“Madam seems to have misunderstood something,” He Yan said after a moment’s contemplation.

Her words only agitated Tang Ying further, who pointed at her nose and scolded, “Misunderstood? You had relations with Fan Cheng before I married him, and even after our marriage, you maintained an unclear relationship with him. Are you so pleased to be someone’s mistress? I see you haven’t changed – you’re still hoping to become the mistress of the Fan household!”

He Yan had a headache.

This lady was being completely unreasonable. Despite her beauty and grace, how could she speak so unpleasantly? She said seriously, “Madam, you can investigate thoroughly. While I did know Young Master Fan before, I haven’t contacted him since you married him.”

“Nonsense! If you haven’t contacted him, why would he send you gifts?”

“That troubles me as well. If Madam could persuade Young Master Fan to stop doing so, I would be truly grateful.”

Upon hearing these words, Tang Ying staggered back several steps and collapsed into a chair, tears streaming down her face. “Bastard… what a bastard!”

He Yan looked at her sympathetically. Even a fool could see that Fan Cheng wasn’t a good match. If not He Yan, he would find other women in the future. While He Yan had no interest in Young Master Fan, there were plenty of others willing to submit themselves for social advancement. This eldest daughter of Chengwu Lang was more than qualified for Fan Cheng – with such beauty and family background, wouldn’t it be a waste to tie her life to Fan Cheng?

The maids and elderly servants quickly gathered around Tang Ying, consoling her in hushed tones. After a while, Tang Ying wiped her tears.

“You little harlot, you’re quite good at lying. How could I believe your nonsense?” she said.

“What exactly does Madam want?” He Yan glanced at the sky. “It’s getting late, I should return home.”

“Return home?” The elderly servant who had been consoling Tang Ying spoke up. “After doing such shameless things, you still want to leave? You’ll stay here until our Madam decides how to deal with you!”

He Yan: “…You dare imprison me?”

The elderly servant looked at He Yan with contempt. “Coming from such a humble background, you don’t understand. How can this be called imprisonment? Since you caught our Young Master’s eye, you’re half a member of the Fan family. As the primary mistress, isn’t it natural for the First Madam to discipline a servant? Even if you report this to the authorities, we’re in the right!”

He Yan couldn’t help but laugh at such brazen nonsense.

Seeing He Yan laugh, Tang Ying, who had been hesitating, became enraged and ordered, “Tie her up and throw her in the inner room. Starve her for a night, and let’s see if she’s still so arrogant tomorrow!”

Being a young lady from a wealthy family who had just married, she hadn’t yet learned truly vicious methods. Her idea of punishment was merely binding and starving someone to frighten them. He Yan quietly sighed in relief – as long as they didn’t use weapons, she wasn’t afraid. She only worried about causing trouble for the He family while bearing their name.

Several servants rushed forward and bound He Yan like a chicken. He Yan remained completely still throughout, docilely allowing them to tie her up. Watching this, Tang Ying felt another wave of frustration.

After binding her, they threw He Yan onto the bed in the inner room. A maid asked, “First Madam, should we leave someone to guard her…”

“Guard what?” Tang Ying snapped. “Leave her alone. When night falls, we’ll see if she’s scared. If she gets taken by passing thieves,” she showed a malicious smile, “let’s see if Fan Cheng still wants her!”

The group left in a grand procession, leaving the courtyard silent.

He Yan lay bound hand and foot on the bed, quietly staring at the bed curtains.

The bed was quite soft, and the curtains appeared to be made of fine gauze – it seemed First Madam Fan treated her prisoner quite well. She suddenly felt moved to reflection: different people, different fates. Even Lady Fan’s occasional resting place was more luxurious than the carefully crafted rooms of the He family.

And this residence remained empty most of the time – wasn’t that wasteful?

Lost in these thoughts, she confirmed there was no more movement outside. After waiting another quarter hour, she finally moved her limbs.

Her hands were bound uncomfortably, but the binding method was as haphazard as tying rice dumplings. She tried reaching for the knots, recalling her military training where they spent ten full days learning to tie and untie knots. Such amateur knots were the simplest to undo.

He Yan felt the shape of the knots and confirmed she could untie them. Just as she was about to act, she heard footsteps outside. The steps were very light; with her exceptional hearing, she could tell it was a man. She stopped her movements and turned to look outside.

Could Tang Ying’s words come true – was there a flower thief?

As the footsteps approached, He Yan grew tense, feeling in her sleeve for a long time until she found a sharpened bamboo stick.

Having a proper hidden weapon forged by the weaponsmith was too expensive. In her current state of frugality, she had to make do with whittling bamboo herself. Thinking about this, He Yan felt somewhat pitiful.

The footsteps reached the door, which opened to reveal a man dressed as a guard.

He was startled to find He Yan awake, gagged with cloth, quietly watching him. He quickly approached and whispered in her ear, “Miss He, don’t be afraid. Young Master sent me to rescue you.”

So not a flower thief, but a rescuer.

The guard removed the cloth from He Yan’s mouth and hoisted her onto his shoulder, saying, “This servant will take you out first.”

He Yan was very uncomfortable with this position, feeling like a captive about to be executed by enemy forces.

But since it was done with good intentions, she couldn’t say much.

The guard carried He Yan to a carriage, which quickly left the Fan residence. He Yan remained silent, making the guard somewhat nervous.

He had expected to find He Yan crying and screaming when he entered, assuming the Young Miss He was just a timid, weak woman. Yet when he arrived, He Yan seemed completely fine. Even with her mouth gagged, her expression showed curiosity and wariness, but no fear.

The guard had never seen such a woman and felt inexplicably shaken. Fortunately, the carriage moved quickly, reaching its destination in about the time it took to burn an incense stick.

The guard helped He Yan down from the carriage.

Night had fallen completely.

The Chunlai River at night had lost its daytime bustle, becoming quiet and peaceful. On such a night, there would usually be many pleasure boats with music and revelry, drinking, and merrymaking. But due to the fine rain today and the cold wind, only a few scattered boats floated on the river, their fishing lights dim and particularly lonely.

He Yan raised her head, feeling the dense raindrops cool and ticklish on her face. Looking into the distance, she asked, “Why have you brought me here?”

The guard dared not look at her face and cupped his hands in respect, “Young Master is waiting for you on the boat ahead. This servant will escort you there.”