold grudges now, not because I’ve forgiven them, but because I’ve moved on. If they want to pretend nothing happened, that won’t do.”

The old steward was extremely troubled: “What would you have us do?”

“Very simple.” Ruyi held up a finger. “Six hundred taels, and we’ll take the case.”

“This… this won’t do at all! The Yun family’s case was so big and only cost three hundred taels. Ours are just some minor inner courtyard matters…”

“Since they’re just minor inner courtyard matters, why must you come find us specifically?” Zhao Yanning snorted with laughter. “Go out and turn left – there’s a yamen office on the next street.”

The old steward’s face wrinkled into a mass of confusion. After hesitating for a long while without daring to agree, he could only turn to look at He Tinglan: “Second Young Lady, this is our family matter. Won’t you say something?”

He Tinglan hesitated for a moment.

Having left Ningyuan Marquis’ Manor for so long, her own older brother, younger brother, and even her birth mother all treated her as if she had died outside and had never once searched for her.

Blood relations were real, but so was the heartache.

“Listen to our manager.” She lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together. “Whatever the manager says goes.”

The old steward angrily slapped his thigh and shook his head repeatedly: “No wonder the old lady always scolds you for being an ungrateful wretch. Second Young Lady, even if there were previous resentments, you were still raised by the old lady and the marquis for over ten years. How can you be so ungrateful!”

“If you’re going to talk like that, then I’ll have to set things straight.” Ruyi rose with a cold laugh, standing in front of He Tinglan. “A girl raised for over ten years – when you say you’re sending her away, you send her away. When your marquis and old lady stuffed her into Prince Yong’s manor, wasn’t that them considering the debt of raising her repaid? What now – seeing she’s still alive, you feel shortchanged and must gnaw her bones clean to be satisfied?”

“The manager understands – the bigger the household, the more they insist on eating everything clean without leaving scraps.” Zhao Yanning said mockingly. “Otherwise, how would they become big households?”

“Not all big households are like theirs.” Zheng Qingyi said. “Sons marry wives for advancement, daughters are sent away for opportunities – this is what only the lowest class of families do.”

Fuman nodded in deep agreement.

The old steward said angrily, “The marquis’ family affairs don’t need everyone’s concern. It’s only because the old lady is magnanimous that she hasn’t pursued the matter of the Second Young Lady’s private escape. If she pursued it and made a big fuss, would she still be able to wear gold and silver and enjoy herself here?”

“Miss He is now a properly registered good citizen of Lin’an, not a servant or private property of the He family. How do you plan to pursue anything?” Zhao Yanning sneered coldly. “And you talk about making a big fuss – if it came to that, do you think the marquis’ manor that sent their daughter to be an old prince’s concubine would lose face, or would she, as the victim, lose face?”