Lin Yu Ning saw that Su Yun Mo had noticed her injury, and instinctively withdrew her hand. Hearing Lin Lang's words, she let out a cold laugh.
"Whether someone is good or bad isn't for you to decide. You think you're a good person, but when you reach the underworld, the King of Hell might not think so."
"You!" Lin Lang stepped forward, about to make a move.
Su Yun Mo reached out and stopped her, saying coldly to Lin Yu Ning, "No one knows what happens after death. Is it better to know death before life?"
If one can't even live properly, they'll be a confused ghost even in death.
Lin Yu Ning's body stiffened abruptly, then she looked at Su Yun Mo with a complex expression: "Back when we were at the Marquis's estate, my elder brother always said you disliked reading and writing, believing you'd be unlettered when you grew up."
"Now it seems my elder brother can also be wrong. How ironic."
Looking at Su Yun Mo now, she was nothing like the person who disliked reading back then.
Su Yun Mo frowned, no longer in the mood to stand in the wind and talk with her: "If you have nothing else, I'll be going back."
Lin Yu Ning saw her impatience and shook her head: "No need. This is the General's estate. If anyone should leave, it should be me."
With that, she turned and walked away into the wind.
The cold wind scattered her hair, so she gathered it again and left with faltering steps.
Lin Lang watched her retreating figure, her brow furrowed in confusion: "Why did Lin Yu Ning suddenly come over to say these meaningless things?"
Su Yun Mo narrowed her eyes and carefully observed the way she walked for a moment, a strange look flashing in her eyes.
But the little dumpling said nothing in the end, taking Lin Lang back to the courtyard.
Upon entering the house, voices could be heard from the inner chambers.
Su Yun Mo raised an eyebrow and went inside, seeing Ye Ning Yuan asking Green Vine for tea. Green Vine looked at Ye Ning Yuan with a helpless expression.
"Oh, Mo Mo, you're back so early?" Ye Ning Yuan greeted her with a wave upon seeing the little dumpling enter.
Su Yun Mo saw the person wrapped in her quilt, sitting on her bed, and rubbed her temples with a headache: "It's New Year's Day today, aren't you going home?"
Ye Ning Yuan shivered instantly and shrank towards the foot of the bed: "Hey, you promised me you wouldn't kick me out until I got tired of staying here."
Seeing her pathetic state, Su Yun Mo rolled her eyes and stepped onto the bed.
Lin Lang came to help her mistress remove her clothes and socks, serving her to wash up and sleep.
Su Yun Mo herself removed all the heavy items from her body: "It's not that I'm kicking you out, but today is a special day, and you should go back to see your father."
The Princess of Yun Yi had died early, and the King of Yun Yi had no sons, only her as his daughter. With New Year's Day here, if she didn't go home, the King of Yun Yi would be alone in the estate, which would be rather lonely.
Thinking this, the little dumpling sighed inwardly.
Her father wasn't in the estate this year either. Although her mother had been cheerful during dinner, she could tell her mother was still a bit lonely.
"I know, which is why I already returned to my estate earlier to have a few drinks with my old man during your family's festival," Ye Ning Yuan said, shrugging her shoulders.
After all, she wasn't an unfilial person.
"In the latter half of the night, my old man will be guarding the ancestral hall for an old friend. Even if I stayed at the estate, I'd be sleeping alone, so I might as well come here to be with you."
Lin Lang finished washing the little dumpling's feet and carried the basin of water out.
Green Vine also moved the candles to the outer room. Today was New Year's Eve, and the room had to be brightly lit without closing the lights. But she was afraid the little dumpling wouldn't be able to sleep with too much light, so she moved the candles as far away from the bed as possible.
The two of them closed the door and went out, leaving the room quiet.
Su Yun Mo lay on the bed, pulled the quilt up, and casually asked Ye Ning Yuan, "An old friend?"
Ye Ning Yuan "Mm-hmm"-ed: "That old friend is very important to my father, more important than his daughter. So, I usually can't see him in the latter half of the night."
She paused, then looked at the little dumpling, seeming reluctant to discuss the topic, and shifted the conversation to Su Yun Mo.
"Green Vine just said you came back and went out again? Did someone come to see you? Who was it?"
"Lin Yu Ning." Su Yun Mo didn't tell her the specifics, clearly not satisfied with this topic either, and changed the subject again.
"You can stay, but don't forget, the condition we agreed on for you to stay is that you help me get rid of Mei Yan. But it's been so long, and you've just been freeloading here, not doing any real business."
Ye Ning Yuan reached out and put her arm around her: "Don't worry, tomorrow, I'll definitely take care of it."
Speaking of which, she had told Lin Yu Ning that Mo Mo would eventually deal with Mei Yan, but she hadn't expected that in the end, she would have to do it herself.
But it didn't matter. Since Ye Jing Cheng had already been stripped of his title, Mei Yan's status had also declined, and she had no worries.
She looked at the little dumpling beside her and blinked her eyes.
Hmm... If things got out of hand in the end, it would be fine. At worst, she could just say that Mo Mo had ordered her to do it.
She was very cunning and had many ways to escape.
The night gradually deepened.
Perhaps everyone was tired from the revelry of the first half of the night.
In the latter half of the night, it became quiet, as if the entire capital had fallen asleep.
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace, Emperor Ye Yao had just finished his official duties and emerged from his study, heading towards his sleeping quarters.
Yi Zuo and Yi You stood guard at the entrance to the sleeping chambers. Since Liu Lan Xue had moved in, they had become the Emperor's personal attending palace maids.
The candlelight flickered within the room, and the woman's delicate figure was reflected on the windowpane.
Emperor Ye Yao stepped into the room, his voice gentle: "She's not asleep yet?"
Yi Zuo said softly, "Your Highness hasn't eaten today. She said she wanted to wait for His Majesty to return together."
Emperor Ye Yao's heart skipped a beat, and hearing this, he quickened his pace.
Inside the room, Liu Lan Xue leaned against the table, resting her elbows on it and propping her chin with her hands. She was yawning one yawn after another.
The table held dishes and dumplings, which had already cooled somewhat.
"Xue'er?" Emperor Ye Yao entered the room and saw her sitting by the table, dressed thinly, waiting for him. He felt both heartache and pity.
"Didn't I send someone to tell you that I would be busy for a longer time tonight and that you should eat and go to bed early?"
She had been injured before and hadn't fully recovered, and her body was so frail. It was not good for her to treat herself like this.
"A Yao~" Liu Lan Xue saw the man enter, and her sleepiness receded a little.
She opened her arms and sought a hug like a child.
Emperor Ye Yao quickened his steps, taking two steps at once, and embraced her, gently rubbing her back: "Are you cold?"
"Not cold," Liu Lan Xue shook her head, then raised her eyes, revealing a gentle smile: "It's New Year's Day today. Yi Zuo and the others said it's a very important day, and I wanted to wait for A Yao to celebrate it together."
Emperor Ye Yao looked at her pure gaze, and his heart softened completely.
From the moment she entered the palace, his Xue'er had been like a pure snow lotus, untainted by impurities. Even now, after so long, even though she had forgotten him, her disposition remained the same.