"Please let her off the hook, Young Master. Lian Ye didn’t mean it."

"What do *you* think?"

Baiyi sat inside the carriage, chatting with Xiao Ling who was driving, while gently stroking Lian Ye’s head.

It had been quite a while since Lian Ye’s ill-advised "massage" attempt near Baiyi’s groin.

He’d thoroughly scolded the fool afterward—teaching her exactly which parts of a man were off-limits.

Perhaps because she’d been so restless today, Lian Ye had collapsed onto Baiyi’s lap the moment they boarded the carriage. She was now fast asleep.

Her sleeping face was a mess: eyes tightly shut, mouth slightly open, a thin trail of drool glistening on her chin.

Baiyi could tell she was deeply asleep. Any sudden movement would wake the silly girl.

So he stayed perfectly still, letting her rest.

Though his own body ached from holding the same position.

Dusk was falling. Hours had passed since their clothes-shopping marathon.

"Young Master—"

"Enough. Shopping from dawn till dusk? Back to the Imperial Palace. Now."

Xiao Ling had meant to plead for Lian Ye again, hoping Baiyi would overlook her latest blunder.

But he cut her off bluntly, still clearly fuming.

...

Night approached. The sky, once bright as morning, now bled with the embers of sunset.

Beyond it stretched the distant, breathtaking starfield and the endless, deepening dark.

"It’s getting cold. Hurry up," Baiyi said, reaching out the window. The air had turned sharp since morning.

He worried about Xiao Ling driving alone in this chill.

Nights in the Great Empire’s capital were bitterly cold.

"Yes, Young Master."

*How utterly humiliating.*

Xiao Ling remembered volunteering to "massage" him earlier—before understanding the situation.

Promising to "make him very comfortable."

It was practically sexual harassment!

Disrespectful. Unforgivable.

She’d graduated top of her class at the Maid Academy. This was a disgrace.

Only Baiyi’s later explanation had stopped her from insisting.

*Am I... a bad girl?*

A cool breeze brushed past her, carrying a faint chill.

Yet her cheeks flushed warm, her face shy and flustered—nothing like someone chilled by wind.

"Young Master."

"Hm? What is it?"

*Better remind him about tomorrow. He might forget.*

"Do you remember tomorrow is Children’s Day?"

"Children’s Day? What—the hell? Already?"

Baiyi’s mind flooded with images: hordes of mischievous kids swarming streets, invading homes to recruit more troublemakers.

Begging merchants for fruit. Raiding farmers’ hard-tended fields.

And worse—so much worse—unleashed by poorly disciplined little monsters.

Just picturing those merciless scenes, paired with Lian Ye’s antics today...

Baiyi’s spine went cold. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Yes. Should you take Lian Ye to the city center? For fun?"

"The city center? Why that hellhole? I—"

"They’re holding a children’s event at the central plaza. Since it’s for kids... Lian Ye should join, right?"

*Lian Ye? That clumsy dragon?*

*Taking her out is just asking for trouble.*

He glanced at the drooling, open-mouthed girl sprawled on his lap and sighed heavily.

"Young Master... would you really leave her alone in the Imperial Palace? Watching every other child play outside?"

"Tch, but—"

"Isn’t it cruel? Locking her in the palace at her age? Keeping her from playing with other children?"

"You—fine! Fine! You’re right, alright?"

Baiyi had no counterargument. No way to explain.

He’d only wanted Lian Ye to rest safely tomorrow—away from those chaotic kids.

But Xiao Ling had twisted it into some cruel imprisonment.

Her rapid, reasonable-sounding arguments left him no room to fight back.

Truth was, Baiyi didn’t mind taking Lian Ye out. He wasn’t afraid of troublesome children.

He worried about something far more serious:

Lian Ye’s identity.

Taking her to play with commoners would expose her too widely.

Though the Great Empire allowed mingling with other races, Lian Ye’s appearance matched no known kind.

How would he explain her? How to stop idle gossip?

And most importantly—

*Why hasn’t the Shadowblade Alliance made a move all day?*

*They delivered Lian Ye... then vanished.*