Ye Ziling trusted Mu Heng quite a bit and asked directly, "If you want to... make someone happy, what should you do?"
It was also the first time she genuinely wanted to please someone.
Mu Heng suddenly stopped and looked at her with suspicion, blurting out, "Weren't you just thinking about how to kill and set fires? Why are you asking this kind of question now?"
Ye Ziling bit her lip, her brow furrowed slightly, and continued, "You just need to answer my question, don't worry about anything else."
Mu Heng stopped what he was doing, sat down, crossed his legs, and rubbed two fingers together. "For me, having money makes me very happy."
Ye Ziling quickly dismissed this idea. Ling Xi wasn't lacking money, and directly giving him money would be too abrupt, especially since he wasn't like Mu Heng.
Mu Heng had been desperate for money before.
"Anything else?" Ye Ziling listened attentively, asking with anticipation.
"Eating delicious food. If you want to be more sincere, you can cook it yourself... but it has to be tasty."
Mu Heng stroked his chin, continued to ponder, and then added, "And beautiful women... let me think about it again."
"Yes, it's settled then," Ye Ziling said firmly.
A glint of sharpness flashed in Mu Heng's eyes. "...Giving him beautiful women?"
Ye Ziling raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly, "Go find me a few cooks."
Mu Heng sighed. Although he was reluctant, he still set off and casually found a cook from an inn for her.
In the kitchen, Ye Ziling carefully examined the ingredients beside her and said to the cook, "You can start now."
The cook frowned, looked her up and down for a while, and asked suspiciously, "Miss, how about I stir-fry a few dishes for you... Seeing your extraordinary demeanor, you probably haven't been in the kitchen before. It's dusty here, and it would be a shame if your clothes got dirty."
Ye Ziling took out a bag of silver from her waist and handed it to him, saying softly, "You just need to teach me how to cook. This is for your trouble."
The cook stood to the side, looking at the heavy bag of silver, his eyes lighting up. He said joyfully, "I will definitely do my best!"
After a night of learning, at noon the next day, Ye Ziling brought her creations to the table. Looking at the over twenty dishes laid out, she smiled contentedly. She got up and went to the kitchen to fetch the last bowl of soup.
Just then, Ling Xi and Luo Yao came downstairs with their bags. Seeing the neatly arranged dishes on the table, they exchanged confused glances.
"Did you order these dishes?" Ling Xi asked suspiciously, his gaze deep.
Luo Yao was also puzzled and quickly shook her head, "Strange, I didn't order them."
They were preparing to leave today, and neither of them had ordered any food. What was going on?
Mu Heng walked in from outside. Upon seeing the table full of delicious food, he stretched lazily and exclaimed in disbelief, "What... what is this?"
When Ye Ziling emerged from the kitchen, Mu Heng's eyes were so wide they looked like they would fall out.
"Crazy... crazy girl, did you really make this?"
Seeing the two of them frozen on the stairs, Ye Ziling called out to them, "It's still early, it's not too late to eat lunch before you go."
Ling Xi was slightly taken aback, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before quickly moving away.
Luo Yao's eyes lit up. She quickly put down her bag and exclaimed, "Miss Ye, did you make all of these?"
Luo Yao quickly tasted one, her eyes widening in surprise. "Did you make this specifically for me because you knew I was leaving?"
Ye Ziling was slightly stunned. Glancing at Ling Xi beside her, she quickly recovered and changed the subject, "The dishes will get cold."
"So you wanted to please Luo Yao, I see..." Mu Heng looked up, raising a thumb to praise her, but then he caught the cold glint in Ye Ziling's eyes and quickly withdrew his smile. "Eat, eat, don't just stand there."
Only then did Ling Xi put down his bag and lean forward to take a seat.
Were these dishes made for him?
Although Ye Ziling was only focused on eating the food in her bowl, her gaze was constantly on the person opposite her.
Ling Xi picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of a dish, and a slight smile curved his lips.
"How does it taste?" Luo Yao tilted her head, staring intently at Ling Xi's expression.
"Mm. Delicious."
Luo Yao smiled even more brightly. "Thank you, Miss Ye."
Ye Ziling merely smiled faintly.
This... forget it. Since Ling Xi had eaten, it didn't matter who it was ostensibly made for.
After lunch, Ling Xi and Luo Yao mounted their horses. As they were about to leave, Luo Yao looked back and said regretfully, "Ling Xi, don't you plan to travel with Miss Ye? Do you dislike her that much?"
Ling Xi followed her gaze into the inn. Seeing no one at the entrance, he said somewhat distractedly, "Let's go."
"You still haven't answered me." Luo Yao frowned, stubbornly pursuing the question. "I noticed you deliberately avoided speaking with Miss Ye along the way. Is there some grievance between you two? Or do you simply not like her?"
Ling Xi sighed inwardly. To avoid delaying their journey, he said with a cold gaze, "I simply don't like her."
Luo Yao looked at Ling Xi in shock. Just as she was about to ask something, she saw that he had already ridden away.
Helpless, she could only mount her horse and chase after him.
"...Simply don't like her?" Ye Ziling looked at the cup of clear tea in her hand, which she hadn't touched. She closed her eyes, feeling a strange discomfort.
"If you don't like someone, you don't like them. Don't act as if you like them too," Mu Heng leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, and muttered dismissively.
Ye Ziling put down her teacup, a sudden, inexplicable sourness welling up in her heart, making it difficult to breathe.
Did he now hate her?
Seeing Ye Ziling's troubled expression, Mu Heng quickly said, "That brat isn't worthy of you. Don't take it to heart. He's just sour because he can't have it, that's for sure!"
He had seen plenty of people badmouth things they couldn't obtain.
"Mu Heng, do you think he doesn't want to travel with us because he's angry with me?" Ye Ziling's eyes felt a little teary as she sought an answer from Mu Heng.
Mu Heng had never seen her like this. She was usually decisive when killing, showing no hesitation, but now she seemed so hesitant. It was as if her brain was injured, not her eyes.
"I say, Palace Master, honestly, people can never satisfy everyone. In life, there are always regrets, things you can't obtain, and in the end, you realize it was just your own obsession."
"Besides, things you can't grasp are either missed or you have no fate with them. Just let go."
As for matters of the heart, he had always only advised separation.
Ye Ziling was still lost in disappointment and mumbled absentmindedly, "...Is that so?"
No wonder she had felt so uncomfortable with the feeling of being met with indifference these past few days.
"No wonder," Ye Ziling, as if lost, picked up her teacup and drank it all down.
It was too oppressive.
"Mu Heng, do you think he's angry with me?"
Ye Ziling's brow furrowed slightly, her usually placid face etched with worry as she looked at Mu Heng beside her.