When it came to banging their heads against the south wall, Lady He and her daughter Liu Ruyi were truly cut from the same cloth, with remarkably consistent judgment—neither Grand Preceptor Liu nor He Zeyou was any good.

But speaking of which, was it because Liu Ruyi wasn’t Grand Preceptor Liu’s daughter that he could kill her so readily?

Thinking this way felt somewhat more bearable.

Ruyi wiped away her tears and smiled at the old nanny: “Thank you for being willing to talk with me. It’s just that talking for so long has made my mouth very dry. Nanny, could you get me a bowl of water?”

More than twenty guards were stationed outside the woodshed’s doors and windows. Not even a fly could escape, so naturally, they weren’t afraid of her running away.

The old nanny nodded and stood up: “Wait here.”

Ruyi smiled as she watched her leave.

Once the door closed, she was the only one left in the woodshed.

With a light click, the rope that had bound her tightly suddenly loosened, falling in layers to pile at her feet. Ruyi glanced casually at the roof beam, climbed up using the nearby pillar, and crouched there calmly waiting.

When the old nanny returned with water, she saw only rope but no person. Naturally, she cried out in alarm, and then guards from outside came rushing in.

The steward roared angrily, and in the distance, there were shouts from messengers. The entire Grand Preceptor’s manor instantly became as lively as boiling water.

She waited quietly until everyone had gone out to search, then avoided the scattered remaining guards and leisurely disappeared into the garden concealed by tree branches.

The market on Divine Offering Street was bustling. As Ruyi passed by, she noticed a group of purple-hatted officials surrounding a carriage, searching for something.

She glanced at the lantern with the character “Ning” hanging from the carriage eaves, snorted with laughter, and casually stepped through the entrance of the Meeting Immortals Wine House.

“The proprietor has returned.” Yanning breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her, then immediately ushered her upstairs, “Fuman has been worried about you all day. Quickly go let her see you.”

Seeing his anxious and flustered manner, Ruyi scoffed: “What a fool. If she’s worried about me, wouldn’t that give you a chance to comfort her? Yet you’re still standing guard downstairs.”

Yanning reached up to touch his nose tip, saying uncomfortably, “What is the proprietor saying? I don’t, I don’t like her.”

Ruyi was puzzled: “I didn’t say you liked her.”

Couldn’t friends comfort each other?

His face suddenly flushed red. This was the first time Zhao Yanning had been rendered speechless by someone. After a moment of silence, he retorted in embarrassment: “The Lord is even more worried about the proprietor than Fuman is. The proprietor should go see him, too.”

Shen Qiyuan?

Ruyi raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t as shy as this blockhead, just found it somewhat strange that he still hadn’t returned home at this hour.

Gathering her skirts, she went upstairs and entered the private room.

The door wasn’t closed. Fuman was gesturing with a cold expression to Shen Qiyuan: The Ministry of Justice affairs no longer have any connection to me. I will not interfere again.

Hearing movement at the door, Shen Qiyuan looked up and said calmly, “Miss Liu has a good memory. I wonder who it was earlier that promised me she wouldn’t force her way into the Grand Preceptor’s manor.”

“I didn’t force my way in.” She sat down with righteous confidence, “This is called strategic capture.”

“Too, too dangerous.” Fuman wrinkled her nose as she spoke, “Miss, miss went to that place, that place for what?”

Jian Deng’s corpse had already been burned to ash. There was no point in her going.

Ruyi took her small hand and patted it a couple times, saying with a grin: “I went to borrow two knives.”

Two knives?

Fuman didn’t understand, but Shen Qiyuan snorted: “You think knives are so easy to borrow. Grand Preceptor Liu was able to climb from a seventh-rank county magistrate to the position of Grand Preceptor—how could he be an incompetent person? Even if you fooled him momentarily, after some time passes, he’ll realize something is wrong.”

“So what if he realizes something is wrong?” She lifted her chin, her fingertip proudly pointing to the corner of her lips, “By that time, he and He Zeyou will already be like fire and water.”

Grand Preceptor Liu, making mistakes in his haste, would attempt to move against He Zeyou. No matter how dissolute He Zeyou was, he came from military background and would certainly survive, then go beat the drum at the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, asking Shen Qiyuan to uphold justice for him.

But even with firsthand experience, given Grand Preceptor Liu’s airtight style of conducting affairs, He Zeyou would likely only have testimony without evidence. Once there was no evidence, Shen Qiyuan wouldn’t decide the case.

In Grand Preceptor Liu’s eyes, Liu Ruyi would certainly flee to hide in the Ningyuan Marquis’ manor that protected her. With He Zeyou holding his weakness, constantly threatening his downfall, he would find ways to put He Zeyou to death.

And in He Zeyou’s eyes, with Grand Preceptor Liu stubbornly trying to kill him and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs unable to uphold justice for him, what methods should he use to preserve his own life?

Ruyi’s eyes sparkled with rippling light as she clapped her hands with a smile: “The human world is truly interesting.”

“Human, human world?” Fuman understood even less.

Her cheek was pinched, and the person before her looked at her with gentle eyes: “You don’t need to worry about other things. Have you learned the new dishes?”

Mentioning this, Fuman stood up straighter: “In, in just these five days, I learned, learned thirteen dishes.”

Even the head chef said she had talent.

Ruyi’s eyes lit up. She suddenly stood and spun around, holding Fuman, praising her with a laugh: “You’re truly the most intelligent girl I’ve ever met. The wine house’s business will depend on you from now on!”

Fuman felt very embarrassed being praised like this, but the smile in her eyes increased: “Alright.”

Speaking of which, it was also strange. In terms of age, Ruyi might still be younger, but Fuman was very dependent on her. When she saw her reflection in those clear eyes, Fuman felt that she could still go on living.

Shen Qiyuan cleared his throat lightly.

Ruyi set Fuman down and asked him: “Does the Lord have more to say?”

“No,” he said.

If not, what was he still standing here for? She raised an eyebrow.

Fuman smiled and released Ruyi’s hand: “I, I’ll go check on, check on Yanning first.”

With that, she ran out.

Ruyi belatedly turned her head, looking at him with disdain: “A grown man needs to avoid people when speaking?”

Shen Qiyuan wasn’t annoyed, only saying softly: “You saved Fuman’s life.”

“That doesn’t count.” She sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. “Those people were originally coming to hunt me down.”

“No, I’m not referring to Cang’er Mountain.”

Her lips paused at the cup’s rim. Ruyi pouted: “Is the Lord preparing to praise me for being kind and gentle again?”

He paused, then shook his head: “I wanted to say… You have quite a bit of humanity.”