Bai Yanzhou watched the two figures disappear at the far end of the courtyard.
Only after Shen Mo’an had been completely dragged out of sight did he raise an eyebrow, a trace of satisfaction appearing in his eyes.
“Looks like your brother finally met his match.” The pleasure in his voice was impossible to miss.
Normally, Bai Yanzhou found Guan Zhongjin incredibly irritating.
His cousin could argue with almost anyone over anything, and given half a reason, he could turn the most ordinary conversation into an argument that lasted half the day.
Most of the time, Bai Yanzhou found that habit exhausting.
But when the person on the receiving end happened to be Shen Mo’an, Guan Zhongjin suddenly didn’t seem quite so annoying.
Perhaps he was even useful for once.
Shen Qinglan slowly turned her head toward him.
Catching the faint curve at the corner of his lips, she narrowed her eyes.
“And you seem…” She deliberately paused and raised an eyebrow.
“…rather happy about that.” Bai Yanzhou didn’t deny it.
Shen Qinglan gave him a knowing look but didn’t bother calling him out.
Instead, she picked up her bowl and chopsticks again and returned to her unfinished meal.
Either way, the biggest problem had finally been dealt with.
At least for now, Shen Mo’an wouldn’t be hovering nearby, glaring at Bai Yanzhou as though he were some shameless villain waiting for the slightest chance to abduct his precious little sister.
Just thinking about it made Shen Qinglan feel much more relaxed.
She lowered her head and took another bite.
Across from her, Bai Yanzhou noticed the change in her expression.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he leisurely returned to his seat and picked up his chopsticks.
“You say that as though I’m the only one enjoying this.” Shen Qinglan paused.
Bai Yanzhou took another bite before looking at her.
“Don’t tell me you don’t feel relieved too?” Her chopsticks stopped briefly above her bowl.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but she didn’t answer.
She simply lowered her head and continued eating.
Bai Yanzhou watched her for a moment before letting the matter go.
There was no need to ask again.
The answer was already written all over her face.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The earlier commotion gradually faded, and the pavilion became peaceful once more.
Only the occasional soft clink of porcelain and chopsticks broke the silence as a light breeze drifted through the courtyard, carrying the faint scent of flowers.
Everything seemed calm again.
Then Shen Qinglan suddenly lifted her head.
The playful ease in her expression was gone, replaced by something more serious.
“Fiancé…” Bai Yanzhou glanced at her.
“Hm?” She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she studied his face carefully, as though trying to see through his calm expression and figure out what he was hiding.
After a moment, she finally asked, “Isn’t there something you should be telling me?” The chopsticks in Bai Yanzhou’s hand paused for the briefest moment before he looked up.
For once, genuine confusion seemed to appear in his eyes.
“Tell you what?” Shen Qinglan stared at him.
Was he seriously asking her that, or was he simply pretending not to understand?
She calmly set down her bowl and chopsticks, straightened in her seat, and met his gaze directly.
“Your identity.” The atmosphere around the stone table seemed to quiet.
Bai Yanzhou said nothing.
He simply looked at her, his expression calm and unreadable.
After a moment, he answered evenly, “The eldest young master of Bai Manor.” Shen Qinglan frowned.
“No.” She clearly wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
“I mean your other identity.” Bai Yanzhou’s gaze shifted slightly.
Shen Qinglan watched him closely before continuing, “For example…
an official of the imperial court.” This time, Bai Yanzhou slowly lowered his chopsticks.
He leaned back in his chair, looking completely unhurried.
There was no anger or panic on his face, not even the slightest hint of nervousness at possibly having been exposed.
Instead, a faint smile appeared.
“Oh?” He looked at her with growing amusement.
“Now you’ve made me curious.
Little girl, what makes you so certain I have another identity?” Shen Qinglan blinked.
She didn’t bother giving him a long explanation.
“Shadow guards.” Bai Yanzhou raised an eyebrow, but his expression remained unchanged.
If anything, the amusement in his eyes only deepened.
“You’re drawing that conclusion from the shadow guards alone?” He chuckled softly.
“Isn’t that a little hasty?” Shen Qinglan said nothing.
Bai Yanzhou continued casually, “I could simply tell you that someone else assigned those guards to protect me.” “Is that so?” Shen Qinglan pressed her lips together and quietly watched him.
Bai Yanzhou remained completely at ease.
He even picked up his chopsticks again and turned them idly between his fingers, looking as though he could brush the entire matter aside with another joke whenever he pleased.
But his attention had already sharpened.
He wanted to see what she would say next.
Shen Qinglan lowered her gaze and tapped one finger lightly against the stone table as she thought.
Could those shadow guards really have been assigned by someone else to protect him?
At first glance, the explanation wasn’t impossible.
If Bai Yanzhou had some connection to an important person in the imperial court, there would be nothing strange about someone secretly arranging guards around him.
But something didn’t add up.
If those shadow guards had truly been assigned to protect Bai Yanzhou, they should have intervened the moment Shen Mo’an attacked him.
They wouldn’t have remained hidden while Shen Mo’an threw punch after punch, much less watched Bai Yanzhou nearly take a fist straight to the face.
That wasn’t how guards responsible for someone’s safety should behave.
Unless…
Shen Qinglan’s finger stopped tapping.
Unless the person giving the orders wasn’t someone else at all.
It was Bai Yanzhou himself.
That would explain why they hadn’t interfered.
Bai Yanzhou hadn’t wanted them to.
Perhaps he had even ordered them to remain hidden unless the situation became truly dangerous.
That was why they had allowed Shen Mo’an to attack him without moving, only revealing themselves when things were about to go too far.
Shen Qinglan slowly raised her head and met Bai Yanzhou’s eyes.
This bastard had been feeding her nonsense.
Bai Yanzhou caught the sudden certainty in her expression, and something flickered in his eyes.
Before he could say anything, Shen Qinglan spoke.
“You’re definitely connected to the imperial court.” The chopsticks turning between his fingers stopped.
Shen Qinglan noticed immediately.
“And your relationship with the emperor isn’t an ordinary one.” She leaned forward slightly and narrowed her eyes.
“Also, stop trying to fool me.” Bai Yanzhou remained silent.
“Those shadow guards are yours.” For the first time since the conversation began, he didn’t answer right away.
Shen Qinglan continued, “If someone else had assigned them to protect you, they would’ve attacked my brother the moment he started throwing punches.” She raised an eyebrow.
“Do you really expect me to believe they’d hide there and watch you get beaten?” Bai Yanzhou stared at her.
Shen Qinglan stared right back, refusing to look away.
For a moment, he genuinely had nothing to say.
Then the corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
Interesting.
He had underestimated her again.
She hadn’t simply noticed the shadow guards.
She had paid attention to how they behaved—when they appeared, when they remained hidden, and when they chose not to interfere.
From those small details alone, she had seen through the excuse he’d casually thrown at her.
She was far more observant than he’d expected.
Bai Yanzhou had met plenty of court officials who considered themselves clever, yet many of them probably wouldn’t have noticed half as much as she had.
For some reason, a faint sense of pride rose in his heart.
His fiancée was certainly no fool.
“All right.” The amusement on his face gradually faded, and his voice became more serious.
“I’ll tell you.” Shen Qinglan immediately straightened, her eyes lighting up.
Finally.
She had been wondering about this ever since those shadow guards first appeared.
Now she was finally going to get an answer.
She stared at him expectantly as several possibilities crossed her mind.
Was he a secret imperial official?
A commander?
Someone who worked directly under the emperor?
Before she could settle on any possibility, Bai Yanzhou suddenly stood up.
Shen Qinglan blinked and looked up at him.
He calmly straightened his robes.
Then, instead of answering her question, he casually said, “We leave tonight.” Shen Qinglan froze.
“What?” Bai Yanzhou had already turned away.
He walked out of the pavilion without the slightest hesitation, his steps calm and unhurried, as though he hadn’t just deliberately left her hanging at the most important part of the conversation.
Shen Qinglan remained seated for several seconds before her mind finally caught up.
“Huh?!” She shot to her feet.
“What the hell was that?!” She stared at his retreating back in disbelief.
Didn’t he just say he was going to tell her?
Where was the answer?
What happened to “I’ll tell you”?
She slammed both hands onto the stone table.
Bang!
“Bai Yanzhou!” He kept walking without even glancing back.
Shen Qinglan clenched her teeth.
This bastard!
He had absolutely done that on purpose.
“You bastard!” Her furious voice rang across the courtyard.
Only then did Bai Yanzhou’s steps pause.
Shen Qinglan glared at his back, waiting for him to turn around.
Instead, his shoulders suddenly trembled.
Once, then again.
Shen Qinglan’s expression slowly darkened.
Don’t tell me— The next moment, Bai Yanzhou burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha—!” His bright, completely unrestrained laughter drifted back across the courtyard.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of guilt in it.
If anything, he sounded extremely pleased with himself.
Shen Qinglan stood beside the stone table, staring in the direction he had disappeared, her fingers slowly curling into fists.
That bastard.
He had definitely done it on purpose.