Mother, why are you dressed like this?

"Hey, why are you only getting here now? Do you have any idea how dangerous it was for Li'er to fall into a den of wolves?"

Once Ráo settled his nerves, he immediately began picking a bone with Xiao Junwang, expressing his dissatisfaction with his belated appearance.

He certainly hadn't forgotten that earlier, when he asked Mo Liuli which of them was more handsome, Mo Liuli had chosen to give him silent support by not answering...

Xiao Junwang withdrew his hand and quietly awaited the changes in the rock face. Seeing the maidservant glaring at him with a furious face, he froze slightly, clearly not expecting her to speak to him. He silently pressed his lips together, shifted his gaze to Mo Liuli, who had yet to turn her head, and finally spoke.

"Are you alright?"

The words of concern were uttered as naturally as if he were asking, "Have you eaten?"

Not expecting Xiao Junwang to ask such a thing, Mo Liuli froze for a moment as well. Just as she was about to open her mouth to reply, Ráo's elevated voice cut in, carrying a hint of lingering anger. "Are you out of your mind? Did you not see with your own eyes how terrifying that old monster is, which is why you can ask about it with such breezy nonchalance? Or did you never care about Li'er in the first place, which is why you are completely indifferent to her safety!"

In Ráo's eyes, Mo Liuli was the most precious woman in the world. When she had run off with Xiao Junwang back then, Xiao Junwang should have taken good care of her. Yet, three years later, the next time he heard news of Mo Liuli, it was that she had been abducted into the Imperial Palace of Huanlan. Therefore, he had acted recklessly, leading his carefully chosen warriors across the border into the Huanlan Continent.

Noticing that Ráo was behaving somewhat erratically, Mo Liuli frowned, unable to figure out why he was being so hostile toward Xiao Junwang. She moved her lips, preparing to step in and mediate, but once again, Xiao Junwang snatched the conversational initiative.

"Does this have anything to do with you?"

Xiao Junwang radiated an unforced authority, inspiring an instinctive dread.

"You—"

Ráo intended to retaliate, but the rock face behind him shuddered so violently that it knocked him flat. Before he could even figure out what was happening, a gust of wind swept over his head.

"Daddy!"

Long'er cried out joyfully, throwing himself into Xiao Junwang's arms with a milky voice. He blinked his large eyes at Xiao Junwang a few times, then turned to look at Mo Liuli. The moment he caught sight of Mo Liuli's uglified face, his little face crunched up in utter disgust. "Mommy, why are you dressed like this?"

Mo Liuli understood instantly—Long'er was disgusted by her ugly makeup disguise and didn't know how to voice it, so he had targeted her clothes instead.

"You little rascal, it was all for your sake! Let's get out of here quickly. Now that Long'er has been rescued, Huanlan is bound to notice soon."

Mo Liuli pinched Long'er's chubby baby cheeks and spoke to Xiao Junwang.

Xiao Junwang glanced sideways at the stunned Ráo, his eyes darkening. Without a word, he scooped up Long'er and began to walk away.

The shock in Ráo's eyes had yet to fade, and the adorable sight of Long'er calling them Daddy and Mommy was still looping in his mind.

It wasn't until Mo Liuli saw Xiao Junwang walking further and further away with Long'er, and realized Ráo had no intention of getting up, that she walked over and pulled him to his feet.

"So you're married? And your son is already this big?"

The desolation and bitterness in Ráo's tone gave Mo Liuli pause, and she finally understood his strange reaction. Giving a reply that skirted the question, she said, "Let's hurry. If anyone catches up to us now, none of us will make it out."

Her objective had been achieved; she had no intention of lingering in the Huanlan Imperial Palace any longer. There would be plenty of time in the future—she would return one day.

Ráo was dragged along in a daze by Mo Liuli. Perhaps due to Xiao Junwang's presence, they encountered no obstacles along the way and successfully escaped the palace unharmed.

Seeing Xiao Junwang take out a bottle of snow lotus juice and feed it to Long'er, Mo Liuli blinked, took a few steps forward to walk side by side with Xiao Junwang, and looked up at Long'er's joyful brows and eyes.

*Glug, glug!* The bottle of snow lotus juice quickly vanished into Long'er's belly. Long'er licked his little mouth in an unsatisfied manner, flashed another wide grin at Xiao Junwang, and said coquettishly, "Daddy~~ Long'er is still hungry~~"