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Chapter 293: Betrothal

The first elder told Empress Xue Tong that the demonic dragon souls in the demonic dragon grotto wanted to meet with her in person to facilitate the discussion. Empress Xue Tong neither accepted nor refused the offer immediately; instead, she carefully considered her options.

“Empress, you must be cautious. You’ve already hidden here for more than a decade, and it’ll be very risky to leave at the moment.”

Although the silver dragon elders didn’t yet know that a fragment of the empress’ soul remained active on the Chenyuan continent, they still had quite a number of scouts in the vicinity, all of which were rather difficult to deal with. All the empress knew of these scouts was that the Yuelu Villa was one such; over the years, Li Mo had managed to save quite a number of beastkin slaves from the villa.

Xue Tong wasn’t confident that she would be able to avoid exposing herself to these scouts. If that were to happen, the consequences would be unimaginable. This was what most worried her.

After a long moment’s contemplation, she finally announced, “It might be dangerous to leave the area, but the benefits outweigh the risks. First Elder, bring Su Bei with you to prepare for my departure. I will personally head to the demonic dragon grotto to discuss matters with the demonic dragon elders.”

Knowing that Empress Xue Tong had made up her mind, the first elder could only nod in acceptance.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As dawn broke, Li Mo brought Yun Ruoyan back to the Slaughtering King’s manor. A betrothal was an important affair, and neither of them thought it appropriate to participate in their travel-worn state. As such, both of them had made a temporary stop at Li Mo’s manor, where Li Mo instructed Li Luo to draw them both a bath and to prepare fresh clothes for them.

Ever since Yun Ruoyan had stayed at Li Mo’s manor for a whole night, his manor had begun preparing clothes for Yun Ruoyan as well.

“Do I have to be present for the betrothal offer?” Yun Ruoyan asked. “Should I return to the Yun manor before you, then wait at my cottage for the news?”

“There’s no need for such trouble. Why don’t you just head there with me, Yan’er?” He chuckled at her anxious appearance. “Yan’er, could it be that you’re embarrassed?”

“Embarrassed?” Yun Ruoyan’s eyes widened. “Of course not! But no matter what, I’m still a proper daughter of the Yun family. Shouldn’t I be more reserved? Surely it wouldn’t do for me to look as though I can’t wait to get married!”

“More reserved?” Li Mo couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer. “Like this?”

He dragged Yun Ruoyan into his embrace, then leaned down to kiss her.

“Your Highness, Miss Yun, the bath is ready.” Li Luo suddenly appeared by the door, then immediately lowered her head upon seeing what they were doing.

“Yan’er, let’s bathe and change our clothes, then head to the Yun manor together.”

“Together?” Yun Ruoyan looked up, her cheeks blushing red. “We’re… bathing together?”

Li Mo’s smile grew wider. “If you’d like, Yan’er.”

“No!” Yun Ruoyan immediately pushed against Li Mo’s chest, struggling to free herself from her embrace. From his smiling expression, she knew that he was just teasing her.

“Yan’er, don’t get mad,” Li Mo continued. “My bathtubs are all too small for two, but once you move in, Yan’er, I’ll prepare a hot tub large enough for both of us to make love in.”

Li Mo said all those words with a straight face, but Yun Ruoyan was turning scarlet. She glanced at Li Luo, still standing by the doorframe with her head lowered, and quickly dashed to her side. “Sister Li Luo, don’t listen to His Highness speak nonsense! Please, lead me to the baths.”

When she was done, she dressed in a dress that Li Mo had picked out for her: a fiery red dress with a phoenix orchid motif. In general, Yun Ruoyan tended to dress casually, in a manner suited for physical exertion. Even in winter, she would only throw on a shawl or jacket; because of her cultivation, she wasn’t particularly bothered by the cold.

This fiery-red dress was more formal than she was used to, but it was surprisingly easy to put on and take off. Yun Ruoyan liked it very much.

“His Highness designed this himself, Miss Yun,” Li Luo mentioned in passing.

After putting on the new dress, she sat in front of the mirror as Li Luo brushed her hair. She didn’t put on a gauze patch, and neither did she hide her beauty with a fake birthmark.

When Li Luo walked in and saw Yun Ruoyan’s true appearance, it took her quite some time to gather her wits.

“His Highness has always had excellent taste. Miss Yun, you look stunning in that dress,” Li Luo praised.

“Sister Li Luo, won’t you call me Ruoyan instead of Miss Yun?” It wasn’t the first time that she had made such a request; she was quite uncomfortable at having the girl of her brother’s dreams refer to her so formally.

“I do have to stop calling you Miss Yun,” Li Luo joked. “It’s a pleasure to serve you, Consort Yun.”

“Sister Li Luo! I’m not married yet!” Yun Ruoyan’s face flushed red once more. Although she had experienced marriage in the past, her experience this time still seemed so novel that she was as nervous and shy as ever.

“Li Luo, His Highness sent me over to ask if the two of you were ready yet. It’s starting to get late,” a servant called out from outside.

“We’ll be done soon!” Li Luo called back.

“It’s customary to make marriage proposals in the morning for good luck. Now that it’s almost noon, I’m sure His Highness is getting somewhat nervous,” Li Luo explained.

Because Yun Ruoyan wasn’t yet of age, her hairstyle couldn’t be too complicated. Li Luo deftly twisted her hair into many small braids, then wound them into twin buns pinned atop her head. The resulting hairstyle was simple yet elegant, cute yet accentuating her fine features. Combined with her dress, she looked as graceful as a lark.

Li Mo smiled as soon as he saw her.

“His Highness reserves all his genuine smiles for you, Miss Yun,” Li Luo whispered from the side.

“Yan’er.” Li Mo stepped forward and swept Yun Ruoyan into an embrace. “Let’s go.”

The two of them held hands as they stepped into the carriage, which drove off in the direction of the Yun manor.

“Li Mo, once you’re done with this marriage proposal, I’d like to discuss some matters with you.”

“Of course, Yan’er.”

An hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the Yun manor. When the guards at the front gate saw the Slaughtering King arrive with Yun Ruoyan, they immediately rushed to report the sight to Yun Lan.

Meanwhile, Li Mo helped Yun Ruoyan down the carriage, then walked into the manor while still holding her hand.

“What? Repeat yourselves!” Yun Lan had been dealing with court documents in his study when he was rudely interrupted with news of Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan’s arrival.

“Master, the Slaughtering King is walking toward the great hall with Miss Yun,” the guards repeated.

“How presumptuous!” Yun Lan got up and began rushing toward the great hall himself.

“What did you say? The Slaughtering King was holding onto my sister’s hand as they walked toward the great hall?” At the same time, Yun Moxiao, who was cultivating in his yard, received the same news from one of his servants. They’re being too bold, aren’t they? It looks like Yan’er’s not intending to marry anyone else but him!

Although the Li kingdom wasn’t the most conservative, there were still customary rules and formalities to be upheld, especially between men and women whose relationships were still up in the air. As for Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan, their affairs were even more complicated, because they were master and disciple as well.

Luckily, the servants of the Yun manor weren’t aware of this. Otherwise, rumors of their indecency would have spread throughout the capital in the matter of hours, completely tarnishing Yun Ruoyan’s half-tarnished name.

“Matriarch!” The Yun matriarch’s personal attendant, Xiao Lan, hurriedly rushed into her room.

“What’s the matter?”

“Madam, the Slaughtering King is here with a marriage proposal once again,” Xiao Lan informed the Yun matriarch.

“Again?” The Yun matriarch frowned. “Didn’t Ruoyan secretly leave the manor just to avoid him last time? Why is he back?”

The Yun matriarch didn’t think very highly of the Slaughtering King; an ice-cold killer wasn’t someone she wanted as a son-in-law.

“No, no—” Xiao Lan didn’t know how to precisely communicate what she had seen. “Madam, you must take a look for yourself. I’m afraid he won’t be sent off so easily this time!”

Not long after Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo arrived at the great hall, Yun Lan, Yun Moxiao, and the Yun matriarch all arrived in rapid succession. They were quickly followed by Qin Jianmei, who had brought Yun Ruoyu along with her.

After Madam An had gone crazy, Qin Jianmei had temporarily assumed the responsibilities of the female head of the household and began dealing with the affairs that had traditionally been taken care of by Madam An. As a result, it wasn’t much of a surprise for her to be present.

“Official Yun greets the Slaughtering King.” As usual, Yun Lan bowed to Li Mo, but he stopped him before he could finish the formal greeting. At the same time, he announced to those behind Yun Lan, “Today, I come to the Yun manor not as the Slaughtering King, but as a suitor asking for your daughter’s hand in marriage, Official Yun.”

“Your Highness,” the Yun matriarch jumped in, before Yun Lan could speak. “As you know, Yan’er’s not just the daughter of the Yun household, but also a student in Kongming Academy. Her marriage isn’t something that we elders from the Yun family alone can command; her opinion is equally important.”

Yun Ruoyan, standing behind Li Mo, felt a warmth in her chest at her grandmother’s words. She knew that the reason she had interrupted her own son was because she was afraid that Yun Lan would use her marriage as a bargaining chip.

“Grandmother.” Yun Ruoyan stepped forward and clasped her wrist. “Marrying the Slaughtering King is an outcome that I’d be happy with.”