Lan Yan fell silent, waiting for Li Wan'er's schemes.
Li Wan'er felt a moment of awkwardness. She had intended her words for Jun Yelan, not for a mere maidservant. But with no other recourse, she continued.
"Miss," she said, "our two factions have been in conflict for years with no resolution. I am not talented, but I understand the suffering of the people in both factions."
"Get to the point," Lan Yan yawned, growing tired of the preamble.
Li Wan'er's hands clenched. Once her important task was accomplished, she vowed to teach this person before her a lesson first. "I wish to form a marital alliance with City Lord Jun to maintain peace between our two factions."
And then, she would seize the opportunity to destroy this city.
Lan Yan was sure she hadn't misheard. This Li Wan'er was an intelligent person. "Are you finished? You may leave." Lan Yan didn't even need to relay this to Jun Yelan; he would undoubtedly refuse and perhaps even wish to kill Li Wan'er.
Seeing Lan Yan's attitude, Li Wan'er lost her patience. "Miss, as far as I know, you are merely a maidservant to City Lord Jun. I wish to speak directly with City Lord Jun."
"The City Lord is unavailable, so he sent me. Don't you understand that!" Lan Yan smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
As the daughter of the righteous faction's alliance leader, Li Wan'er was accustomed to being pampered and had never endured such treatment. Remembering the purpose of her visit, she suppressed her anger and called out again, "You are just a maidservant, how can you know the City Lord's thoughts!"
It seemed she refused to leave. Lan Yan took out a token from her懷. This was what Lu Qi had given her to use for disguise during her transformation. "You can read, can't you? Look clearly, this is the token of the Dead City. This represents our City Lord!"
Li Wan'er didn't recognize the token either. She looked at Li Dali beside her, who knew even less.
"Our City Lord has entrusted me with handling this matter. Since you seem to have nothing else to do, hurry up and scram. When the people of the city come out, they won't be as easygoing as I am." Lan Yan turned to leave, casually tossing two pebbles behind her before entering the city.
Li Wan'er and Li Dali were hit on the insteps, causing them to jump back in pain. They looked at the eerie city gate before them, and remembering Lan Yan's parting words, they couldn't help but tremble before mounting their carriage and leaving.
In the carriage, Li Wan'er angrily flicked her sleeves, seething. "This Jun Yelan is truly excessive, sending a maidservant to dismiss us. He cannot face our entire righteous faction alone."
Li Dali, beside her, agreed. "Exactly. He humiliated our master before. Our Li family, along with other allied righteous factions, has long united to ensure these people suffer greatly in the future!"
Upon their return, they would inform the Alliance Leader Li, who would then arrange the next phase of their plan, organizing a large-scale assassination. After all, they had their people stationed within the city.
At this moment, Jun Yelan, standing on the city walls, watched Lan Yan's triumphant departure, a slight curve at the corner of his lips. He cast a cold glance at the carriage and turned back.
Lan Yan returned to the tea-brewing room, which had now become her own. Her successful reprimand of the Li family was thanks to Jun Yelan's teachings the previous night and his carrying her back.
She decided to give Jun Yelan a small gift and seized the opportunity to contact the system. "System, is my mission nearing completion?"
The system glanced at the interface. The host was indeed progressing quite quickly. However, it couldn't let Lan Yan become complacent. "Average," it replied.
Lan Yan was speechless. What kind of answer was that? She asked something else, "Then what should I give him?"
"The system does not possess such capabilities; it does not understand human preferences. If you were to give me something, it would be to complete the mission faster."
Lan Yan: "...You're thinking too much. I won't give it to you." She looked towards the door, feeling a gentle breeze wafting in. An idea suddenly struck her. "Make a wind chime."
She fetched some wood, bells, and rope, and began to craft it.
Abandoned by the system: "...Forget it, I'll go offline."
Lan Yan first shaped the wind chime from wood, drilled holes to hang the bells, and finally attached a thick rope. It was complete.
As she was about to take the wind chime to the main hall, she encountered a maidservant holding a box near the entrance. This maid seemed to be from the Saintess's Palace. Lan Yan grew vigilant, hiding the wind chime behind her and standing stiffly.
The maidservant said, "Lan Yan, the Saintess asked me to give this to you. She said it's compensation for what happened last time." Lowering her head, she handed over the box.
Lan Yan frowned, not believing the Saintess would offer an olive branch. "Is there poison or some harmful creature in this box?"
The maidservant trembled and shook her head. "I don't know." The Saintess had smiled strangely that morning and instructed her to deliver the box.
This reaction made Lan Yan even more wary. "Tell the Saintess I don't want it. If she continues to treat the City Lord like that, I will still carry out what I did last time." With that, she walked down the corridor, paying no mind to the person behind her.
The maidservant stood helplessly, clutching the box as she returned, anticipating the Saintess's wrath.
Lan Yan proceeded to the main hall and saw Jun Yelan handling official duties. She didn't disturb him. Standing at the doorway, she twirled the wind chime in her hand, listening to the melodious sound of the bells, feeling inexplicably cheerful.
Jun Yelan naturally heard the sound and looked towards the hall entrance, seeing a sliver of a blue sleeve. He put down his work and feigned ignorance, "Who is there?"
Lan Yan emerged from the doorway, smiling. "City Lord, it's me." She walked in, sat beside Jun Yelan, and said mysteriously, "City Lord, I have something for you. Close your eyes first."
When faced with her requests, Jun Yelan always found them strange but complied nonetheless. He closed his eyes and heard a clear sound by his ear, like the tapping of bamboo in the early morning in a bamboo forest.
"City Lord, you can open your eyes now."
Jun Yelan's eyes immediately fell upon the wind chime before him and the smile of the person holding it. He paused for a moment, gazing at Lan Yan.
Lan Yan nudged it slightly, and the wind chime chimed even louder. She smiled, "City Lord, from now on, if you hang this wind chime at your door, you'll know when the door opens and won't have to wake up periodically to check."
"Also, during the day, you can hang it by the window. Feeling the breeze and hearing the bells will make you less tired."
Jun Yelan watched the chattering girl before him, not truly absorbing her words, his focus entirely on Lan Yan. He suddenly felt an urge to hold her close, and he acted on it.
For him, this act would bring him peace and prevent his episodes.
Lan Yan was initially confused, then gently patted Jun Yelan's back, soothing his emotions.
They remained in silence for a while, simply accompanying each other.
That evening, Jun Yelan hung the wind chime at the door and then turned to look at Lan Yan, who had already fallen asleep, a faint smile on his lips. He lay down opposite her, facing her direction, and closed his eyes peacefully.
The sound of the wind chime at the door also quieted.