Feng Moran waited for a long time, but did not receive Xiao Man's reply. He tilted his head in confusion, only to see Xiao Man staring at him with wide, dazed eyes.
Feng Moran felt a little guilty. "Why aren't you speaking?"
"Master, now that you have the Empress, do you think I'm a burden?"
The turn of conversation was a bit too abrupt, and Feng Moran almost didn't react. "What are you talking about?"
"They say children without mothers are like weeds. Not only do I not have a mother, I don't have a father either." Xiao Man said tearfully, her eyes blurry with alcohol, clutching Feng Moran's sleeve. "Master is the worst. You know that woman killed my mother, yet you're with her. After you got together with her, you wanted to get rid of me to please her."
Feng Moran almost choked. "You're drunk and talking nonsense again!"
"I'm not! Master, are you angry that my mother broke off your engagement and got together with my father, so you're with Lan Ruoyu to get revenge on my parents?"
"I didn't!" Feng Moran felt that arguing with a drunk person was like a scholar facing a soldier, with no way to explain himself.
"You still won't admit it. If anyone dares to snatch my man, I'll definitely... *hic*..." Xiao Man hiccuped. "If my man can be snatched away... I'll leave without looking back. If he can be snatched, he's fake."
Feng Moran was torn between laughter and tears. He thought Xiao Man was going to say that if anyone dared to snatch her man, she would make them pay. Instead, she was willing to let him go without hesitation!
"Why don't you fight for it? Instead, you want to let go. If you let go, everything that belongs to you will be snatched away."
"What's mine, no one can snatch. What's not mine, it's useless even if I snatch it, I can't keep it." Xiao Man picked up the wine pot and clinked it with Feng Moran. "Look, who can snatch Moran away from me?"
Feng Moran took a large gulp of wine and said resentfully, "Can we not mention him?"
"Fine, no more about him!" Xiao Man said loudly. "Then let's talk about Nangong Yu!"
"What's there to talk about with Nangong Yu?"
Xiao Man stared blankly for a moment, then looked at Feng Moran. "Then let's not talk about them, let's talk about you!"
"Me?" Feng Moran was also a bit drunk. "What about me?"
"See, you were snatched away, which means you don't belong to me."
Feng Moran was confused by Xiao Man's twisted logic. "When was I snatched away?"
"You still won't admit it. Can you say you don't resent me? Can you say you haven't felt a trace of hatred towards me? Can you say you're not dissatisfied with me and hate me for not listening to you?"
Feng Moran looked at Xiao Man's pouting face and didn't know how to answer. "When you were little, you were the most obedient. But now, I always feel like you want to anger me to death."
"Master, do you only want an obedient puppet? One without thoughts or feelings, just a puppet doll that moves according to your will when you pull its strings?"
Feng Moran certainly didn't want a puppet. He wanted a person of flesh and blood. Lan Ruoxian didn't love him, he knew that from the beginning. Because Lan Ruoxian was a good older sister, she knew her sister liked him, so she never had any feelings for him, or rather, she never fell for him.
He was born with unparalleled looks, and countless women lusted after him. Even Lan Ruoyu didn't hide her affection for him. Only Lan Ruoxian, from beginning to end, had clear eyes. When she looked at him, there was no infatuation, no deep affection.
"I just want the person I love to love me back," Feng Moran said faintly. "When I was young, I knew she didn't love me, but I was unconvinced. I used all sorts of tricks just to make her love me, but in the end, I failed."
Xiao Man hugged Feng Moran's arm. "Who does Master love?"
"Someone I've watched over for seventeen years, someone I'm willing to make a blood pact for," Feng Moran said softly. "But no matter what I do, it seems she doesn't love me."
"If she doesn't love you, why doesn't Master let go?" Xiao Man asked hazily. "If the person I like doesn't like me, I definitely won't cling to them shamelessly."
"Easier said than done. I want to let go, but I can't. The blood pact between us means nothing to her, but to me, it's the only connection between us."
Feng Moran looked at Xiao Man, who was holding his arm and completely drunk, a bitter smile on his lips. "I've watched over you for seventeen years, only to see you walk towards another. But this is all my own doing. I wanted to use him to temper you, but I didn't expect him to seize the opportunity and become the master."
Xiao Man, in her daze, seemed to hear "own doing" and mumbled, "Heaven's wrath is survivable, but self-inflicted ruin is not. If you don't watch your own treasures carefully and give them away, how can you expect them back?"
Feng Moran's heart tightened when he heard this. "What's mine is mine. No one will ever snatch it away."
Xiao Man's grip on Feng Moran's arm tightened slightly, as if trying to find a more comfortable position to lean on.
Feng Moran's gaze fell on Xiao Man, a soft light flashing in his eyes. Suddenly, a figure burst in. Feng Moran looked over displeased, signaling him to leave.
The person wanted to say something, but seeing Feng Moran's angry expression, he immediately withdrew. Feng Moran took off his outer robe and draped it over Xiao Man, letting the drunken Xiao Man rest her head on his lap to continue sleeping. He gently patted her back, just like he used to soothe her to sleep when she was a child.
"Inciting discord between us is an unforgivable sin," Feng Moran's voice was very soft, very light, like a gentle breeze, and quickly dissipated. "I know you've always been soft-hearted, and some things are definitely not your intention. I'm not angry with you, but I cannot let the instigator go."
Xiao Man was completely drunk. Her tolerance for alcohol was not good. Even though she had taken a hangover pill beforehand, she still passed out. She dared not pretend to be drunk; Feng Moran was too shrewd. All she needed to do was stall Feng Moran and buy time for Nangong Yu to rescue the person.
Outside Tantai Palace, the dark guards were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. The people from Yuhua Palace had been abducted, and they hadn't caught them yet. At this moment, the Imperial Princess was lingering in Tantai Palace, and their master wouldn't see them. Afterward, they feared they would be in serious trouble.
"Lord Zhu, what should we do? Should we break in and report?"
Zhu Xiu leaned against the wall with his sword, his expression cold. "Breaking in at this moment would be tantamount to seeking death. You all know how our master feels about the Imperial Princess. These two have been arguing for so long, and there's finally a possibility of reconciliation. If you barge in and anger our master, no one can save you."
"But the people in Yuhua Palace..."
"No matter how important the people in Yuhua Palace are, they are not as important as the Imperial Princess." A flicker of unease crossed Zhu Xiu's eyes. The Imperial Princess's influence on their master was too great, which was probably not a good thing. In fact, he himself hoped that the relationship between these two would break down, so that their master would have fewer concerns when acting.