Hm? Shi Chun stopped short, rooted to the stairs, and gazed eagerly at her.
The Red-Clad Woman, who had reached the Fourth Floor, looked back and beckoned to him again.
Shi Chun immediately snapped out of it and scampered briskly upstairs. Drawing close with a face full of smiles, he asked, "What did you say? I didn't catch that. Did you just say the Demon Empress?"
The Red-Clad Woman leaned languidly against the railing and countered, "Am I not allowed to mention her?"
"No, I just didn't hear clearly." Shi Chun waved his hands, then asked, "Your cousin-uncle serves at the Demon Empress's side?"
The Red-Clad Woman said, "Is that a problem?"
"No, no." Shi Chun waved his hands again, then asked curiously, "Then how did you end up doing odd jobs at Morning Moon Hall?"
Leaning against the railing, the Red-Clad Woman touched the red flower at her temple with one hand and toyed with the sandalwood gold flame aura in the other. "You think I wanted to come? Something happened at Morning Moon Hall a while back, and the whole family was arrested by the City Guard. Apparently, the Book Hall's ancestors knew the Demon Empress, and she left them a life-saving talisman. At the critical moment, the proprietor crushed the ancestral Jade Talisman, and the Demon Empress sent my cousin-uncle over. After getting the family out, he said Morning Moon Hall had plenty of books, and that I hadn't read enough. He sent me here to do odd jobs, saying I needed more exposure to learning or something."
"Oh." Shi Chun made a show of dawning realization. He understood now. So that was what had happened. No wonder Dong Liangyu had said the entire family had been implicated and arrested.
At the same time, his eyes began