In fact, The Palace of Brilliance Resurgence wasn’t the only place bustling with activity. The First Prince's residence was also extraordinarily lively.

Pei Rumo was seated in the study room as he tossed around a stack of visiting cards. He used his hand to support his chin as he said, “How many invitation cards are there?!” he stretched out his fingers to rub his temples and it seemed like he was suffering from a headache.

The guard who had never left Pei Rumo’s side for even a moment thought that his master was really asking for an answer. He quietly dragged out a box from the side and poured out its contents. He prepared himself to give Pei Rumo an exact number of invitation cards he received.

Pei Rumo got angry when he saw the mountain of cards lying on the ground. Bai Luochu wasn’t at the First Prince’s residence at the moment. Of course, he could make a trip down to look for her… However, he was the First Prince and doing such a thing would cause him to throw his reputation down the drain. He could only vent his anger on his guard.

Pei Rumo kicked the guard, causing the latter to roll on the ground. He then said, “I asked you how many invitations I received and you actually took them out to count them? Hurry up and put them back! Burn the entire box! How annoying…”

“Oh, this subordinate will obey.” The guard simply wanted to answer his master’s question properly, thus, he was preparing to count them carefully. He didn’t expect his master to actually unleash all his rage on him and a wronged feeling welled up in his heart. He rubbed his stinging buttocks as he carried the box out of the room. Just as he was about to reach the entrance, Pei Rumo called out to him again.

“Wait a moment. Where are the people that I sent to monitor Luo Chu? Are they in the residence?”

The guard pondered for a moment and replied, “My lord, you have sent a total of two men to monitor her. They are going to change shifts right now. One of them should be returning shortly.”

Pei Rumo’s anger seemed to have dissipated as he nodded and instructed. “As soon as one of them comes back, ask them to enter the study room. I have something to ask him.”

“Yes, my lord.” The guard then carried the box filled with invitations towards a secluded area in the residence. The burning of the invitations must not be done in the vicinity of his master. If it were to cause Pei Rumo to choke on the smoke or infuriate him again, he would suffer from another round of scolding..

Pei Rumo started to take care of all the reports on his table. He had been holding onto his folding fan for a long while and didn’t make any other movements. He seemed to be distracted and was deep in his thoughts.

After a long time, he heard a ‘creak’ sound coming from the door. He raised his head suddenly and noticed that it was the secret guard he had sent out to monitor Bai Luochu.

“My lord, did you call for me? Is there anything urgent to attend to?” This secret guard was clear about the bustle in the general’s residence. Now that his master had summoned him so urgently, he assumed that Pei Rumo was no longer going to stand Luo Chu’s disobedience. He thought that Pei Rumo was going to give him the order to silently eliminate her. 

Pei Rumo withdrew his eyes from the imperial note and raised his head to look at the secret guard before asking, “What has Luo Chu been doing these days? Don’t hide anything from me.”

“In response to my lord’s question. Young Lady Luo Chu didn’t do anything special these days, apart from messing around with her cousin. However, there is something strange going on. Young Lady Luo Chu would visit a secluded courtyard in the general's residence from time to time and would stay there for hours. This subordinate did an investigation and couldn’t find anything. It was as though Young Lady Luo Chu went over there to enjoy some peace and quiet. Young Lady Luo Chu also seems to be close to the Remote Paddy Inn. She seems to really like the food there and she either visits the place to eat, or the Remote Paddy Inn would send over desserts to the general’s residence.” The secret guard finished his report and waited by the side respectfully for Pei Rumo’s orders. 

When Pei Rumo heard the secret guard’s report, he immediately understood that this ambitious lass was probably up to something again.

Seeing how his secret guard assumed that Bai Luochu was a silly little girl who would be lazing around in the residence, Pei Rumo couldn’t help but lament to himself. She was truly an expert at disguising herself as a pig to devour a tiger. Seeing as how she was able to trick this secret guard of his, he knew that she was a talented individual who shouldn’t be belittled. On the other hand, Pei Rumo was secretly rejoicing that he was working with such an intelligent person. She might not be a person under his control, but she wasn’t someone he had to spend time and effort to cultivate.

“I understand. You may be dismissed and I have troubled you.” After Pei Rumo obtained the information he wanted, he dismissed the secret guard in order not to delay other pressing matters.

When the secret guard saw how his master was ‘concerned’ about Young Lady Luo Chu, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious. He thought about how his master acted differently every time she was involved.  Even though those were the thoughts in his heart, his expression remained unchanged. He simply took his leave respectfully and closed the door tightly after him, separating the noise of the outside world from the quiet environment of the study room.

Pei Rumo had reverted back to his serious and unsmiling appearance as he started to handle his work. The atmosphere in the room became solemn and Pei Rumo became an emotionless monster who only cared about political affairs.

By the time Pei Rumo completed his work, the sun was about to set. The clouds in the sky looked as though they were forming a tongue of fire glowing with a hue of red and it was extremely bewitching. The color in the sky seemed to be much more intense.

After withdrawing himself from important matters, Pei Rumo thought about his conversation with the secret guard. He originally wanted to find a reason to mess with Bai Luochu, but in the end, he praised her in his heart.

Pei Rumo couldn’t understand why either. He simply lamented silently that she had an extraordinary charm completely different from other ladies.

Pei Rumo looked at the location where the box of invitations was originally placed. Now that it was empty, he recalled his rage when he ordered his guard to burn it all. Pei Rumo started to complain in a soft voice, “You are doing rather well in the general's residence… you even became the queen of the mountain there. You have no idea how many lies I spun up the past few days in order to stop those people from visiting you. That’s not all… I still need to come up with excuses to placate my grandmother the Empress Dowager… It’s tiring enough to take care of all the matters of the state. You’re even increasing my workload right now. Did I owe you something in my previous life?!”

Pei Rumo didn’t realize that when he was complaining, a trace of human warmth far more suitable for someone of his age to possess washed through him. It was as though his emotionless self had been injected with a soul, causing the atmosphere around him to become much more gentle. Even his scarred face wasn’t as frightening anymore.