The last drop of ginger soup trickled down, falling onto the stone slabs below with a pattering sound.

Ruyi finally turned to look at him, asking with a sweet smile: “My lord, carrying it up here – are your hands sore?”

Shen Qiyuan lowered his eyes: “Today’s events were my fault.”

He should have been prepared early on, cutting off Xu Houde’s chance to target the witnesses, so she wouldn’t have been suspected.

“My lord speaks so lightly.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “If not for my considerable abilities, I should have died under that Water Gate today, yet my lord merely calls it a fault.”

His back stiffened. He wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard those words and was about to turn his head away when his jaw was suddenly gripped tightly.

Ruyi leaned forward from the soft couch, gripping his chin and forcing him to look at her, saying word by word: “You knew my identity early on, before I tried to kill He Zeyou, didn’t you?”

When he had grabbed her wrist, he had sensed the strangeness within her body, yet showed no surprise on his face.

By rights, allowing her to live under his nose for so long showed his tolerance and mercy, yet today he had specifically let her go through the Water Gate without any interference.

Ruyi disliked unpredictable men, and even more disliked men with deep schemes.

“Either my lord kills me now, or let me kill my lord instead.” She curved her lips, her eyes shimmering like water as she gently caressed his throat.

Shen Qiyuan allowed her actions without dodging, only saying: “Your palms are burning hot.”

Ruyi was mighty, but Liu Ruyi was mortal flesh that couldn’t withstand the autumn wind after getting soaked.

Lifting her chin slightly, she narrowed her eyes: “So what if they burn? Even in the instant of death, I could drag my lord down to the underworld with me.”

She certainly had that capability – he didn’t doubt it.

Shen Qiyuan produced a pill and held it before her: “You forcibly broke the Commerce Bureau’s seals – that’s the crime of contempt for government authority.”

Ruyi’s grip tightened: “Oh? So you’ve come to arrest me?”

“No.” He said, “I encountered them on the way here and already sent them away.”

“Then, as He Zeyou said, you’ve committed favoritism and perverted justice.”

“Indeed.”

He raised his eyes, gazing gently and lightly into hers: “Will you go report me?”

The teardrop mole at the corner of his eye looked even more tender in the moonlight, and with his sigh-like tone, it didn’t sound like questioning but like a lover’s whispered words.

Ruyi’s anger hadn’t subsided, and she wouldn’t fall for this: “What’s the point of reporting you? His Majesty is biased – nothing would happen to you anyway. I should go kill people instead, kill all the high officials and nobles in Lin’an City, let them die because of you, let you have no peaceful days.”

When she got angry, she was like a white peony blooming in the night, red and black colors seeping through the flower branches – coldly beautiful yet malicious.

Yet Shen Qiyuan’s eyes rarely showed a trace of amusement.

Bringing the pill to her lips, he said quietly: “Fine, eat the medicine first. Once you have strength, then go kill people.”

Ruyi bit down, including his fingers.

Shen Qiyuan winced in pain, withdrew his hand, and stepped back. Splattered blood droplets traced an arc through the air, seeping into the embroidered carpet.

Ruyi reclined against the bright red brocade quilt, her snow-white face and black hair creating an extremely gorgeous sight.

She smiled triumphantly, her white teeth lightly biting the pill he’d given her. Her tongue tip licked it, then rolled it into her mouth.

Shen Qiyuan’s fingertips curled as he somewhat stiffly averted his gaze: “Rest well after taking the medicine. You’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to hear anything else.” Ruyi tilted her chin up at him. “I just want to know – if there’s another situation like this next time, will you betray me again, my lord?”

Calling it betrayal seemed rather severe.

He opened his mouth to correct her, but meeting her fierce glare, Lord Shen thought it over and decided getting bitten again over one word wasn’t worth it.

So he accepted it: “I won’t.”

She hummed with grudging satisfaction, sat up straight, and hooked the embroidered stool by the couch with her toe: “Come over.”

Shen Qiyuan hesitated for a moment but still sat down as told, though he instinctively wanted to pull the stool away to distance himself from her.

However, Ruyi kept her grip on the stool leg and glared at him with beautiful eyes: “I’m a maiden who doesn’t avoid suspicion – what are you being coy about?”

Speaking of this, Shen Qiyuan frowned again: “Though women of Great Qian have more freedom than in previous dynasties, there are still rules to follow. Your behavior might not be tolerated in Lin’an.”

“Oh?” Ruyi snorted with laughter. “What can they do to me? Tie me up and drown me in a pig cage?”

“They couldn’t tie you up, but gossip is fearsome.” Shen Qiyuan thought of some cases, his expression grave. “Many mouths make gold melt – it’s always killed people invisibly.”

Living in this world, she not only ignored proper conduct between men and women but also enjoyed visiting pleasure houses. Any ordinary girl would have been driven to jump into a lake long ago.

Ruyi scoffed: “Gossip may be fearsome, but I’m not afraid of it.”

What proper conduct between men and women, what behavior and manners, as long as she lived happily without harming others, how could that be wrong? If the people of Great Qian thought she was wrong, then all the people of Great Qian were wrong, and she hoped they’d wake up soon.

The small pond in the distance with its floating golden light suddenly splashed.

Ruyi’s ears twitched, and she clapped her hands in delight: “I said there should be fish in that pond.”

Shen Qiyuan looked out the window, his expression suddenly tightening as he stood up.

Ruyi turned her head in puzzlement and saw something vaguely floating up to the rippling water surface.

She touched her chin: “Lord Shen, I think that looks like a corpse. What do you think?”

Shen Qiyuan had already gathered his robes and was striding toward the door.

“Hey.” She said unhappily, “We haven’t discussed compensation yet.”

Water could be spilled anywhere for nothing, but on her, Ruyi, it had to win back a golden signboard for her Immortal Meeting Restaurant.

Seeing the signboard about to run away, Ruyi snorted but still gathered her skirts and followed.

Great Qian’s commerce was prosperous, and curfews had long become meaningless. Even at midnight, there were still many vendors on the streets. Shen Qiyuan walked quickly and disappeared in the blink of an eye. After following for a few steps, Ruyi felt tired and simply stopped beside a nearby braised meat stall.

“Shopkeeper, one bowl of braised meat, cut it fine, wrap it with some salt and pepper.”

The cook was a young woman who looked somewhat dazed and didn’t respond to her.

So Ruyi called again: “Shopkeeper.”

“Ah, does the customer want braised meat?” She finally came to her senses and hurriedly used a ladle to scoop out a piece of cooked pork.

The meat had been cooked until it was white, and when lifted from the water, it was swollen with the fine strings tied around it.

The cook’s face changed color, and she suddenly threw down the ladle and went to the side to dry-heave.

Ruyi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Sorry, sorry, customer.” After retching for a while, the cook said weakly, “I can’t do business today. Come another day, and I’ll give you a discount.”

“No matter.” Ruyi waved her hand, only staring at her. “May I boldly ask – did you just go to the pond behind here?”

The cook was greatly alarmed and waved her hands to leave, but Ruyi reached across and grabbed her wrist.

“I didn’t see anything, let me go, let me go!” She struggled violently, and with half a step more, her foot would have knocked over the stove supporting the pot.

So when Ruyi looked down, she saw the scalding stove and the pot of boiling water both toppling toward her.