Dark and damp was Yi Qianying’s cell in the depths of the hall of penitence, a neverending darkness that caused her to lose track of time. Initially, she had yelled and screamed, hoping for some sort of attention, any sort. However, even after her throat had gone hoarse, no one came.

Her only companions were the rats in her cell, as well as a set of old, bleached bones from a previous resident, though exactly how far back she couldn’t determine.

Tired of yelling and shouting, she eventually curled up by a corner of her cell, hugging her knees. There were only two such dry areas in her cell; the other was exactly opposite, and was occupied by the skeleton.

“Time to eat!” a familiar voice called out. Food was provided once daily in this prison, and this was the same disciple responsible for the dreary duty.

The moment Yi Qianying heard his voice, she immediately woke up from her daze and carefully trod to the grille of her cell, avoiding the damp patches of ground.

“Senior Brother, is there anyone here to see me?” Yi Qianying craned her neck and called out.

“No,” the warden replied, impatient. Yi Qianying had made quite a fuss since her imprisonment, but she had finally grown weary of doing so these last few days. However, every time he brought food over, Yi Qianying would ask him the same question.

“No, that can’t be! Did you really ask on my behalf? I’ve made it worth your while, haven’t I? If you want more, I have a few more pieces of jewelry and the like…” Yi Qianying removed her last hairpin and handed it to the man.

The man took the hairpin, briefly smiled, and replied, “I’ll tell you the truth—give up! You’re imprisoned in the deepest dungeon of the hall of penitence, designated only for those prisoners who’ve committed such grave sins that they can’t be pardoned! The only prisoners sent here are ones slated for death, so who would come visit you?”

Yi Qianying gaped, but she was unable to say a word. Actually, this sort of outcome had been within her expectations. Li Qianxiao hated her in the extreme, and would likely much prefer that she disappeared entirely from his sight. She still held a faint flicker of hope that Pei Ziao would save her, but reality had snuffed this hope out.

Her straits were dire, irrevocably and entirely so.

“Don’t think that I’ve taken your money for nothing,” her jailer warned. “I’ve helped you get better food the last few days, so just stay in your cell patiently and don’t cause me any trouble.”

Yi Qianying glanced at the hardened bun, the bowl of porridge that was as clear as soup, and a few leafy greens scattered on a plate. She laughed bitterly, knocking the tray of food over.

“Ah! You don’t want the food? Then I won’t bring you any tomorrow, either!” The man stormed off.

Yi Qianying raised her head and chuckled to herself, louder and louder, until her laughs turned to mournful cries and plaintive sobs. One wrong move, and she had lost everything!

Meanwhile, Li Mo had brought Yun Ruoyan to his manor in the capital.

“Li Mo, weren’t we going to go on another training session? Why did you bring us back here?”

“I’m about to marry you as my consort, so of course I have to return and prepare a gift,” Li Mo replied.

He had brought up the matter while they were still in the forest expedition. At that point, Yun Ruoyan hadn’t objected, but now that she was witnessing Li Mo’s preparations in person, she couldn’t help getting anxious.

“But I’m your disciple! You know as well as I do how much emphasis the Li kingdom places on customs. I’m worried my father will forbid this marriage,” Yun Ruoyan replied, concerned.

“Ha! I, Li Mo, have never been restrained by such customs.” He smiled winningly at her, then pulled her into his rooms. Along the way, they encountered Li Luo. She had clearly received advance warning that Li Mo would be returning to the manor, and had come out to welcome him.

Yun Ruoyan had yet to consume breakfast, and Li Mo ordered Li Luo to prepare a few snacks.

When Li Mo saw Yun Ruoyan’s worried expression, he pulled her into his embrace. “Yan’er, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just prepare to become my consort.”

Not long later, Li Luo brought a few trays of snacks and two bowls of lotus-seed soup over.

“Where did such fresh lotus seeds come from in the middle of winter?”

The glistening lotus-seed soup looked no different from that which she had been served in the height of summer.

Li Luo bowed. “Since you enjoyed it the last time you were here, Miss Yun, His Highness had us prepare a few lotus roots to be stored in the cellar.”

“Sister Li Luo, it’s been so long that you’ve even started being distant to me again!” Yun Ruoyan stood up and tugged at Li Luo’s hand. She was her brother’s one love and would very likely become her sister-in-law in the future, and she had to make sure she was on good terms with her. Furthermore, Yun Ruoyan truly liked this strong, unyielding beastkin woman.

“Miss Li Luo,” a servant suddenly called out. “Miss Li Luo, are you here?”

“I’m here!” Li Luo called back. She was just about to step outside when the servant rushed into the room.

“Your Highness!” When the servant rushed in and found Li Mo sitting in the room, he was so scared that he immediately knelt and bowed. “Your Highness, I meant no disrespect—”

Li Mo peered coolly at the servant before motioning for him to rise.

“What’s the matter? Why are you in such a rush?” Li Luo asked.

“Young Master Yun’s here,” the servant began, smiling. “That’s why I came in search of you so urgently, Miss Li Luo.”

The servant’s smile and eager tone made Yun Ruoyan suspect that her dear brother had been a frequent guest at the Slaughtering King’s manor—and he had likely bribed this servant, or he wouldn’t have been so eager to relay his arrival to her.

“Yan’er, since your brother’s here, call him over and let’s have a talk.”

Yun Ruoyan knew that Li Mo was trying to take advantage of this opportunity to tell Yun Moxiao about his planned marriage with her. Of her relatives, the one whose opinion she cared about most was undoubtedly her brother, Yun Moxiao.

Yun Ruoyan nodded, and her heart began to palpitate.

Under his master’s order, the servant ran back to the front doors to invite Yun Moxiao in. Not long after, the servant returned with him in tow.

“Brother!” Yun Moxiao was surprised to see Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan together. Before he could say anything, however, Yun Ruoyan had rushed up to his side.

“Ruoyan, when did you return?”

“I just did, and then you got here!” Yun Ruoyan pursed her lips mischievously.

“Ah, that.” Yun Moxiao cleared his throat self-consciously upon seeing Yun Ruoyan’s expression. “I came to find Li Luo in order to get her to pass a message to you.”

“What message?”

“I don’t know. It’s from Grandfather, asking you to head to the Lin manor when you have an opportunity. Apparently, there’s some family business that he’d like to tell us about, but he didn’t specify what exactly.”

Yun Ruoyan immediately turned anxious: if it weren’t something particularly urgent or important, her grandfather surely wouldn’t go as far as to send a messenger to the Slaughtering King’s manor.

“In that case, let’s head over immediately.” Yun Ruoyan turned back to Li Mo. “I’ll head to the Lin manor with my brother right now, then go directly back to the Yun estate.”

“Alright. I have some matters of my own to attend to, so I’ll head over to find your father once I’m ready.”

Yun Moxiao was on his way out when he suddenly heard Li Mo mention that he was going to the Yun manor in search of Yun Lan. He stopped short, turned around, and asked, “Your Highness, may I ask why you’re looking for my father?”

“I plan on asking him for Yan’er’s hand in marriage.”

Yun Moxiao blinked. “Your Highness, haven’t you already taken Ruoyan as a disciple?”

“Taking her as a disciple was only an interim measure,” Li Mo explained. “Our relationship is solely that of instructor and student, nothing more. Neither of us have taken the matter seriously.”

“Not take the matter seriously?! But an apprenticeship’s a serious matter, one that remains with you for your entire lifetime!” It would be an understatement to call Yun Moxiao agitated. He had grown up with the regimented, constrained lifestyle of the army, and he was extremely shocked by Li Mo’s indifference to cultural norms.

“Brother, let’s go find Grandfather first. We can discuss this issue later.” Yun Ruoyan gave Li Mo a look, then forcefully pulled her brother away.

As the two of them left the Slaughtering King’s manor and got on the Yun family carriage, Yun Moxiao began haranguing her about ethical and societal norms, particularly concerning her and Li Mo. Because they were master and disciple—and, symbolically, father and daughter—their relationship would be incestuous.

Yun Ruoyan had never known this old-fashioned side of her brother, and she countered, “In that case, isn’t interracial coupling between humans and beastkin likewise frowned open? Brother, why do you still insist on being with Sister Li Luo?”

Yun Moxiao sputtered. After quite a lengthy silence, he finally replied, “My situation’s different!”

“Different? How? Li Mo and I aren’t related by blood, so how could it be incest?”

“You’re master and disciple!”

“And so what? The difference between ‘master’ and ‘disciple’ is just a distinction of status. As the scion of a noble family, the distinction between you and Sister Li Luo, a beastkin servant, is likewise a distinction of status. If you can ignore this difference, why can’t I?”

Yun Moxiao thought himself relatively eloquent, but he found himself tongue-tied with regards to his sister’s logic.

“I can’t outwit you,” Yun Moxiao finally continued. “But if you want to marry the Slaughtering King, then you surely have to gain the approval of our father and the emperor himself. Whether or not you need the approval of Kongming Academy, I don’t know, but this is no easy task to accomplish.”

“Li Mo will deal with all that,” Yun Ruoyan replied, forcing a smile. “I’ll just need to prepare to be a bride.”