"Hey, have you guys noticed the Young City Lord has changed a lot lately? She doesn't pile on thick makeup anymore, and she doesn't beat or yell at the servants either. Seems like her temper's gotten much better."
As soon as she finished speaking, someone snorted with laughter.
"Changed for the better? I think she's just getting more and more out of line. I heard our Young City Lord spent one hundred thousand taels in gold leaves to buy a man for one night.
She only cared about her own pleasure, nearly losing the entire City Lord Mansion in the process."
"Exactly, exactly! The Young City Lord got scolded terribly by the City Lord over this, I heard it myself."
The Young City Lord didn't even dare make a sound.
The City Lord kept saying that man is a disaster-bringer and insisted she drag him back to let him have a look."
Someone sighed.
"A hundred thousand gold leaves, that's nearly enough to buy a small city. The Young City Lord is getting more and more absurd."
Their scattered gossip reached Su Qing and Fei Chen's ears.
Fei Chen instantly understood.
So this Young City Lord is the one who bought his master?
And also the owner of that handkerchief.
He glanced at his master and found that being called a disaster-bringer didn't anger him at all.
Su Qing listened to those people's words, fingers rubbing the white porcelain vial in his hand over and over.
She took the blame from that old man for him?
It almost seemed like there was a hint of sincerity there.
Not sure what he thought of, but his lips curled with a touch of red.
Fei Chen noticed his master's change and spoke in a low voice,
"Master, what should we do about the Secret Luo and the Spirit Stone?"
They'd come today precisely for the Spirit Stone and the Secret Luo formula.
They'd just been waiting for the Young City Lord to return so Fei Han could lead people to capture them all.
They wanted both the Secret Luo and this Spirit Stone.
But unexpectedly, the moment the Young City Lord returned, his master changed his mind.
Su Qing fiddled with the white porcelain vial in his hand for quite a while before speaking slowly,
"No rush."
Fei Chen replied,
"Understood."
Master and servant, one after the other, finally left the City Lord Mansion step by step beneath the setting sun.
Su Ye, upon returning to her residence, strode away to the back, letting out a slow breath as she walked.
Finally managed to get rid of them.
Su Ye's hand gripped her own sleeve.
The scene that was supposed to happen three months later—she had no idea why it suddenly leaped forward.
Xing was anxiously saying something beside her, but Su Ye didn't catch a word.
So much that by the time she and Xing reached the backyard, the cacophony of barking instantly jolted her back to her senses.
A wolfdog, with four little wolf pups of varying sizes at its side.
All five had wounds on them, looking like they'd been lashed by a whip.
The little dogs glared fiercely, standing together in the pavilion, howling nonstop at the Golden Crow sprouting from the earth.
"Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof woof!!"
The barking rose and fell, sounding especially fierce.
That was manageable—not even the most shocking part.
The scariest thing was, her contract plant's flower bud had actually bloomed.
Except...
"Woof woof woof! Woof woof!!"
The deep, booming bark erupted from that rough and pitch-black morning glory blossom.
The sight of it made Su Ye stumble back step by step.
Her eyes widened slightly, staring at Jin in the very center of the soil.
Its three vines kept whipping toward the wolfdogs again and again.
The bud unfolded into a black morning glory flower, letting out wailing howls.
It was like some kind of broken record, endlessly playing barking sounds.
And with sky-high volume, it howled back at the dogs in the pavilion.
It was as if whoever barked louder would be the winner.