"How did you know yesterday was my birthday?" Su Yunmo asked, surprised.
Ye Jingkun didn't answer, merely pushing the wooden box closer to her.
Su Yunmo glanced at the gate of the cold palace.
It seemed Ye Jingyu would be inside for a long time, so chatting with this person wouldn't hurt.
"Thank you," Su Yunmo took the box and opened it, her eyelids twitching.
Inside the box was a rabbit.
Four of its paws were severed, its eyes gouged out, and blood was still flowing from the wounds.
The snow-white fur was stained with blood. The rabbit wasn't dead yet, its body convulsing, but it wouldn't live much longer.
Ye Jingkun stared intently at her bright eyes, his expression obsessive and expectant. "Do you like it?"
Su Yunmo sighed.
If anyone else had sent her such a thing, she would have slapped them.
But Ye Jingkun was different. Given his personality, he genuinely considered this a gift.
"It's quite nice, just a bit difficult to keep alive," Su Yunmo said with a hint of helplessness.
Ye Jingkun's delicate face lit up almost instantly. He also extended his hand to her. "A gift."
Su Yunmo blinked, then after a moment, understood his meaning. "Is it your birthday today?" she asked, surprised.
Ye Jingkun frowned and shook his head.
Su Yunmo chuckled. "Since it's not your birthday, why should I give you a gift?"
Even as a gesture of reciprocity, it wouldn't be this soon.
A flicker of conflict crossed Ye Jingkun's eyes.
"Young Miss," Qianxue called from the entrance of the cold palace.
Su Yunmo looked up at her, nodded, then closed the lid of the box, patted it, and raised an eyebrow. "I've accepted the item. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going now."
She stepped past Ye Jingkun and headed towards the cold palace.
Ye Jingkun stood in place, watching her from afar, his brows furrowing by degrees.
Only on birthdays could one receive gifts.
But he wanted them so badly, those beautiful eyes.
"Young Miss, it's getting late, you should be heading back," Qianxue met her, glancing towards the pavilion.
Ye Jingkun was still lost in thought, gazing at Su Yunmo's retreating figure.
Su Yunmo looked towards the gate of the cold palace. "Hasn't your master come out yet?"
"Master left the cold palace a long time ago and is waiting in the carriage," Qianxue said, hesitating.
She was debating whether to tell the Young Miss that Master's expression had been rather grim when he got into the carriage earlier.
"Oh, then let's go."
After all, it was only the first day. There would be many more days for them to reunite as mother and son. She had waited for years, so there was no need to rush this moment.
"Yes."
Forget it, it was better not to say anything. Master wasn't the first to be jealous, so she was used to it.
Su Yunmo, unaware of Qianxue's thoughts, got into the carriage after leaving the palace.
Ye Jingyu sat on the soft couch. Seeing her enter, his gaze swept over the box in her hand. He asked casually, "What is that?"
Su Yunmo raised an eyebrow and waved the wooden box in front of him. "A gift."
Actually, Ye Jingyu, her second brother, was quite interesting.
Ye Jingyu's eyes darkened. He extended his hand. "May I see it?"
Su Yunmo pulled her hand away. "No!"
She didn't want to scare him.
Ye Jingyu immediately let out a cold snort. "What a precious item, I don't care for it!"
It was one thing with Ye Jingcheng, but now even her usually aloof second brother was developing feelings for her.
And she was smiling so brightly at him.
She had never smiled at him like that in all the time they had known each other!
He had actually wanted to take this opportunity to speak his mind to her.
He wouldn't anymore!
From then on, Ye Jingyu remained silent, his face sullen.
Su Yunmo didn't pay it any mind, thinking he was probably just tired and dispirited after seeing Consort Liang.
When the carriage reached the entrance of the General's mansion, Su Yunmo jumped out and casually bid him farewell.
Ye Jingyu sat in the carriage, lifting the curtain to watch her, waiting for her to turn back and say something comforting or give some other instruction.
But unfortunately, there was nothing.
Su Yunmo's figure quickly disappeared through the main gate.
Ye Jingyu gritted his teeth even harder. "Return to the mansion!"
"Yes~" Qianxue sighed to the sky.
When would the Young Miss ever understand?
Su Yunmo didn't sense Ye Jingyu's anger because he usually had a cold expression anyway.
She was just being unusually considerate today, fearing that he might feel embarrassed after she saw his vulnerable moment of reuniting with his mother, which was why she hadn't said anything in the carriage.
For this, she even felt smug, thinking of herself as a truly understanding and good person.
The "understanding" person returned to the mansion, lost in self-admiration.
Ziyuan came out from inside the house. "Master, are the matters in the palace concluded?"
"They are," Su Yunmo handed the wooden box to her. "Prepare yourself. I need to go to the Ministry of Justice tomorrow."
She had kept Lin Chenxi waiting for so long; he should be calmer by now.
Ziyuan acknowledged with a "Yes" and opened the box. Upon seeing the dead rabbit inside, her eyelids twitched. "Master, what is this?"
"Oh, I bought it to make rabbit soup."
Ziyuan: "..."
The Master's actions were becoming increasingly unfathomable.
Lin Chenxi was a prisoner. It wasn't easy to see him.
Unbeknownst to Ziyuan, through some method she employed, Su Yunmo found the path to the prison cell unobstructed the next day.
Lin Chenxi was confined in the innermost cell. In just half a month, he had lost all his former scholarly elegance.
The cell reeked of foul odors. Lin Chenxi, dressed in prison attire, sat on a straw-filled bed, shackles on his feet. His hair was disheveled, his face sallow.
"You've finally come," he looked up at Su Yunmo, his eyes devoid of light, dark and gloomy.
But Su Yunmo felt no unfamiliarity; it seemed this was Lin Chenxi's true nature. "There's something I've always wanted to ask you. When did you collude with Ye Jingcheng?"
When Ye Jingcheng first approached her, neither he nor Yu Ning had paid much attention. This meant they hadn't harbored murderous intent towards her at that time.
During this period, she had treated them as usual. What was the trigger that led them to do such a thing?
Lin Chenxi's eyes flickered, and his tone deepened. "Does it matter? The deed is done. No matter what answer you hear, you won't let us go, will you?"
Actually, when he was first imprisoned, he still held a sliver of hope, thinking that she, out of their childhood affection, wouldn't truly put him to death.
But during this time, he finally understood that their sibling bond had long since vanished with that fire.
"Even though the outcome is the same, I feel uneasy if I don't clarify. Since you're a person on the verge of death anyway, telling me the truth won't hurt."
Su Yunmo looked at him, her brows furrowed.
Lin Chenxi suddenly burst into sarcastic laughter, then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "Why do you think I accepted you as my sister back then? Do you really think I was a good brother who cared for his sister? What a joke!"
His tone shifted, and he opened his eyes, looking at Su Yunmo with hatred. "As a man, I joined the Marquis's mansion. I should have been superior to others! But fate was unkind, and I was bullied by a mere concubine!"
"And you! You're just a mere girl, yet you're the legitimate daughter! If I hadn't befriended you and used you to treat my leg, when would I ever have had a chance to rise?!"
These women were all destined to be married. Marrying meant following their husbands, merely being treated as dolls. Since that was the case, why shouldn't he take advantage of them before they were married!