Since being rescued from the painted boat that day, Qin Xianyue had been settled in Wangshu Pavilion, a more secluded part of the Eastern Palace.
Xie Jinyuan's arrangements were impeccable.
The courtyard was elegantly and comfortably furnished, with all necessities of the highest quality. Though the attending palace servants were few, each was discreet, efficient, and meticulous.
An Imperial Physician visited daily to check her pulse, and her medicinal soup and meals were all prepared with great care.
However, the more thorough and considerate everything was, the more the ripples of unease in Qin Xianyue's heart became difficult to quell.
She had lost all her memories; her mind was a complete blank.
Yet, instincts etched into her bones made her acutely aware of the subtle strangeness around her.
For instance, these palace servants were respectful, but lacked genuine warmth.
They called her "Miss Qin" and performed their greetings and salutations with perfect precision, but when their eyes occasionally met hers, they always held an indescribable caution and scrutiny, as if observing a fragile piece of porcelain, or a difficult problem that needed careful handling.
Their "unfamiliarity" with her daily habits also seemed rather deliberate.
It wasn't ignorance, but rather overly intentional "inquiries" and "probing."
Once, she casually mentioned wanting a certain type of pastry, and Bi Wu immediately agreed. The pastries brought later were exquisite, but their taste was far from the "longing" she vaguely felt.
Another example: although Wangshu Pavilion was pleasant, it was too new, too "clean."
There were no old belongings, no decorations bearing a personal mark.
It was as if she were a guest who had just moved in, with no past.
"Sister Bi Wu," one afternoon, Qin Xianyue leaned by the window, watching a few late-blooming magnolias in the courtyard, and asked casually, "Where are the palace servants who used to attend me?"
Bi Wu, who was organizing some newly delivered painting albums on the bookshelf for her, paused almost imperceptibly at the question, surprised by her perceptiveness.
Fortunately, His Highness had already provided an explanation, so she turned around, her face displaying an appropriate level of deference and apology.
"Please don't blame us, Miss. His Highness instructed that you need to rest. Those who served you before... because they failed to protect you properly when you fell into the water that day, leaving you in danger alone, His Highness was furious and has sent them elsewhere.
These are newly assigned servants, and they are not yet familiar with your daily habits. If there is any lack of service, please do not hesitate to instruct them, and I will ensure they learn quickly."
This explanation was logical and reasonable.
It addressed the servants' unfamiliarity with the mistress's habits, stabilized Qin Xianyue's flustered emotions, and highlighted the importance of this "younger sister" in His Highness's heart.
She didn't press further, merely gave a soft "Mm," and her gaze returned to the window.
Sunlight filtered through the carved window lattice, casting shifting shadows on her pale cheeks.
People who have lost their memories are like duckweed, rootless and adrift, relying on clues provided by others to piece themselves together.
And the one providing the clues...
A headache began to throb again, and she closed her eyes.
To dispel her aimless feelings and to capture the fleeting, fragmented images that occasionally flashed in her mind, Qin Xianyue asked Bi Wu for brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone.
Bi Wu quickly prepared them: all of the finest Xuan paper, Hui ink, and Hu brushes.
As Qin Xianyue picked up the brush, her fingertips touched the smooth handle, and a strange sense of familiarity arose.
It felt as if she had repeated this action thousands of times.
She didn't consciously think about what to draw, but simply followed her intuition, letting the brush tip glide across the plain white Xuan paper.
Ink spread, and lines gradually emerged.
First, the outline of disheveled robes, then gradually, the profile of a young man began to take shape.
His posture was tall and straight, his shoulders level, exuding a strength that was a blend of youthfulness and resilience.
He seemed to be gazing at something, his figure appearing somewhat solitary and aloof.
The brushstrokes were fluid and confident, requiring almost no correction once completed.
Even Qin Xianyue herself was somewhat surprised.
Did she... excel at this?
However, as the brush tip was about to touch the person's face, she stopped.
A vague outline seemed to form in her mind, the shape of his brows and eyes, the curve of his nose... but whenever she tried to look closely, the image would shatter and dissipate like moonlight on water, leaving only a more intense headache and a wave of inexplicable palpitations.
She held her wrist suspended for a long time, ultimately unable to make another stroke.
Thus, the figure without a face stood on the paper, exuding an even deeper sense of loneliness and detachment.
Just then, Bi Wu entered with the freshly brewed medicine.
Seeing Qin Xianyue lost in thought before a painting, she tiptoed closer, placed the medicine bowl on a small table nearby, and her gaze naturally fell upon the painting.
"It's beautifully painted," Bi Wu praised softly, her tone sincere. "The Crown Prince in your painting appears even more heroic than usual."
Qin Xianyue suddenly looked up at Bi Wu.
"You think... the person in this painting is Elder Brother?"
Bi Wu was slightly taken aback by her question, then smiled.
"Of course. You've been closest to the Crown Prince since childhood. If not him, then who else would you be painting?"
Qin Xianyue fell silent, her gaze returning to the painting.
Is that so?
Because we are close, am I so familiar with him that I can paint him effortlessly?
But why, when it came to his face, was it a blank...
"The medicine will get cold. Please drink it while it's warm."
Bi Wu handed the warm medicine bowl to her.
Qin Xianyue took it, and the strong medicinal scent wafted towards her.
She looked at the dark liquid, and along the rim of the bowl, she resolutely drank it down, sip by sip.
Bi Wu was surprised.
Which young lady in the inner quarters wasn't pampered? Just the smell of medicine would likely bring tears to their eyes.
Someone like Qin Xianyue, who drank it down without a word, didn't seem like a delicate young lady of the boudoir, but rather had the spirited demeanor of a female general from the army.
She took the empty medicine bowl and asked.
"Do you have any other instructions, Miss?"
Qin Xianyue put down her brush.
"I'm a little tired and want to rest for a while."
Bi Wu said no more, helped her onto the couch, carefully lowered the bed curtains, and quietly withdrew.
Meanwhile, at the Dingbei Marquis Manor, Gu Yanchi was sitting in his study, his expression terrifyingly grim.
After the incident with the painted boat on East Lake that day, he had assumed Qin Xianyue had been wronged and had returned to the Marquis's Estate on her own. However, she had not appeared.
For several consecutive days, he had dispatched multiple waves of guards to search everywhere, both around the Marquis's Estate and along the shores of East Lake. He had even hired boatmen familiar with the water to search the depths, but still found no trace of Qin Xianyue.
At first, a flicker of worry crossed his mind.
But then he remembered her excellent swimming skills; even if she had jumped into an ice hole in the dead of winter, she could have swum for miles to fetch help. What could the mere waters of East Lake do to her?
This current situation, where she was neither seen nor found dead, could only mean she was doing it intentionally.
Thinking this, another emotion gradually took precedence.
He was certain that Qin Xianyue, dissatisfied about something, was deliberately hiding to make him anxious and embarrassed.
Truly... willful and reckless! Lacking any sense of proportion!
"Young Master," his trusted attendant Anfu reported in a low voice from outside the door, "those sent to inquire at the South City pier and the West Market carriage services have returned. They all said they had not seen any woman resembling Miss Qin hiring a carriage or boat alone."
"Then let her be!"
Gu Yanchi's voice was laced with coldness.
An adopted daughter with no one to rely on, where could she go after leaving the Dingbei Marquis Manor?
When she's had her fill of fussing, she'll come back.
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