“If you don’t hand it to me within two hours, I’ll make you kneel in the ancestral hall while writing.” At this moment, Madam Shen was particularly merciless.

———

Shen Yao Xing, who had left the main hall, felt extremely tired. Before she had time to lament how bitter fate was, she saw a young girl dressed in light green clothes rushing towards her. She stopped just in time before they collided.

“Young Miss!” The newcomer seemed somewhat excited.

“Qing Shu.” The person in front of her, who looked about the same age as her, was her maid. She really hadn’t changed at all, still so reckless.

Qing Shu’s face was red with excitement: “Young Miss, you’re finally back!”

Yes, she’s back to suffer, Shen Yao Xing sighed, silently walking past her towards the direction of her own courtyard. The Shen mansion was not small, and Shen Yao Xing’s living quarters could be said to be in the best location of the entire mansion, warm in winter and cool in summer. The first ray of morning sun would fall on her spot.

After winding through twists and turns, passing through a long corridor and then a rockery, they reached the courtyard. Qing Shu was known in the mansion for being talkative. Along the way, her mouth hadn’t stopped chattering. It was only Shen Yao Xing who indulged her; if it were any other master, she would have been thrown out of the mansion long ago.

After walking along a section of cobblestone path, Shen Yao Xing arrived at the courtyard. The courtyard was very spacious, with a rockery and a small pond. A velvet flower tree was planted against the wall, already taller than the wall. Now it was midsummer, and the branches were full of red and white velvet flowers. Mountains, water, flowers, and grass, like a mural, were stunning at first glance.

“This tree has grown so many flowers?”

Shen Yao Xing clicked her tongue. In the past, when she had nothing to do, she liked to sit on the tree branches to cool off. When she left home, the tree hadn’t bloomed yet. She didn’t expect that in just two or three months, it would bloom so much.

“Yes, Young Miss, these flowers love to shed debris. This servant has to sweep several times every day!” Qing Shu had no appreciation ability. She didn’t understand whether it looked good or not, she only knew that when the flowers fell to the ground, she had to clean them up. So many times in a day, it was really troublesome.

Shen Yao Xing rolled her eyes speechlessly: “If it’s so troublesome, why don’t you just sweep it all together in the afternoon?”

Qing Shu felt her brain suddenly clear, having an epiphany: “Oh right! This way I won’t have to make so many trips!” The more she thought about it, the more she felt this method was really good. She was extremely happy: “Young Miss, you’re so clever, you can think of such a good method in an instant!”

If it were before, Shen Yao Xing would have thought she was flattering her, but now Shen Yao Xing truly believed she hadn’t thought of it before, because this child’s brain was indeed slower than ordinary people!

Pushing open the door of the bedroom, nothing inside had changed. Because it was cleaned every day, the room was clean and tidy, spotless.

The bedroom was still spacious, in a rectangular shape. Directly opposite the entrance was a luxurious chaise lounge. On one side was the bed for resting, with pearl curtains in front, elegant and comfortable. On the other side was the writing desk that Madam Shen had forcibly arranged for her. Behind the black sandalwood desk were various writing brushes and books. Just looking at it made one uncomfortable.

Shen Yao Xing listlessly sat down at the writing desk, pulled out a stack of white paper from behind, and told Qing Shu to start grinding ink. Although she really didn’t want to write, she even less wanted to have to kneel and write at the same time later.

Qing Shu was enthusiastically grinding ink for the young lady beside her when suddenly she thought of something. Her eyes brightened, and she said as if seeking credit: “Young Miss, during the days you were away, this servant practiced your handwriting daily. Now I’ve mastered it perfectly and can help you write together!”

Shen Yao Xing’s writing hand paused, and she looked at her with great emotion: “Really?”

This child truly deserves how well I treat her!

“Mm!” Qing Shu nodded vigorously, got up to fetch a purple brush, took a sheet of white paper and began to perform. With a wave of her slender hand, she wrote skillfully, her movements flowing smoothly.

Finally, she very confidently presented the finished writing to the young lady. Shen Yao Xing happily propped both hands on the table, her upturned mouth gradually disappearing as she saw the writing. The characters were indeed beautiful, graceful and neat, with a touch of carefree flourish at the end.

The only flaw was that it was worlds apart from her own scrawled characters, without even a tiny bit of resemblance.

Shen Yao Xing silently threw the paper back to her and lowered her head to continue writing.

Qing Shu’s dull mind hadn’t realized the problem yet, and she kept volunteering enthusiastically.

“Alright, alright” Shen Yao Xing made a pause gesture and pointed outside to her: “If you’re so free, go get me something to eat.”

“Okay!” Having received an order, Qing Shu instantly forgot about the writing matter and happily walked out.

Just as she reached the door, she almost collided with an approaching tall figure. Recognizing who it was, Qing Shu hurriedly stepped back several paces and lowered her head: “Greetings to the eldest young master!”

Song Si Nian’s handsome brows furrowed slightly. He glanced at her indifferently and waved his hand to indicate it was nothing. As he lowered his raised hand, he casually brushed it over his clothes in front, as if brushing away something unclean.

Shen Yao Xing inside the room heard the commotion but didn’t raise her head. The wolf-hair brush moved across the white paper stroke by stroke. Even when the person had already sat down next to the writing desk, she didn’t pay any attention.

Song Si Nian didn’t mind either. He sat there watching the young girl write for a good while before slowly speaking, his voice as pleasant as a mountain spring: “Is Zhao Zhao angry?”

“Hmph” Shen Yao Xing snorted, her body turning slightly, as if afraid of someone copying during an exam. She used her arm to block the characters, her whole face almost pressed against the paper, while still muttering: “That’s what you get for not speaking up for me.”

“How could your elder brother have spoken up for you? Mother was already very angry at that time.”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t respond to him and continued to lie there writing.

Song Si Nian quietly gazed at the back of the young girl’s head, his fingertips moving slightly, his voice becoming somewhat faint: “If we’re talking about being angry, shouldn’t your elder brother be the one most entitled to be angry?”

The brush tip paused on the paper.

“Zhao Zhao was gone for so long, but didn’t write even one letter to your elder brother.”

Shen Yao Xing could hear the faint sense of disappointment in the man’s voice. She reluctantly raised her head from the writing desk to glance at him. This was indeed her fault. When she left, she had promised him that she would write a letter every so often to report that she was safe, but later she got caught up in having fun and forgot.

The young girl’s thumb fiddled with the brush handle. Her gaze paused and darted around guiltily before she decided to answer honestly: “I… I was having too much fun, so I forgot…”

Song Si Nian’s eyes lowered slightly, his long lashes casting shadows under his eyes. After a good while, he finally raised his eyes to look at her languidly.

“Your elder brother thought Zhao Zhao had been captivated by some man outside.”