The first elder had begun his investigations before meeting Empress Xue Tong once more. The only reason he had done so was because he noticed Li Mo’s unusual attitude toward Yun Ruoyan, and he had probed Yun Ruoyan’s background as a mere precaution.

But after his encounter with Empress Xue Tong, he delved even deeper into her past. By the time he realized that Yun Ruoyan possessed the demonic dragon’s bloodline, he had decided to swear loyalty to Empress Xue Tong, and had revealed this secret to her.

“How did you determine that Lin Yuemei was still alive?” Empress Xue Tong asked.

I had someone examine her corpse in the Yun family mausoleum, only to discover that it was only a cenotaph,” the first elder replied. “Later, my men found out, almost by coincidence, that the Lin mausoleum contained a nameless grave. It had been constructed not too long after Lin Yuemei’s death, but no one from the Lin family had passed away at the time. As a result, I had him investigate the grave. The commotion startled Lin Zainan, and it was he that brought up the possibility that Lin Yuemei was still alive.”

The first elder looked solemnly at Empress Xue Tong. “However, I don’t think we should keep this matter from Xun Mo. Even if we don’t tell him, he’ll discover the truth sooner or later. On the other hand, if we deliberately kept it a secret, he would likely blame us once he found out.”

Empress Xue Tong’s voice was cold, touched with the hard edge of steel. “I’ve considered all the points you’ve brought up, but it’s clear that Mo’er’s invested in this Yun Ruoyan. I’m afraid that his emotions will unduly influence him at an inopportune moment, so it’s best that we keep this hidden from him for the moment.”

The first elder had seen for himself how much Li Mo cared for Yun Ruoyan. If there came a day when they had to make use of, or even sacrifice, Yun Ruoyan, Li Mo’s emotions would likely lead him to inaction.

“Have you ever thought of meeting this Yun Ruoyan? After all, Li Mo’s about to marry her,” the first elder suddenly said.

“No. It won’t do to have outsiders know of my identity. Have the two of them train together for a while longer. If there comes a day when you can confirm that Yun Ruoyan would sacrifice herself for Li Mo, I shall meet her then.”

In order to form an alliance with the demonic dragon clan undoubtedly required the services of its last descendant, Yun Ruoyan. However, this was a delicate matter, something that had to be planned around with care. That Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan liked each other was a heaven-sent opportunity, one that Empress Xue Tong clearly had to take advantage of.

Over the next few days, Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao went around investigating their mother’s potential whereabouts. Naturally, they couldn’t ask Yun Lan about the matter directly, so they were also at a loss as to how to proceed.

Yun Ruoyan tried to learn about her mother from the Yun matriarch, but her grandmother didn’t know much about her mother. According to her, Yun Lan had guarded her mother very well after bringing her into the Yun household. In order to prevent her from getting bullied, he would always accompany her to pay respects to their parents in the morning, and he had gone against his parents’ wills because of her quite a few times.

The Yun matriarch said that Yun Lan had been thoughtful and ambitious starting from a very young age. Only when it came to matters regarding Lin Yuemei did he seem like a man possessed.

Yun Ruoyan mulled over what her grandmother had said. “Grandmother, after my mother married my father, was there ever a period of time when she was away from the Yun family?”

“After your mother gave birth to your brother, she moved to a rather isolated cottage in the Yun household, and we would rarely see her afterwards. However, I don’t believe she was ever away from the Yun household for long periods at a time. Yan’er, what prompted you to ask these questions?”

“No reason, Grandmother. I heard my grandfather tell me that my mother was flighty in her childhood, so I was curious about whether she had changed.”

The Yun matriarch frowned. “Lively? Not as far as I could tell. However, your mother was truly a beauty, though one who wasn’t prone to smiling.”

Not having been able to obtain any information of value from her grandmother, Yun Ruoyan chatted with Yun Moxiao regarding how to proceed, then decided to talk to those who had been in the Yun household when Lin Yuemei was around.

Yun Moxiao would approach the older servants, while Yun Ruoyan would ask Qin Jianmet about the matter. She knew that Qin Jianmei used to be quite friendly with her mother, and it was very possible that she would know some important information.

Conveniently, Yun Ruoyu had come over early in the morning to play with Yun Ruoyan. The two of them enjoyed tea and snacks in her room; Yun Ruoyu asked her a few questions about Kongming Academy, which Yun Ruoyan described briefly.

Then, Yun Ruoyan asked about what had happened in the Yun household while she was gone, as well as how Madam An had gone mad. At first, Yun Ruoyu’s tone and mannerisms were quite natural, but as soon as she brought up Madam An, her expression stiffened.

Curious. 

Yun Ruoyan didn’t press her on the details, but made a note to investigate it further in the future. As Yun Ruoyu bade farewell to her, Yun Ruoyan volunteered to walk to Madam Qin’s cottage with her.

Somewhat surprised, Yun Ruoyu responded, “My mother’s likely performing morning service at this time, so I’m afraid she won’t have the time to welcome you, Sister.”

“That’s fine,” Yun Ruoyan replied. “I can wait in the courtyard until she’s done. We’re in the middle of winter now, and with the fresh bout of snow last night, I’m sure the plum blossoms around her cottage have bloomed. I’d love to take the opportunity to see them for myself.”

In the end, Yun Ruoyu relented, and the two of them headed for Madam Qin’s quarters together.

As they passed by Madam An’s cottage, Yun Ruoyan could once again hear her quiet sobs and loud laughter, all the more eerie for being interspersed with each other.

“Mother has always been a strong, tough woman, so how did she suddenly go crazy?” Yun Ruoyan wondered, almost to herself.

“She didn’t go crazy all of a sudden, Mistress,” Ling Lan replied. 

Peony and Xi Lan had been busy preparing feasts and snacks for Yun Ruoyan upon her return to the Yun household. When they discovered that Yun Ruoyan had grown half a head taller since her departure for Kongming Academy and that the winter clothes they had made were all too small for her, they also had to remake her entire winter outfit.

And because they were worried that Yun Ruoyan would leave all of a sudden, Peony and Xi Lan had almost ended up working overnight in order to get her a comfortable, warm set of winter clothing before she had to return to Kongming Academy once more.

As a result, Yun Ruoyan had largely been accompanied by Ling Lan these last few days.

“How do you know, Ling Lan?”

“I’m friends with one of the servants responsible for Madam An’s household, and I heard her mention that, despite her sorrow, Madam An was still quite mentally healthy,” Ling Lan responded. “However, her old illnesses came back with a vengeance as a result of her grief. Master Yun sent for quite a number of physicians for her, and her diet largely consisted of tonics and pills of all sorts. In the end, she slowly recovered from her illnesses, but her mental state had deteriorated greatly.”

Ling Lan shook her head. “She began to sleeptalk at night, then started talking nonsense even during the day. Now, it seems like she’s truly gone crazy.”

She didn’t go crazy all of a sudden…?

 Yun Ruoyan’s intuition told her that something was amiss. It wouldn’t have been strange for her to go crazy all of a sudden because of severe mental trauma, but to have descended into craziness over a prolonged period of time…

“Sister Ruoyao’s death was truly a blow to Madam An,” Yun Ruoyu sighed. “Her body, already weakened from illness, couldn’t bear her grief. Shortly after Sister Ruoyao’s passing, I would frequent Mother’s cottage to make sure that she was doing well. After she scolded me all of a sudden, however, I didn’t dare visit her anymore.”

As they talked, they arrived at Madam Qin’s residence. Despite being situated in a rather isolated part of the Yun household, the grounds were exquisitely kept. The snowy courtyard was bordered by plum blossom trees, which blossomed all the more brightly for the cold.

And although it was farther from the main household, just the exterior appearance of Qin Jianmei’s cottage alone was far better than Yun Ruoyan’s own cottage, and it was clear that Yun Lan quite favored her.

“Mother, I’m here with Sister Ruoyan to visit you,” Yun Ruoyu called out.

However, no one responded to her call. “I’m sure she’s currently busy with her morning service,” Yun Ruoyu whispered. “Let’s head to the living room and warm ourselves up first.”

She pulled Yun Ruoyan into one of the rooms, calling out for Meixiang all the while. A drab maid walked out of a side chamber, and Yun Ruoyu had her prepare some tea.

“Sister Ruoyan, please don’t be offended. Meixiang’s the only servant here in this cottage, and the tea and snacks might not be up to par.”

“It’s not a problem.” Yun Ruoyan smiled. “This is a perfect time to enjoy the scenery outside.”

She sat down, then quickly stood back up. As she headed outside, she told Ling Lan, “Go help Meixiang with the tea and snacks.”

Ling Lan nodded and left as Yun Ruoyan walked out.

“Sister Ruoyan, it’s cold outside! Make sure you don’t freeze!” Yun Ruoyu scrambled out into the courtyard with her. Plum blossoms filled the courtyard, bright dashes of color against a snowy-white backdrop. Yun Ruoyan pretended to take in the sight, but her gaze quickly honed in on a small room by the western side of the house.

From that room came a strong, concentrated herbal aroma—sandalwood incense for prayer, but far more fragrant than usual.

“How fragrant!” Yun Ruoyan sniffed. “It’s not like what they make outside at all.”

“This is my mother’s homemade concoction,” Yun Ruoyu explained.

Just then, the door to that room creaked open, and a drab Qin Jianmei walked out of it. “Second Miss, what brings you to this humble abode today?” She smiled as she greeted Yun Ruoyan.

“The snow last night was beautiful, and I thought that your plum blossoms would have bloomed magnificently, Madam Qin. When Sister Ruoyu came to visit me, I simply followed her over.”

She walked over to Madam Qin, meeting her halfway. “Madam Qin, you truly are devout, maintaining such a routine for years on end.” Yun Ruoyan glanced at the room that she had just left. “Madam Qin, would you permit me to pray for a little as well?”

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