It seems that Xiao Shen's family is very poor.

It can't be said that he was poor, after all, the stack of peach-ink Xuan paper he used to write on came from the best Luxiang Academy in the capital.

I've heard of Zhanxin Jia; it's said to be worth a fortune, with a complicated and intricate process. Before the pulp dries, it's mixed with peach blossom dew and then sealed with cinnabar and gold leaf, resulting in a delicate, smooth, and subtly fragrant product.

Just one of these bills can cover half a month's expenses for an average family.

After dinner, while Master Shen was washing the dishes, Zhan Xinjia roughly scouted out the courtyard, but something still felt off—

This is a small house with two courtyards. Apart from the front hall, it is roughly divided into a main courtyard and a side courtyard.

The courtyard planted with crabapple trees is the main courtyard, where Master Shen's master bedroom and study are located.

The side courtyard contains guest rooms, a kitchen, a storage room, an outhouse, and the like. There is no wall between the two courtyards, only a few rows of lush green bamboo branches that separate them, and a long corridor runs through them.

That's the strange thing.

This place isn't particularly big or small, yet it doesn't have a single maid or servant!

Even things like grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, washing dishes, and cleaning are all done by Master Shen himself.

If someone can afford the paper from Luxiang Academy, has decent clothes, and is even an official of the imperial court, surely they can spare a few taels of silver to buy a few maids and servants from a slave trader?

Before Zhan Xinjia could figure it out, the diligent young master Shen had already quietly cleaned the long-vacant guest room.

He decided to kindly let her stay there for one last night.

But he made up his mind to send her to the yamen first thing tomorrow morning.

Zhan Xinjia obediently followed behind Master Shen, marveling at how there could be such an easy-to-deceive and kind-hearted young man in the world, while knowing full well that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

She lowered her head and pondered for a while, and when she raised her head again, her face was already streaked with tears.

"As the saying goes, even a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness, but since Lord Shen no longer wants me, why not send me to the yamen now! Waaah, anyway, I'm just a homeless, amnesiac orphan girl, destined to be abandoned by everyone... Waaah..."

"It's alright, I understand, *sob*... Lord Shen, you don't need to feel guilty. I won't blame you, after all, to you I'm just a burden."

At this point, Zhan Xinjia took an exaggerated breath and choked up.

"I'm just... I'm just a little scared. I don't remember anything. What if someone lies to me or bullies me in the future? But it's okay. Even if I get killed by bad people outside, I won't hold a grudge against Master Shen, sob sob..."

Zhan Xinjia was deeply shocked as she whimpered.

No wonder that brat Yan Xiyue always loves to whine and whimper. It feels so good to whine like that, it's like a relaxation that comes from brainstem deficiency.

Shen Suqing, who was walking in front, stumbled upon hearing this.

He had never been in contact with a woman in his life, even though the world called him learned and incredibly intelligent. Yet, despite having read countless books, he still couldn't figure out how to deal with a young girl's unreasonable tears.

He stopped and turned around.

The little girl was crying hard, her nose was red, and her clear, peach-blossom eyes looked over timidly.

She does indeed look like someone who would easily be bullied outside.

Shen Suqing thought to himself in a daze.

He rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache, trying to come up with a solution that everyone could accept through reasoning.

He unconsciously lowered his voice, speaking gently, and tried to discuss it with her.

"It's really not convenient for me to take you in here, and besides, we're not... husband and wife. How about this, a friend of mine will be visiting tomorrow. I'll ask him to find you a leisurely job with a wealthy family, how about that?"

Not good.

Zhan Xinjia's ultimate goal is not to work.

But clearly this was already Lord Shen's final concession; if she continued to act recklessly, it would only cause the other party to feel disgusted and uncomfortable.

Zhan Xinjia, seeing that she had already made a good decision, nodded obediently with tears in her eyes.

Seeing the young man visibly relieved, Zhan Xinjia burst into laughter through her tears. Two dimples appeared on her face, and she took the opportunity to step forward and hug his arm tightly, shaking it excitedly.

"Young Master Shen, you are such a good person!!"

She enjoyed being close to the handsome young man, but Shen Suqing found this intimacy extremely uncomfortable.

But her cheeks had shallow dimples, tears still clung to her eyelashes, and her eyes were wet and misty.

Considering the girl's sensitive and fragile nature, and fearing she might cry again, he frowned, his heart filled with a numbing struggle, and in the end, he could only stand stiffly in place, like a dried-up statue, as if being punished...

The words "What kind of behavior is this?" stuck in my throat, and I couldn't say them in the end.

On the day he found her, Shen Suqing also retrieved the bundle she was always carrying.

In the side room of the courtyard, under the candlelight, Zhan Xinjia spread his bundle out on the table, sighing repeatedly.

She made the decision to run away from home in such a hurry that she didn't actually take much with her, just two changes of clothes and a hairpin that was supposedly a token of her parents' love.

The hairpin wasn't anything valuable; it was just a simple silver hairpin. But its exquisite and delicate craftsmanship was rare, and it felt surprisingly heavy in the hand.

When she was young, she thought the hairpin was pretty, and she pestered her mother for several days until she finally got it.

As Zhan Xinjia stroked the silver hairpin carved into the shape of a butterfly's wings, she pursed her lips and unconsciously thought of her two unreliable empty-nest elderly relatives at home.

I wonder if they were extremely anxious.

A slight pang of guilt rose in my heart, but the thought of the few days I had spent living in the past sixteen years quickly suppressed that guilt.

Zhan Xinjia flopped onto the bed and grabbed a pillow to cover her face.

The pillow core exudes a faint scent of books, ink, and bamboo, much like the scent of Master Shen, which inexplicably calms the mind and soothes the soul.

Zhan Xinjia wasn't even sure when she had drifted off to sleep. When she woke up and went to fetch water to wash up, she bumped into Shen Suqing, who was already dressed, in front of the corridor.

The sun shines brightly.

The dawn in April is frosty and clear, a gentle breeze blows, and the flowers and leaves in the yard sway, the dew trembling slightly.

His black hair was neatly tied up with a crown, meticulous in every detail. He wore a sky-blue wide-sleeved cross-collar robe, over which he wore a snow-white double-breasted cloak. He was tall and slender with a straight back.

The young man stood under the crabapple tree, and at first glance, he resembled a sturdy and upright bamboo.

Upon catching sight of the little girl carrying a basin of water, Shen Suqing paused slightly, then stopped in his tracks.

"My friend will be here soon. If he comes to question you, just be quick-witted in your answers, okay? Don't be afraid, he will definitely find you a reliable partner."

For some reason, as he was talking, Shen Suqing suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, like an old father entrusting his daughter with something.

Seeing Zhan Xinjia nod obediently like a chick pecking at rice, Shen Suqing's heart softened, feeling very comforted.

Although this little girl seems to have some mental problems, occasionally talking nonsense and acting out of character... fortunately, she is gentle, kind, and eloquent, and can be considered a sensible and good child.

Feeling satisfied that he had inadvertently done a good deed, Master Shen turned and left, his mood light and cheerful all the way. Even when talking to his unreliable best friend, he was more amiable than usual.

"You mean, you picked up a little girl with amnesia?!"

In the front hall, Fu Shouan suddenly spat out the mouthful of tea.

"Holy crap! Brother Shen, you...you haven't run into a honey trap, have you? Maybe she's a spy sent by Lan Jiang! Should I send someone to take her back to Dali Temple for severe torture and interrogation?"

It's no wonder he found it unbelievable, mainly because his colleague, whose life had been full of hardships, had not had a single maidservant in his household since he came to the capital to report on his duties three years ago.

Upon hearing that he had taken a girl home, Fu Shouan's first thought was that his colleague, who came from a poor, remote village and had never seen the bustling capital and the treacherous nature of people, had probably been set up.

Shen Suqing dodged to the side, looking at the corner of the cabinet that had been sprayed with tea with disgust. He felt as if ants were crawling all over his body and wished he could grab Fu Shouan by the collar and make him wipe it clean with his face.

But since the two had a close relationship, Shen Suqing closed his eyes and managed to hold back.

He looked away, preferring to ignore it.

"She is a well-behaved and kind-hearted child; you can tell at first glance."

As he said this, Shen Suqing selectively forgot the bewildering remarks Zhan Xinjia had made when he first woke up and asked him for water during the stormy night.

Um……

That must have been because she was too panicked when she woke up in the unfamiliar environment, which is why she spoke without thinking.

Shen Suqing firmly believed that the girl he had picked up was a timid, gentle, but honest and kind-hearted little girl.