Ji Lan was different from Shu Hong. Ji Lan had always been bold and straightforward. In many ways, her thoughts and actions were quite daring. Therefore, she didn’t share the common belief that women must preserve their chastity for a particular man, nor did she agree that women were destined to be bullied by men and could only silently swallow their grievances. She believed happiness was in one’s own hands—only a fool wouldn’t choose a better option when presented with one.
Shu Hong seemed to understand what Ji Lan was thinking and said, “The medicine is ready. Let’s take it over quickly.”
After Ji Lan and the others brought the medicine and helped Fu Yun Xi take it, Han Yan sat at the table drinking tea. Shu Hong approached and said, “Young Miss, it’s getting late now…” She was asking whether they should return to Prince Xuan Qing’s mansion.
Han Yan shook her head. “In his current state, I’m afraid he can’t leave. After all, he was injured because of me, so let’s stay here for the night.”
Shu Hong frowned, expressing her disapproval: “But he’s a man…”
“What does it matter if he’s a man?” Han Yan laughed. “In his current state, what could happen?”
Shu Hong persisted, “Why don’t we find another room and stay on the other side?”
“No need,” Han Yan said. “His identity is special, and people in the capital must be searching for his whereabouts. We came in together, and if we go looking for another room, it might raise suspicions. We can’t risk even the slightest chance of his identity being discovered.”
“But…” Shu Hong tried to continue.
“Moreover,” Han Yan interrupted, “how can we leave him in this state? Let’s consider today as repaying his kindness. When we meet him again in the future, we’ll be nothing more than strangers.”
“Young Miss is right,” Ji Lan agreed. “We have nothing to fear when our conscience is clear. There’s nothing improper about this situation.” Ji Lan now favored Zhuo Qi, who was far better than Fu Yun Xi in her opinion. Though Zhuo Qi was also a dangerous person, at least he hadn’t harmed Han Yan.
Seeing that she couldn’t persuade them, Shu Hong knew that once Han Yan made up her mind, not even nine oxen could pull her back. She sighed and said nothing more.
Han Yan walked to the window and sat down, opening the carved wooden window to gaze at the crescent moon above the willow trees, lost in thought.
Why had she agreed to stay? Han Yan herself didn’t know. She understood that everything Shu Hong said made sense—she could still return now, which would be better than staying out all night. If she was truly worried, she could have left either Ji Lan or Shu Hong to look after Fu Yun Xi. Yet she chose to stay. If it was merely about repaying a debt of gratitude, this wasn’t necessary.
Perhaps Han Yan acted this way because, deep down, she was reluctant to return to Prince Xuan Qing’s mansion. That place, which once brought her warmth, now held only endless oppression. No matter how well she pretended not to care, only she knew the bitterness in her heart. Would Fu Yun Xi be looking at this same crescent moon tonight, thinking of her?
The next morning when Han Yan awoke, Zhuo Qi was already gone from the room. Ji Lan and Shu Hong had, at some point, fallen asleep by the window just like her. However, unlike them, she had a man’s outer robe draped over her—presumably left by Zhuo Qi before he departed.
Han Yan woke Ji Lan and Shu Hong. Both were quite surprised that Zhuo Qi had left just like that. After a moment of confusion, Shu Hong asked, “Young Miss, shall we return to Prince Xuan Qing’s mansion now?”
Han Yan hesitated, sighed, and nodded. Her home wasn’t at the Zhuang residence, and if she didn’t return to Prince Xuan Qing’s mansion, she truly had nowhere else to go. Moreover, having stayed out all night, if ill-intentioned people used this against her, it would cause trouble. Some explanation was needed—if Fu Yun Xi didn’t inquire about it, that would be fine, but if he did… they would have to take it one step at a time.
Ji Lan quickly followed, picking up Zhuo Qi’s robe from the table: “Young Miss, what should we do with this?”
Han Yan paused, thought for a moment, and said, “Just leave it there.”
It wouldn’t be appropriate to keep a man’s belongings with her. By staying to care for Zhuo Qi last night, she had repaid his kindness. From now on, they could interact openly and normally, with no other entanglements, just like ordinary acquaintances. Thinking this, Han Yan put on her veil and said, “Let’s go.”
When the carriage arrived at Prince Xuan Qing’s mansion, it stopped at the entrance. Han Yan, Shu Hong, and Ji Lan had to enter through the main gate. Usually, Ji Lan would just give a greeting, and there wouldn’t be any issues. But today was different—the guard shouted, “Who goes there?”
Ji Lan usually maintained good relationships with the household servants. She was sociable and got along well with everyone, including the gate guards. Being suddenly shouted at like this, Ji Lan was taken aback: “What are you…” As she stepped closer: “Eh?”
The man wasn’t the usual guard but a stranger. Ji Lan found this strange: “Why are you here?”
“What’s it to you?” The guard was quite arrogant and impatiently said, “Something happened in the mansion, so I’m stationed here instead.”
Ji Lan was about to get angry, but hearing this, she forgot her anger and urgently asked, “What happened in the mansion?”
The guard glanced at her: “The Zhuang family’s young miss has disappeared.”
At these words, both Han Yan and Shu Hong were shocked. They knew that Han Yan’s departure from the mansion wasn’t a major issue, and given Fu Yun Xi’s current attitude toward her, he wouldn’t make such a commotion about it. Most importantly, spreading news of a young lady’s disappearance would severely damage her reputation. In her previous life, Han Yan had suffered this exact consequence when she was kidnapped by mountain bandits. At that time, everyone in the capital knew about the Fourth Young Miss of the Zhuang family being kidnapped, and rumors about her lost virtue spread everywhere. Now… now the same scenario was playing out again!
Han Yan began trembling uncontrollably. Though Shu Hong shared Han Yan’s thoughts, she hadn’t experienced reincarnation and thus wasn’t as impacted by this situation as Han Yan. Seeing Han Yan so nervous, she became worried for her.
The guard continued, “Who knows what she was thinking, not staying properly in the prince’s mansion but going out looking for trouble…”
Hearing this, Ji Lan immediately became agitated: “Who’s looking for trouble? Don’t spout nonsense!”
“Who are you anyway?” The guard finally seemed to notice that Ji Lan had been lingering there. He had initially thought she was a maid from the mansion, but now looking at her, which mansion maid would dare to be so bold and feisty? He suspected she might be trying to sneak into the prince’s mansion. “Stop lurking around suspiciously,” he said, “go back wherever you came from.”