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Chapter 449: A Cruel Punishment

Li Luo brought Peony and Xi Lan into Yun Ruoyan’s room, where they immediately knelt upon seeing her.

“Miss, it’s all my fault. I deserve to die!”

“Miss, please punish us!”

They knelt on the floor, their heads lowered to the ground, too ashamed to face Yun Ruoyan directly.

“Are Bao’er and Qiao’er alright?” Yun Ruoyan asked coolly.

“They’re... they’re both alright now,” Peony replied. “His Highness helped us obtain an antidote. Because they were poisoned for so long, however, they haven’t fully recovered, but they’re not in mortal danger anymore. They’ll be healthy again after a little rest.”

“Miss, we’ve harmed you. I-I don’t know how to repay your gratitude for sparing us and saving out children.”

When she realized that her trusted maids were the culprits behind her poisoning, she was indeed very disappointed and upset—but as a mother herself, she felt that she would also have taken part in any number of unconscionable acts to guarantee her son’s safety. Furthermore, her maids didn’t know the danger of what Yun Ruoyu had given them.

“Li Luo explained everything to me,” Yun Ruoyan replied coolly. “You’ve both been taken advantage of by Yun Ruoyu. She’s sly and malicious, so it’s not unexpected that you’d fall for her trap.”

“Miss, we—” Peony and Xi Lan looked up at Yun Ruoyan gratefully.

“But,” Yun Ruoyan continued, her tone turning strident. “I won’t keep anyone who has betrayed me around, no matter for what reason.”

Peony and Xi Lan lowered their heads again, tears falling from their eyes.

“Li Luo, arrange for them to be sent away,” Yun Ruoyan commanded.

Li Luo glanced at Yun Ruoyan, seemingly wanting to speak but ultimately choosing not to do so. “Yes, Consort Yun. Xi Lan, Peony, follow me.”

Xi Lan and Peony continued kneeling on the floor.

“Li Luo, take them outside. I’m going to rest now,” Yun Ruoyan said again, somewhat impatiently.

Xi Lan and Peony finally looked up again. By then, Yun Ruoyan had already laid down to rest, and her back was to her maids. They both kowtowed again.

“Miss, I’m afraid I might not have the opportunity to see you again. Being able to serve you has been an honor, one that I failed to cherish. Miss, I hope I’ll be able to serve you again in my next life,” Peony said resolutely.

“Anything to serve you, Miss,” Xi Lan added.

“Alright, alright, Consort Yun’s going to rest. Follow me out,” Li Luo instructed. Xi Lan and Peony finally stood up and followed Li Luo out of Yun Ruoyan’s rooms.

Yun Ruoyan lay with her back to the door, her eyes closed. Moments later, she heard footsteps behind her. “Have they been sent away?”

Li Luo didn’t respond. Instead, someone sat by her side. She opened her eyes and turned to find Li Mo patting her arm. “Ah, you’re back.” Yun Ruoyan smiled, the pain in her face slowly vanishing.

“I heard Li Luo mention that you’ve dealt with your two maids.” Li Mo caressed Yun Ruoyan’s cheek.

“I’ve sent them away.” Yun Ruoyan’s eyes drooped. “They’ve followed me for so long, and yet—I can’t keep them by my side.”

“You’re right, Yan’er,” Li Mo replied. “I won’t spare anyone who dares scheme against my woman and children.”

Yun Ruoyan was shocked by Li Mo’s murderous tone. “You’re not going to...”

Li Mo looked towards Yun Ruoyan. “Weren’t you the one who chased them away?”

“I can’t keep them by my side, but that doesn’t mean I want to take their lives! They did protect me while I was weak, and although they made a mistake, both Moyan and I are alright, aren’t we? Don’t you dare hurt them!”

“In that case, what do you want me to do?”

“Let them go. No longer will they be my servants,” Yun Ruoyan replied.

Li Mo smiled. “As far as I know, Yan’er, not only did you assign some guards to protect them and their two children on their journey, you even planned for their future. Even if they leave the capital, they won’t have to worry about their livelihoods.”

Yun Ruoyan sighed. “You found out? I guess I really can’t hide anything from you. I really was hurt that they would poison me like that, but when I think about how they must have suffered these past three years... I think they wouldn’t have hurt me if not for their children, so when I saw that Moyan was alright, I forgave them on the spot.”

“In that case, Yan’er, why chase them away?”

“Because they’re with children, and they have more to be concerned about than just themselves or me. You know how strong our enemies and opponents are, and those who stay by my side have to face all sorts of danger. Xi Lan and Peony are just regular people, and they shouldn’t have to suffer so,” Yun Ruoyan sighed. “At the very least, if I send them away now, I’ll be able to provide for them and their children.”

“As you wish, Yan’er.” Li Mo was willing to indulge Yun Ruoyan despite their differences in thought. To him, since Xi Lan and Peony were Yun Ruoyan’s servants, their lives belonged to her. If they were to betray their mistress—for whatever reason—then their lives were forfeit. This was the principle underlying the Mo guards, but Li Mo was willing to accept Yun Ruoyan’s approach.

Yun Ruoyan lay in Li Mo’s lap. The moment her eyes closed, she suddenly recalled something particularly important. She struggled up and said, “Li Mo, I have something important to tell you.”

“What?” Li Mo asked.

“You’ve heard about what happened to Su Dong and Su Xi, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I saw Su Xi’s wound—it’s an attack that only a sword saint could have accomplished.”

“It was Yun Lan,” Yun Ruoyan said. “After you left, I headed back to the Yun manor and discovered something amiss. When I sent Su Dong and Su Xi to investigate...” Yun Ruoyan told Li Mo what she knew.

“Yan’er, do you mean that your mother’s currently in the Yun manor?” Li Mo was shocked by the revelation.

“When I heard Su Xi mention this, I was shocked myself. Su Dong and Su Xi gave their lives to let me know about this, and whether or not it’s true, I think it merits further investigation,” Yun Ruoyan replied. “I’ve been waiting for you to return. We have to investigate the manor.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll head to the Yun manor tonight,” Li Mo replied.

“Let me go with you, please. I’ve rested for over a week, and my body should be fine now,” Yun Ruoyan quickly added. When Li Mo frowned, she continued, “This concerns my family, and I’d just be anxiously lying in bed waiting for you if you didn’t agree to bring me with you. I need to see if Yun Lan’s really hiding my mother in the Yun manor.”

“Your Highness, Consort Yun, the Lin sisters are here to see you,” Li Luo reported from outside the door.

“Send them in quickly, Li Luo!” Yun Ruoyan called out. When they heard about Yun Ruoyan’s mishap, the Lin sisters had paid quite a few visits to the Yun manor. Because she was afraid of worrying them, Yun Ruoyan only told them that she was in early labor.

“Sister Ruoyan, you look much better than before!” Lin Qingxue and Lin Qingchen walked into her room and bowed when they saw Li Mo.

Li Mo greeted them, had them accompany Yun Ruoyan, and left.

“How’s Grandfather?” Yun Ruoyan asked. She had only been back to the Lin manor once before being beset by the events at the Yun manor and her subsequent poisoning.

“He was shocked when he heard that you were in early labor, but now he’s jubilant after hearing that you and your son are both alright. He’s been wanting to come over to see his grandson, but he was worried that it would inconvenience you,” Lin Qingchen replied, smiling.

“When I’m feeling better, I’ll definitely bring Yan’er over to see him.”

“Sister Ruoyan, there might be something you don’t know about.” Lin Qingxue suddenly said.

“What’s the matter?”

“Yun Ruoyu was betrothed to a noble from the Mo kingdom.”

“Betrothed? Is this information reliable?” Yun Ruoyan was a little surprised. “The Mo kingdom’s the weakest of the four kingdoms on the Chenyuan continent, and the Li kingdom all but the strongest. Why the sudden betrothal?”

“Apparently, the Mo noble offered a particularly precious fish-core pearl to the Li emperor as tribute. He was particularly pleased by the gift, and promised to fulfill one wish from the noble. The noble claimed that his ugliness had prevented him from finding a beautiful wife and wanted to pick out a woman to marry from the Li kingdom. The Li emperor showed him a few portraits of eligible nobles from the Li kingdom, and he picked out Yun Ruoyu on the spot!”

Although the Lin sisters weren’t too familiar with Yun Ruoyu, they knew that Yun Ruoyan didn’t get along well with any of her sisters. “When Sister Qingchen and I heard about this, we were both quite shocked, but isn’t it great that Yun Ruoyu was chosen? The Mo kingdom’s close to the sea, and life isn’t easy there. She’ll have fish for all three meals of the day, rarely bread and rice—I wonder whether she’ll be able to get used to that sort of life, pampered as she is!” Lin Qingxue cackled with glee.

Yun Ruoyan also smiled, having guessed that this sort of strange coincidence was likely to have been orchestrated by Li Mo himself. After all, he had told her as much: he’d deal with anyone who harbored malicious intentions toward her or her son, but giving someone as vile as Yun Ruoyu a clean death wouldn’t soothe Yun Ruoyan’s anger toward her.

Even as a child, Yun Ruoyan had lusted after power and authority, beauty and vanity. Marrying her off to a far-flung location, devoid of any sort of riches, to an ugly, rough man—there could be no crueler punishment.