Olivia Miller was rather speechless; this woman always made it sound like she was flirting when she spoke.

He lowered his head and saw the writing on the ground, suddenly realizing—when was that written? He was sure it hadn’t been there when he searched the corpse earlier.

Was it that ugly girl Hazel who did it while he and the woman were in the house? So... does that mean Hazel is the killer Muzi?

A serial killer!

!!

Good thing he behaved himself and didn’t try to run away.

Grace Taylor seemed to really enjoy seeing him scared. She traced her hand along his cheek and said softly, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

“Then I’ll head back now.” He carefully watched Grace Taylor’s expression.

Grace Taylor let out a long “Mmm-hmm,” and said, “Someone died in this courtyard, I’m so scared.”

You just told me not to be afraid and that you’d protect me.

Olivia Miller was quite speechless. “It’s getting late, I... I need to go home for dinner.”

“Won’t you stay and eat with me?”

“No, thanks...” Olivia Miller turned his head and saw Hazel busy in the kitchen, apparently kneading dough.

“No, thanks?” he forced a smile. “I don’t really like noodles.”

As soon as he said it, he regretted it a little, thinking, what if this woman offers to make something else for him?

“Young master... young master, where are you?”

—A panicked voice was calling from the alley; it sounded like Lily was looking for him.

“Someone’s looking for me,” Olivia Miller said quickly.

Grace Taylor bit his ear and whispered, “You promised to come see me again, okay?”

“Definitely, definitely.” Olivia Miller was immensely relieved, and like a startled rabbit, he darted out the courtyard gate.

He even made a detour to stay farther away from Hazel in the kitchen—“Tsk tsk, a serial killer.”

Creak—the courtyard gate opened, and Olivia Miller slipped out.

Phew, he let out a big sigh of relief.

The next moment, someone hugged him tightly.

His heart skipped a beat.

He turned to look, and it was Lily.

“Wuwu... Young master, where did you go? You scared me to death... You promised not to run off, but now you’re getting more and more disobedient. Lily is so sad... wuwuwu...”

Olivia Miller finally managed to break free from the tearful maid’s embrace and pulled her along as he ran.

When they reached the street corner, Olivia Miller looked back and saw no one chasing from the alley—yet he still wondered why that woman had done such strange things.

Lily just thought he was playing hide-and-seek again, so she patted his clothes and gently said, “Don’t run off again next time, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Then let’s go ho—” Lily was straightening his clothes when she suddenly noticed the jade pendant was missing. She was startled and quickly looked around.

Olivia Miller was still feeling uneasy when he suddenly realized Lily was holding his hand and heading back.

He was startled and quickly stopped her.

“Let’s go home.”

“Young master, where did your jade pendant go? Let’s go find it, okay?”

The girl looked a bit flustered, but still tried to be patient, speaking to Olivia Miller with a smile.

Olivia Miller shook his head. “It’s dangerous, let’s not go.”

Lily said, “It’s okay, we’ll just get the jade pendant and leave.”

Olivia Miller was a bit helpless. Why didn’t she believe him just because he was a fool?

He had no choice but to say, “The jade pendant is at home.”

He was so clever.

Lily thought for a moment, then asked in confusion, “But you definitely put it on when you got dressed this morning... Did you put it away yourself, young master?”

“I put it away,” Olivia Miller said.

Lily patted her chest in relief. “You scared me.”

Looking at Lily, Olivia Miller suddenly felt curious.

It’s just a jade pendant, what’s the big deal?

Could it be like the magical jade in Dream of the Red Chamber?

But then again, anything’s possible—if transmigration can happen, being born with a jade in your mouth isn’t that strange.

“The jade pendant, was I born with it in my mouth...?” he asked.

It was a bit shameless, but he was just too curious.

But Lily just smiled and patted his head.

“You’re being silly again, how could that be?” She looked proud as she said, “That jade pendant was a gift from the Imperial Consort, you must keep it safe.”

Olivia Miller was a bit disappointed.

As for why the Imperial Consort would give him a jade pendant, he figured it was probably because he was cute.

...

In the setting sun, Lily held her young master’s hand and walked him home.

Though the girl’s face didn’t show it, she was actually quite bothered inside.

She could smell a faint scent of rouge on her young master, probably from some woman who had taken him away to play.

Those women would look smug, pinch his cheeks, and tease him for being silly—just thinking about it made Lily angry, and a little guilty too.

So she could only keep reminding Olivia Miller over and over: “Young master, you must stay close to me from now on, don’t run off, okay?”

“I know.”

“Young master, you’ve been acting strange lately. You used to call yourself ‘Xiao’er,’ you know.”

Olivia Miller felt a bit helpless—he really thought that sounded silly.

“Did you hear me, young master?” Lily asked again.