Emerging from a small courtyard to the east of Xiaolong Club, walk south across a picturesque stream and bridge, then follow the long corridor to the southeast corner, where the teahouse is nestled behind a grove of lush bamboo and banana trees.
Pushing open the door and entering, Yan'er lit a lamp and immediately saw a large medicine bead bracelet on a table next to a large water vat in the corner of the entrance. The bracelet was made of a red rope and had a dark background with a neat and thick white line running through the center. The contrast between the white line and the background was extremely strong.
So, with a face full of relief, she rushed over, picked it up, and clutched it tightly in her hand, saying excitedly, "My Medicine Buddha Bead Bracelet is really here! Thank goodness the bracelet Miss gave me wasn't lost. This is Yan'er's only memory of Miss now. Miss, oh Miss, where are you? Why aren't you home yet?"
After hesitating for a moment, Yan'er was about to turn around and walk back when she suddenly shifted her foot and felt as if something had poked her.
So, she lowered her head slowly, illuminating the spot beneath her feet, and examined it carefully: "Huh, how come there's a sandalwood bracelet with an orchid design here? Could it be Sister Lanxiang's? She must have lost her bracelet just like Yan'er. Luckily, I found it. I'll take it back with her; she'll be very happy."
As she safely slipped the two recovered pieces of jewelry into her sleeve pocket, a strange scent wafted over. Yan'er couldn't help but sniff, turning back to walk inside while muttering a guess, "Hmm? Why does it smell like celery? How come there's this smell in the tea room?"
Just as she was wondering, a plate of round, glistening dumplings suddenly appeared on the table beside the stove, looking incredibly tempting. Yan'er immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, how come there's a plate of dumplings here? Did Sister Lanxiang leave them for me? Has Sister Lanxiang come back? Sister Lanxiang, Sister Lanxiang..."
She called out to everyone around her for a long time, but no one responded. Yan'er then licked her lips greedily and grinned foolishly at them, before reaching out and picking one of the dumplings up and putting it in her mouth.
"Yan'er's stomach is a little hungry too, whatever, whatever... Hehehe... Hmm, the taste is not bad..." She ate heartily, muttering to herself. Then, as if sensing something was amiss, Yan'er slowly withdrew the dumpling she was about to put in her mouth, held it in her hand, and examined it carefully for a long time. She said in confusion, "Something's not right. This dumpling looks so ugly. It doesn't look like something someone with cooking skills would do. But... how come it looks like something Miss would make? And there's another dumpling on the plate that looks like someone has taken a bite out of, and inside is a whole jujube..."
At this moment, the warm memories of everyone happily making dumplings together in the kitchen of the Yi family mansion in the west of the city on New Year's Eve suddenly flooded Yan'er's mind. Her eyes widened, and she excitedly murmured, "Could it be... that this wasn't left by Sister Lanxiang, but that Miss was here? I've long felt that Miss's presence is here. Could she really be here too?"
While wondering, Yan'er hurriedly looked up and peered into the kitchen next door, which was separated by a grove of green bamboo and banana trees. She saw faint light coming out and quickly ran over to the next room.
"Miss, Miss..." Ran called out happily as she entered the room. Seeing two guards clearing away the dishes, she rushed over and glanced at the empty plates. Then, she grabbed the young guard's arm and questioned him repeatedly, "Were those dumplings you just ate? Who made them for you? Where is that person now?"
"Young lady, what's going on...we..."
The young guard was shaken violently by Yan'er and seemed about to faint. Just as he was about to speak, the older guard rushed forward, pulled Yan'er's hand away, and stood in front of the young guard, saying, "Miss, what's wrong with you? We are two grown men who are hungry in the middle of the night. Is there a problem with sneaking into the kitchen to make some dumplings?"
"Did you two really make those dumplings?" Yan'er asked doubtfully.
"Otherwise what?" the older guard retorted.
Yan'er was silent for a moment, then asked, "Since you two made the dumplings, why did one plate end up in the tea room next door?"
"While cooking, I realized the water in the vat was empty, so I carried it around eating as I went. I went to the tea room and scooped up two spoonfuls of water, but I must have accidentally left a plate behind. Do I have to ask the young lady for permission for this?" the older guard said without hesitation.
Yan'er hurried over and glanced at the empty water jar. She was speechless. She looked around, paused for a moment, and then said apologetically with a disappointed look, "I thought it was... I'm sorry, I was reckless."
As soon as she finished speaking, she listlessly turned and walked towards the door. After walking for a while, she suddenly turned back and asked with a pitiful look, "Excuse me, have you ever seen a kind-hearted lady with a white veil covering her face?"
Upon hearing this, the two guards immediately locked eyes. After a moment, the older guard spoke first: "What do you want with this person?"
Yan'er turned around, her eyes blurry with tears, and said wistfully, "She was my young mistress. On a stormy night, she and His Highness Prince Qin encountered an accident in the south of the city and fell into the Green Lake. Later, His Highness Prince Qin was rescued, but my young mistress drifted away with the current, her fate unknown. We don't know where she went. Now the whole world is searching for her, and I was kidnapped here while searching for her. I really miss my young mistress so much, that's why when I saw the familiar dumplings, I thought they were made by my young mistress, but it turns out they weren't."
Upon hearing this, the young guard beside him could no longer contain his excitement and tried to speak several times, but the older guard grabbed his arm and held him down, saying, "You little girl, this is the Xiaolong Society, you know. You don't know what kind of place this is, do you? How could there be any young ladies here? Are you out of your mind?"
"Yes, how could Miss be here? Yan'er must have really lost her mind!" In the end, Yan'er glanced at the two of them and walked out dejectedly.
Once the older guard was certain that Yan'er had left and wouldn't return, he released his grip on the younger guard's arm. The younger guard immediately shouted angrily, "Why didn't you let her see Miss Ruoxi? You know perfectly well that Miss Ruoxi is a kind woman who always hides behind a white veil; she could very well be her young mistress!"
"Given the current situation, it's better to avoid trouble. With Chief Long absent and Miss Ruoxi acting so kindly and without any moral compass, it's best if we don't spread the word. Besides, isn't that girl just the tea-brewing girl next door? She can't fly away. There's no rush; we can wait until the chief returns before making a decision." The older guard breathed a sigh of relief and said cautiously.
Upon hearing this, the young guard immediately lowered his head, looking ashamed, realizing how thoughtful the older guard had been.
Just then, Ruoxi walked in from outside, her eyebrows dancing with excitement, and said, "What are you two arguing about? I could hear your voices from far away."
The young guard suddenly looked up and walked over to her, anxiously asking, "Miss, you're back. Have you found the man who fell into the water?"
As Ruoxi poured herself a bowl of water, she said, "We found him. He's safe now. After being fed some ginseng soup, his complexion has improved a lot, and he should recover soon. By the way, why are you still here? Let me help you tidy up!"
As she spoke, the woman rolled up her sleeves, intending to go over to the older guard to help, but the older guard quickly stopped her, saying, "No need, no need, it's all done, you can leave now!" After checking the stove fire one last time, the older guard also walked over to the two of them.
Ruoxi put her hands on her hips and swayed her slender waist, stretching her muscles as she said, "Let's hurry up, it's almost dawn, we're all exhausted today!"
However, the two guards looked at each other, their faces filled with joy and satisfaction.
Yan'er was in low spirits and left the house in a daze. However, she did not go back to her residence. She walked aimlessly and suddenly encountered two burly men in red. She asked them, "Brothers, have you seen a young lady with a white veil covering her face?"
The two burly men in red stopped, looked at each other for a moment, and then turned to ask, "The young lady with the white veil covering her face? Are you with her?"
“You really saw her. Yes, yes, we were together, but we accidentally lost each other.” Upon hearing this, Yan’er suddenly perked up, her eyes widening as she nodded repeatedly in agreement, but her words were completely unrelated.
"What a jinx tonight! I've run into two beauties who are only meant to be admired from afar... Let's go to the west courtyard; she's with the vice leader." Upon hearing this, one of the burly men with a rugged appearance said with no end of irritation.
"West Courtyard? How do I get to the West Courtyard?" These past few days, Yan'er hadn't been anywhere outside the tea room and her residence, and now she had no idea how she had gotten here.
While he was hesitating, the burly man with the rugged face said to another burly man beside him, "I'm really fed up with these people. Go tell her. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I'm going to serve the vice leader, I wouldn't bother wasting my breath talking to them here."
At this moment, another burly man stepped forward as ordered, pointed ahead and said, "Go straight ahead from here, turn left when you go out, then go back and keep going until you reach the end. It will be on your right."
"Oh, okay, thank you both, thank you both," Yan'er said excitedly, thanking them repeatedly.
"Get lost, get lost. I'm annoyed just looking at you women," the burly man with a rough face said impatiently to her.
Following the man's instructions, even though it was dark, the impatient Yan'er quickly found the arched gate of the west courtyard. As soon as she stepped inside, she heard a voice: "Who goes there? How dare you break into this courtyard at night?"
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