Chapter 70 Comfort

"Did you find out what happened?" Ruo Shuo asked without turning around.

She stood quietly beside the pond, her fingers dipping into the small bowl of fish food before scattering another handful across the water. The colorful koi immediately gathered beneath the surface, competing for the floating pellets. The gentle ripples spread across the pond, and for a brief moment, the courtyard was filled with nothing but the soft splashing of fish.

"Yes." The maid hesitated, as though she wasn’t sure how to continue.

"The Royal Concubine caught six of the Alpha’s Dragon Golden Fish and... cooked them."

The handful of fish food in Ruo Shuo’s fingers stopped halfway.

Her hand remained suspended above the pond for several long breaths before she slowly lowered it. "...She did what?"

The maid swallowed. "The Alpha nearly strangled her to death." She lowered her voice even further before continuing. "If Beta Han Luo and Little Ancestor hadn’t been there, the Royal Concubine would most likely have died."

Silence settled over the courtyard.

The koi continued swimming peacefully beneath the water, completely unaware of the conversation taking place above them. After a long while, Ruo Shuo finally scattered the remaining fish food into the pond.

She watched the fish gather around it before quietly brushing the crumbs from her fingers. "I understand."

The maid blinked. That wasn’t the reaction she had expected. She had imagined Miss Ruo Shuo becoming angry or perhaps relieved. Maybe even pleased.

Instead, she remained as calm and graceful as ever, as though she had merely been told that the weather had changed.

Neither her expression nor her voice revealed the slightest emotion.

After standing there for another moment, Ruo Shuo finally turned away from the pond.

"Go to Elder Ruo."

The maid immediately understood who she meant.

"Tell Grandfather the news you have told me... he knows what to do."

"Yes, Miss." The maid bowed respectfully before quietly withdrawing from the courtyard.

Left alone, Ruo Shuo remained standing beside the pond. Her gaze lingered on the koi gliding peacefully beneath the water, and after a long silence, a faint murmur escaped her lips.

"So... You’ve finally become angry." There was no satisfaction in her voice, only the hurt in her heart.

She had known Lie Lang for more than two hundred years. She had seen him cold and merciless. She had even seen him covered in blood after returning from battle.

But losing control... That was something she had witnessed when his parents were confirmed dead.

Without another word, she turned and quietly left the courtyard.

....

The Alpha’s residence was unusually quiet.

The servants standing outside immediately lowered their heads as Ruo Shuo approached. None of them attempted to stop her. She had walked this path countless times since childhood. Even before Lie Lang inherited the position of Alpha, she had always been welcome inside his residence. To everyone in the White Moon Wolf Clan, it had long seemed natural that she could come and go as she pleased.

One servant quietly stepped forward and opened the doors for her.

Ruo Shuo thanked him with a small nod before walking inside.

The room was dimly lit. The evening sun streamed through the open window, casting long shadows across the polished floor. Lie Lang stood beside the window with his back facing the entrance, his hands resting behind him as he looked into the distance.

He didn’t bother to turn around as he already knew who had come.

Silence stretched between them. But it wasn’t awkward, more like comforting.

Ruo Shuo quietly walked across the room until she stood beside him. Following his gaze, she looked toward the distant eastern courtyard where the Dragon Golden Fish pond lay hidden beneath the fading evening light.

Only then did she softly say, "...I heard what happened."

Lie Lang remained quiet for some time as if trying to gather his thoughts.

For a long time, the only sound between them was the gentle breeze drifting through the open window.

"...I couldn’t save them." His voice was hoarse. "They were right in front of me yet I couldn’t save them."

He slowly lowered his eyes. "I arrived...too late." He swallowed. "Just like I did when my parents needed me the most... I just couldn’t save them." His heart clenched at the memory that surged through his mind.

Ruo Shuo didn’t try to comfort him with empty words. There was nothing she could say that would change what had happened... she knew that much.

Instead, she quietly stepped a little closer until their shoulders almost touched. "They’re gone, brother Lie Lang."

Lie Lang slowly closed his eyes. "I know."

Silence settled over the room once again.

After several long breaths, Lie Lang quietly lowered himself onto the wooden steps beneath the open window. Ruo Shuo followed without saying anything and sat down beside him.

Then, almost unconsciously, Lie Lang leaned forward until his forehead rested lightly against her shoulder.

It wasn’t something either of them thought about anymore. Ever since they were children, whenever one of them was hurting, the other would simply stay beside them.

There were never grand speeches. Never empty promises. Sometimes... Quiet company was enough.

Ruo Shuo gently placed one hand against his back. "...I’m sorry."

Lie Lang slowly let out the breath he had been holding. "So am I."

They remained like that for several moments before Ruo Shuo finally spoke again.

"What will happen to the Royal Concubine?"

Lie Lang slowly straightened himself. The exhaustion and sadness faded from his face, replaced once again by the cold expression everyone in the clan was familiar with.

"She will remain under house arrest."

"Nothing more?" Ruo Shuo asked with anticipation. If she could make him hate the human more, then removing this variable piece from her chessboard would make everything go back to their normal course.

Lie Lang shook his head. "Nothing more... she is my concubine after all."

Ruo Shuo lowered her eyes. "...I understand."

She hid her disappointment well. At least... The human had fallen from his favor. That alone was enough for now.