“Hi, lil princess! Did you sleep well last night?”
Rui Yi was already blocking the door when morning came. Though his handsome face was all smiles, his eyes weren’t focused on her as he tried to peek inside the room.
Shi Sheng, “...”
‘I didn’t get any sleep at all thanks to him! Yet he has the gall to ask! Who gave him the cheek to do so? I’ll tell godfather to tie him up and take him away! Today! Otherwise I’ll(bbb) be angered to death!’
When Rui Yi saw Xi Yin emerge from the room, he immediately straightened out his expression and scrutinised the latter—much like how one would judge whether an item was worth the money.“Doesn’t seem particularly special apart from his good looks,” was Rui Yi’s judgement.
“Good looks are enough.” Shi Sheng retorted faintly.
Rui Yi gave her an aggrieved look. “Lil princess, you can’t be this shallow when judging people!”
“But I’m just that shallow.” Shi Sheng spoke with a sincere expression.
Rui Yi, “...”
He wanted to reach out to grab Shi Sheng, but she immediately stepped back. “Hey now, don’t try to touch me while we’re talking!”
Rui Yi, “...”‘Lil princess, you’ve changed. At least before, you still gave me hugsies. But now you have a man, you won’t even give me any hugsies anymore! Ouch!’
“What’s so good about him?” Rui Yi complained.
“His looks.”
Rui Yi felt like he’d taken a critical hit. Yet, the man who his little princess was protecting appeared to have a triumphant expression on his face.
‘Wanna scratch him to death! He actually dared to snatch my lil princess!’
In the end, Rui Yi was dragged away by the steward.
Once he’d returned to the castle, Rui Yi’s expression was cold and he appeared to emit an arrogant aura that told others to stay at a distance.
“Big bro.” Seeing Rui Yi come in, Ling Xiang obediently called him.
Rui Yi aloofly looked at her before harrumphing and heading upstairs.
To be honest, Ling Xiang felt like breaking down at this point. ‘Just what is going on with this family?!’
Yesterday, Ke Er had merely arranged for her accommodations but hadn’t seen her since.
Ling Xiang had a bad feeling. ‘Do they know something?’
However, she suppressed it. ‘The servants are respectful to me, so I shouldn’t have been found out. And that woman is still trapped outside—there’s no way she could’ve broken Master’s formation.’
During Ling Xiang’s stay in the castle, she rarely got to see Ke Er. She did get to see Rui Yi often, but he was always in a bad mood so she was either ignored or mocked whenever she tried to talk to him.
After Ling Xiang had gotten acquainted with the people in the castle, she began exploring the castle, not knowing that her every move was being watched.
Ke Er rapped his desk as he appeared to ponder. “What do you think she’s looking for?”
The steward shook his head. “There’s nothing of particular value here.”
“Have you found anyone who entered with her?”
“She came alone. I’ve investigated all the people who came into contact with her ever since but found no issues with them.” The steward diligently replied.
“Hmph!” Ke Er’s scoffed coldly, “A fox will always reveal its tail[1].”
Because Ke Er had deliberately let her do as she pleased, Ling Xiang nearly scoured the entire castle. However, it was clear she didn’t find what she was looking for.
And since the Vampiric Feast was about to begin, she could only give up for now.
The Vampiric Feast was being held at the largest castle in the territories.
This was once the residence of the Vampire King. But ever since the last one died, it had remained vacant. Now it had turned into a public venue for the occasional gathering.
Ling Xiang and Ke Er arrived at the castle together. It was surrounded by brilliantly blooming roses.
Ling Xiang wore a gorgeous gown, her arm linked with Ke Er’s as they walked into the castle. Even if she was a fake, with that face, it was hard for people to miss her.
“You are Lady Mi Nai, yes? I haven’t seen you in years! You’re already this pretty!”
Ling Xiang smiled slightly and accurately addressed the person who had spoken to her. It was clear he was rather flattered she knew his name.
Ling Xiang was able to address 80% of the people who came up to greet them, causing Ke Er’s gaze to turn colder.
Ai Wei, who was standing with the vampire hunters, felt a bit dazed as she watched the woman who was the centre of attention.
‘Her status amongst vampires was actually this high...’
“Second Uncle...what’s her identity?” Ai Wei tugged on the sleeve of the man standing beside her.
Having overheard her question, a vampire hunter beside them helped the man answer, “That’s Prince Ke Er’s goddaughter, Mi Nai.”
“Goddaughter?” ‘Not his biological daughter?’
Perhaps it was because Ai Wei appeared to be a lovable junior, as the person who’d spoke continued to explain to her, “Her clan was exterminated in the great war a century ago, leaving just her. I heard her father and Ke Er used to be close comrades-in-arms, so she was adopted by him. Don’t look down on her because she looks like a young lady, though—she holds an important vote in the selection for Vampire King.”
All vampires had a vote in the selection for the new Vampire King, but only for the first round. Of the contenders that had been chosen, only the one with the most votes from Pure Bloods could be King. Hence, the votes of Pure Bloods were very valuable.
“That influential...?” These few days, Ai Wei had gleaned a lot of information from following these people, so she couldn’t help but feel weird upon hearing this.
Right at this moment, Ai Wei caught sight of Zuo Lie entering with a beautiful woman. Their postures appeared intimate and, though there was no expression on Zuo Lie’s face, it was clear he cared about the woman.
Ai Wei paled and looked at Zuo Lie with disbelief.
“These ones arriving later are the bigshots. See that silver-haired man over there? He’s Rui Yi, Prince Ke Er’s eldest son...” The person beside her continued to explain to Ai Wei, showing no signs of stopping.
But Ai Wei wasn’t listening anymore as her all her attention was fixed on Zuo Lie and the beautiful woman beside him as they walked around in the crowd.
More and more vampires had started arriving, the ones arriving later being of higher status. Ai Wei felt like she didn’t fit in with this place, as if the atmosphere was about to suffocate her.
......
Shi Sheng drove around the castle’s surroundings for a bit. The Vampiric Feast had only just begun while the highlights were to come at night, so she wasn’t planning on heading in for now.
But just as she was prepared to leave, she suddenly saw the FL run out from the direction of the castle.
‘The hell? Why is FL-sama here?’
Ai Wei ran past her car, complexion a bit pale.
Shi Sheng immediately followed her.
“Where are we going?” Noticing their sudden change in direction, Xi Yin lifted his head to look at her.
“To watch a show.” Shi Sheng followed Ai Wei from a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
Ai Wei ran a distance before stopping. Seeing there was no one else here, she headed towards the sea of flowers in the distance on her own.
This sea of roses reached out as far as the eye could see, seemingly blending into the sky. The flowers here bloomed more magnificently than anywhere else.
“Leave this place.” Xi Yin spoke suddenly.
Shi Sheng had just been planning on opening the door of the car, but paused upon hearing his words. “What is it?”
“Don’t like the smell here.” Xi Yin frowned, appearing somewhat like a small child that was throwing a tantrum.
Shi Sheng, “...” ‘What other smell is there, here, aside from the same smell of flowers as anywhere else? You mad?’
Although she thought this, Shi Sheng still drove away.
Xi Yin looked at the sea of flowers that got further and further away in the rear-view mirror.
A wind had picked up, causing the petals to sway and swell upwards like a tidal wave that blotted out the sky and came crashing down towards them.
Xi Yin stretched his hand out the car and the flowers suddenly calmed down.
[1] He’s saying that people with a motive will always reveal it eventually. Fox spirits seduce men (whether it be for their own survival or entertainment) so people use this phrase to say the fox spirit will reveal itself sooner or later.
