Just two days after arriving at Haitang Courtyard, while she was still in a state of excitement, Mama Lin was forcibly made to drink a medicine by the maid beside Qi You.
A drug that made her suffer unbearable pain—pain so intense it felt like death itself—but would never actually let her die.
She could feel as if her internal organs were slowly rotting away. Day and night, the agony made her wish for death, yet she could not die—because Qi You always saved her at the critical moment.
And now, that devil had come again.
“Feed her,” Qi You said calmly, his small hands clasped behind his back. His childish face carried a chilling indifference as he instructed Zhuyun to administer the medicine.
Zhuyun obeyed without hesitation.
Mama Lin recoiled in terror, but she was a crippled woman on a bed—where could she possibly retreat to? Even with all her strength, she could only struggle in place.
After half a month of training, Zhuyun had long since adapted. With a cold expression, she gripped Mama Lin’s jaw and forcefully poured the medicine into her mouth. Even when the old woman choked, she did not stop.
Expressionless, Zhuyun finished the task, casually wiped the corners of Mama Lin’s mouth, then calmly wiped her own hands with a handkerchief before standing back behind Qi You.
Mama Lin now looked no different from a dead person. The pain that had briefly eased flared up again violently. It felt as though her internal organs were being twisted together. Cold sweat poured down her face, and even her expression of fear could no longer be maintained.
Zhuyun glanced at her young master—the four-and-a-half-year-old child—and her mentality had long since changed.
She had originally thought being assigned to the young master would be an easy task. After all, from his behavior these past few days, he seemed like a well-behaved and good-tempered child.
But on her very first day, he discovered her secret.
She still remembered that day. The young master was playing with a nine-ring puzzle. She stood nearby, bored and distracted, when the child who had ignored her for a long time suddenly spoke.
“Did you also call yourself Zhuyun before?”
Zhuyun snapped back to attention, confused, but quickly assumed he was asking whether her name had been the same before entering Haitang Courtyard.
So she replied, “Reporting to Young Master, this servant has always been called Zhuyun.”
Then the young master fell silent. He tilted his head while holding the puzzle and said something that made her heart skip a beat.
“Even when you were a death warrior?”
At that moment, Zhuyun—who looked like an innocent child but had eyes deep and unsettling—was utterly shocked. Her heartbeat surged wildly.
She wanted to say he must be joking, but those serious eyes told her otherwise. She could not deceive him.
So she answered honestly: “This servant’s previous name was Yue Yi.”
And honesty turned out to be the right choice.
Because what followed made her even more terrified.
“Yue Yi… there is an assassination organization in the martial world called the Blood Moon Society. You are one of them,” the young master said, casually continuing to fiddle with the puzzle. “And you defected.”
His tone was as calm as commenting on the weather.
Yet Zhuyun’s heart thundered in her chest. She could no longer treat him as a child. Shock waves surged through her mind.
He was right. Completely right.
How did he know all of this? That was her first thought.
The Blood Moon Society was a powerful and bloody organization, composed entirely of trained assassins who killed for money without regard for morality or justice. Ordinary people should not even know of its existence.
“Why did you come to the Prince Rui’s residence?” he asked, still not looking up as he played with the object on the ground.
Zhuyun could not read him at all and could only answer truthfully.
She explained how she had been injured while fleeing pursuit, sold herself into the human market, and eventually—by chance—was bought by the manor’s steward and assigned to Haitang Courtyard.
After hearing this, the young master asked only one thing:
“Are you sure you erased your tracks completely?”
“Yes, I am sure,” she replied.
She had confidence in this. As one of the Blood Moon Society’s top operatives, she had eliminated her pursuers and ensured no trace remained—even disguising herself as a beggar.
Then the young master said:
“From now on, your only masters are me and my mother. Understand?”
“I understand.”
From that moment on, she had fully “joined forces” with him.
He never hid his cruelty toward Mama Lin, and even the poison used was materials she had secretly purchased outside and he had personally refined.
The longer she stayed by his side, the more she realized how extraordinary he was—decisive, ruthless, and highly capable, yet with his own limits. If not for his current body being only four and a half years old, he could accomplish far more.
Her thoughts were interrupted by approaching footsteps.
She quickly snapped back to attention and looked at her young master, signaling that someone was coming.
After Qi You nodded, she went to open the door and saw Hongdou smiling brightly.
“Zhuyun-jiejie, the mistress is calling the young master for dinner.”
“Alright.”
Hongdou left, and Zhuyun closed the door again.
Qi You had naturally heard the conversation outside.
“Let’s go,” he said, turning to walk out.
Zhuyun immediately followed.
As for Mama Lin, Qi You did not worry. She could neither speak nor move, and only Zhuyun and Hongdou were responsible for her care—while Hongdou was simple-minded and only cared about eating.
In the main hall, seeing Qi You arrive, Qiao Rongjin waved him over.
“You’ve been with Mama Lin all morning. Is she getting worse? Should I call Doctor Zhao?”
Qi You shook his head. “She’s the same as before. No need to call a doctor—it’s an old condition.”
Then he changed the subject. “Mother, why are there so many dishes today?”
All his favorites.
His heart softened a little, and he casually redirected the topic.
“Because you like them,” Qiao Rongjin said, immediately distracted. “Eat more.”
She planned to fatten her little cub up a bit—so he would feel even better to hug and squeeze later.