Ruyi still wore a face full of smiles, her white teeth gleaming in the autumn sun: “What’s wrong, Grand Preceptor Liu, who’s about to be moved out of the ministers’ cemetery?”

“You, what tricks have you pulled again?” He was furious.

Ruyi didn’t answer, only looked at him deeply, letting him guess for himself.

Had the Dowager Consort pleaded for him or not? Could it be she just hadn’t seen the carrier pigeon yet? Would she come to the city to plead after seeing it? Would he die? If he died, what would happen to Liu Manor? What about Xuanhe?

Ruyi let him torment himself for half an hour before leisurely speaking: “There’s no father in this world who would be biased to your extent.”

Both Liu Ruyi and Liu Xuanhe were his flesh and blood, but Liu Xuanhe had whatever he wanted from childhood, while Liu Ruyi found it difficult to even see him once.

Three-year-old Liu Xuanhe could beat Liu Ruyi until her head was bloody, his little hands striking blow after blow with innate malice. When Grand Preceptor Liu rushed over, he only checked whether Liu Xuanhe was hurt and scolded her for not yielding to her younger brother.

He gave all his love to Liu Xuanhe, from childhood to adulthood, every moment of every day.

Liu Ruyi was like grass in a corner, a bastard child he suspected, a pitiful creature who could only earn a smile from him during the New Year.

Even so, before learning the truth, Liu Ruyi had never hated him. She let Liu Xuanhe snatch her things and gradually grew accustomed to not being loved.

“Look at you—teaching for half a lifetime, yet the son you raised is also utterly evil?” Ruyi laughed coldly. “I know what you care about most. Rest assured, he won’t have a good ending either.”

Without the protection of overwhelming power, how many more days could Liu Xuanhe, who repeatedly committed crimes, remain happy?

Grand Preceptor Liu suddenly became agitated, even more so than when she had cursed him earlier. Supporting himself, he tried to lunge at her: “Don’t you dare target my son! He’s your real brother, your blood brother!”

“Who wants to acknowledge a concubine’s son as a brother?” Ruyi easily dodged his movement, smiling wickedly. “Grand Preceptor’s lifelong beloved: one concubine, one bastard child. For these two, you betrayed Lady He and wanted to kill your daughter. Do you think retribution will only fall on you alone?”

“Liu Ruyi, you, you evil creature!”

“Thank you for the compliment.” She suddenly turned cold, leisurely clapping her hands as she got off the cart. “Wait for your family reunion in the underworld.”

“Stop right there! Listen to me—Xuanhe is innocent! Whatever you want, come at me!”

The covered cart pulled the person forward. Grand Preceptor Liu seemed to be quickly gagged, leaving only muffled whimpering sounds.

Ruyi stepped on the fallen leaves underfoot, slowly falling behind.

The surroundings seemed to fill with mist. She looked up and saw Liu Ruyi running toward her through the fog.

The little girl ran, stumbling, staggering as she passed Liu Xuanhe’s figure and Grand Preceptor Liu’s figure, suddenly throwing herself into her arms.

Ruyi reached out but couldn’t touch her, yet still made a gesture of stroking her head.

She saw Liu Ruyi crying, her eyebrows and eyes all scrunched together from weeping, yet she couldn’t hear a single sound.

Too many people had cried before her over these thousands of years—she should have been numb long ago. But for some unknown reason, watching the little girl’s wide-open wailing mouth, Ruyi felt heartache.

Do demons also have hearts? She pressed her chest in bewilderment.

After a long while, Liu Ruyi finally cried enough. She wiped her tears and stood up, passing by her to throw herself into Lady He’s arms behind them.

Ruyi watched her with relief, already planning to wave goodbye, since this little girl’s wish was revenge after all.

However, Liu Ruyi, lying on Lady He’s knees, still turned her head to look at her, her figure wavering and indistinct, seeming to scatter yet not quite dispersing.

Ruyi stood frozen in place with astonishment.

Not complete?

How could it not be complete?

The heavy fog dispersed, and the surroundings gradually became clear.

Ruyi looked down at her own hands, suddenly feeling a bit angry. Just because Grand Preceptor Liu hadn’t been executed yet, was her little life still hanging in mid-air?

—That was the only possibility.

Gritting her teeth, she caught up with the procession. Ruyi rolled up her sleeves, personally escorted Grand Preceptor Liu into the Zongzheng Prison, and personally watched over Shen Qiyuan as he finished investigating all the remaining trivial cases.

When the first snowflake fell in Lin’an, Grand Preceptor Liu was pushed onto the execution platform.

Ruyi watched Prince Yong holding Lady He’s memorial tablet and weeping bitterly. She also watched Zhao Yanning curse publicly but burn paper money for her deceased mother with red eyes in private.

Many people’s wishes seemed to be fulfilled in this first snowfall.

But Liu Ruyi still looked at her dimly in dreams, unwilling to leave, gradually fading away.

Ruyi angrily threw herself into the thick bedding.

Shen Qiyuan sat beside her, elegantly pouring her a cup of hot wine: “There’s still plenty of time. Why be so anxious?”

“You’re certainly not anxious.” She glared at him sideways. “You’re not the one bound by contract.”

When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer.

Sighing lightly, he said: “The Marquis Manor’s wedding is tomorrow. Be careful.”

Over these months, He Zeyou had already sold most of the manor’s farmland and property deeds. He had barely managed to gather enough for a proper ceremony to welcome the Wen family’s daughter, but Wen Zhenxue had booked the banquet at Huixian Restaurant.

No matter how you looked at it, her intentions weren’t good.

Mentioning this, Ruyi rolled her eyes: “I’m only worried they won’t pay their bill.”

Under Zhao Yanning’s “protection,” Huixian Restaurant’s business was sometimes good, sometimes bad. If they didn’t own the shop building, they would have closed long ago. Naturally, they had to accept such a large order, whether it was from a marquis’ manor or a horse stable.

“I hope everything goes smoothly.” She pressed her palms together.

Looking at her beautiful profile, Shen Qiyuan seemed to remember something. He opened his mouth to speak but held back.

He pulled her over, resting his chin on top of her head, suddenly saying: “You said before that I was your beloved in this mortal realm.”

Ruyi blinked: “Ah?”

Shen Qiyuan reminded her with displeasure: “Before, in the Shen Manor.”

Some passionate scenes flashed through her mind. Ruyi smiled guiltily: “There seems to have been such a thing.”

Were words spoken between the sheets to be taken seriously?!

He seemed to have taken it seriously, asking in a low voice: “Would you lie to me?”

“No.” Her long lashes fluttered.

“No matter who you encounter, would you always pounce on me first like you did at the hunting grounds?”

“Mm.” She scratched the side of her face.

His slightly furrowed brow relaxed. Shen Qiyuan held her tightly, saying seriously: “You must keep your word.”

Why was he so long-winded today? Ruyi clicked her tongue, reached back to grasp his chin, and pulled him down for a kiss.

Beloved could be divided into many types: earthly, heavenly, and infernal. Yesterday’s, today’s, tomorrow’s.

However, considering that this person was the most handsome of all the people she had ever met, she was willing to treat him with extra tenderness.

As the night deepened, under the same moonlight, some drank poison to quench thirst, feeling that the person in their arms was their last straw. Others traveled thousands of li to attend the Marquis Manor’s wedding feast, spurring their horses toward Lin’an City.