Meanwhile, Shen Qinglan slowly opened her eyes.
She lay still for a moment, staring at the unfamiliar canopy above her.
The pale fabric was simple, with faint cloud patterns embroidered along the edges.
A thin curtain hung from one side of the bed, stirring whenever the night breeze slipped through the half-open window.
Still groggy, Shen Qinglan blinked a few times before turning her head to look around.
A wooden screen stood near the bed.
Beyond it were a round table, several chairs, and a small bronze incense burner.
A lamp burned quietly on the table, casting a warm glow across the room.
Everything was neat and clean, but none of it was familiar.
Where was she?
Shen Qinglan frowned as her memories gradually returned.
The alley.
The two men.
The dagger.
She remembered the blade cutting into her left arm and realizing almost immediately that it had been poisoned.
She had managed to pour medicine over the wound, but the pain had quickly become unbearable.
Everything after that was a blur.
She vaguely remembered hearing a man’s voice, someone holding her arm, and what sounded like an argument.
Then nothing.
She looked down at her left arm.
The wound had already been cleaned and carefully bandaged.
So she had really passed out.
Shen Qinglan wasn’t pleased by the thought.
In her previous life, losing consciousness in an unfamiliar place could easily have cost her life.
She instinctively reached for her waist, only to find nothing there.
Her expression changed at once.
Her satchel was gone.
So was her fan.
Now fully alert, Shen Qinglan carefully examined the room again.
There was no one inside, the door was closed, and the window remained partly open.
She could hear footsteps outside, but they were distant and unhurried.
At least there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger.
Only after realizing that did she notice how badly her left arm hurt.
Shen Qinglan drew in a quiet breath and slowly pushed herself upright with her right hand.
The moment she moved, however, a wave of dizziness hit her.
She closed her eyes and waited until it passed before leaning back against the headboard.
Where exactly was this place?
An inn?
The room seemed far too refined for an ordinary roadside inn, but she couldn’t think of anywhere else she might have been taken.
Then another thought occurred to her.
How long had she been unconscious?
Her father and brother must have noticed she was missing by now.
Had they already found her?
Did they know where she was?
Or were they still searching?
Shen Qinglan lowered her eyes as an idea slowly formed in her mind.
She had always wanted to search for her biological parents, but doing so meant first getting away from Shen Yuxing and Shen Mo’an’s constant protection.
That was easier said than done.
She loved them both, which only made the situation more difficult.
Shen Yuxing had brought her home when she was seven, and not once had he treated her differently because she wasn’t his biological daughter.
Whatever Shen Mo’an had, she had as well.
Sometimes, Shen Qinglan even suspected her father spoiled her more than his own son.
As for Shen Mo’an…
Her mouth twitched at the thought of her brother.
He was even worse.
When she was younger, she had once climbed a tree to retrieve a kite.
Shen Mo’an caught her halfway up.
The next morning, the tree was gone.
Not one of its branches.
Not the ladder she had used.
The entire tree.
Shen Qinglan had stood there for a long time, staring at the empty patch of ground where it used to be.
When she finally asked her brother what had happened, Shen Mo’an had answered calmly, “It was unsafe.” As if cutting down an entire tree just to stop his sister from climbing it was perfectly reasonable.
Another time, Shen Qinglan casually mentioned that she wanted to visit the market alone.
The next morning, six guards somehow happened to be walking in the same direction as her.
Six.
Shen Qinglan closed her eyes at the memory.
Forget leaving Green Bamboo Residence.
She could barely step out of her own courtyard without someone noticing.
If she told her father and brother that she wanted to travel around the country alone in search of her biological parents, she could already imagine Shen Mo’an’s reaction.
He would probably lock the gates.
Then double the guards.
And, knowing him, a few more innocent trees might lose their lives along the way.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
But things were different now.
If her family still thought she was missing, this might be her only chance.
She could leave for a while and search for clues on her own.
Once she found something useful, she would return and explain everything.
Her father would certainly be angry.
Her brother would probably be furious.
Still, at least she would finally have a chance to find some answers.
Shen Qinglan tightened her fingers around the blanket.
If they hadn’t found her yet, perhaps she could still— A delicious smell suddenly drifted into the room.
Her thoughts stopped at once.
Shen Qinglan sniffed the air.
What was that?
The smell grew stronger, rich and savory, and there was no mistaking the aroma of roasted meat.
Before she could figure out where it was coming from, a roasted goose leg appeared directly in front of her.
Golden brown and crispy, it was still giving off a faint trail of steam.
Shen Qinglan stared at it.
The goose leg moved slowly from side to side in front of her face.
Her eyes followed it.
Then her stomach growled.
The room went quiet.
Shen Qinglan froze.
She looked down at her stomach, then slowly raised her eyes to the goose leg again.
Her stomach growled a second time.
“…” There was no pretending that hadn’t happened.
She followed the hand holding the goose leg upward and saw a dark sleeve, then a shoulder, and finally a familiar face.
Her eyes widened.
Him?
Bai Yanzhou stood beside the bed with another goose leg between his teeth, looking perfectly comfortable with the situation.
Their eyes met.
He took the goose leg from his mouth and asked, “Hungry?” Shen Qinglan stared at him.
Bai Yanzhou glanced at the goose leg he was holding out to her.
“Your stomach already answered that.” Her expression stiffened.
“I wasn’t—” Her stomach growled again.
Shen Qinglan immediately fell silent.
The corner of Bai Yanzhou’s mouth lifted.
There was really no point arguing when her own stomach had already betrayed her.
He took another bite of his goose leg before saying, “I heard you’d been unconscious for quite a while.
I wanted to check on you earlier, but that overprotective brother of yours wouldn’t let me in.” Shen Qinglan immediately focused on the important part.
“My brother?” “Mm.” “He’s here?” “Unfortunately.” She stared at him.
“Unfortunately?” “For me.” Shen Qinglan had no idea what he meant by that, and judging from his expression, asking probably wouldn’t help.
Instead, she looked at him suspiciously.
“Then how did you know I was awake?” Bai Yanzhou answered without hesitation.
“I had a few shadow guards nearby.” Shen Qinglan paused.
“Shadow guards?” “They told me as soon as you woke up.” He said it as though there was nothing strange about it.
Shen Qinglan stared at him for a moment.
“You put shadow guards outside my room?” “Nearby,” Bai Yanzhou corrected.
“Why?” “So I’d know when you woke up.” “…”