Shen Yan stepped forward, opened the door, and did not make way for him.
Meng Qingluan sat in the chair, her palms unconsciously clenching.
From her perspective, she could only see Shen Yan's tall and slender back. The cold wind blew in, blowing his clothes open and outlining his figure.
The little monk was carrying a tray with two bowls of white porridge and a small dish of pickled vegetables on the side.
The young monk's gaze unconsciously drifted into the room.
Shen Yan keenly sensed this and moved to block his view.
The young monk looked away and raised the tray in his hand.
“I will take it in for you.”
Chen Yan didn't move, his hands still gripping the door frame, a polite yet distant smile on his face.
"No need, I can do it myself."
The little monk held onto the tray, still smiling.
"How could we trouble you to come in person for such a small matter? Let me take it in for you both."
"..."
Chen Yan's hand, which was gripping the door frame, went straight to the other end of the tray.
The young monk didn't take it seriously. After all, Chen Yan looked so weak and frail; how could he possibly win against him?
The young monk gripped the tray tightly, then suddenly leaned forward and threatened in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Benefactor, if you want to survive tonight, you'd better be sensible and step aside."
After hearing this, Shen Yan glanced at him with disdain.
He then smiled and leaned down to whisper three words in the little monk's ear.
The little monk's smile froze on his face and vanished almost instantly.
She turned to look at Chen Yan in disbelief.
He squinted and examined him closely, but there was nothing special about him. He could not possibly be someone from the imperial court.
How could someone not working for the imperial court know...?
Before Chen Yan could speak, he used force and easily pulled the tray into his hands.
"Thank you for your help, Master."
Chen Yan left a nonchalant remark and slammed the door shut.
Turning around, he met Meng Qingluan's gesture of holding up a small knife.
Blink.
Meng Qingluan blinked as well.
"What are you doing...?"
Shen Yan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, looking at Meng Qingluan's strange posture with a puzzled expression.
Meng Qingluan put down the knife in her hand and collapsed to the ground.
He explained, "I saw him say something to you. I was afraid he would force his way in, so I grabbed a knife and prepared it beforehand..."
Shen Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He put down the porridge, walked up to Meng Qingluan, and offered her a hand.
Meng Qingluan looked at her useless legs with a bitter expression; they were already as limp as noodles.
She said weakly, "I can't get up..."
coward.
Chen Yan sighed softly, bent down, and picked up Meng Qingluan.
Meng Qingluan was already used to being held by him, so she took the initiative to adjust her position in his arms to make herself more comfortable.
Shen Yan sensed her subtle movements.
He couldn't help but laugh at himself: When did she start treating me like her personal chair?
Meng Qingluan was placed on a chair, and looking at the thin, watery white porridge in the bowl, she lost all interest.
Meng Qingluan rested her hands on her face as she looked at Chen Yan.
Why aren't we leaving yet?
Shen Yan seemed unaffected by what had just happened, calmly drinking a few spoonfuls of white porridge.
"Won't you have a bowl of porridge before you leave?"
Meng Qingluan shook her head.
"No, I want to go back and eat. I don't want plain porridge with pickled vegetables."
Shen Yan was helpless against her picky eating.
He quickly drank two mouthfuls of porridge and picked up the umbrella that was placed at the door.
"Let's go back, I'll cook you something to eat."
Meng Qingluan remained seated in her chair and asked him, "Which way?"
Chen Yan: "..."
Chen Yan lowered his head and moved his right foot slightly.
The meaning is obvious: walk.
Meng Qingluan was speechless for three seconds, then changed her approach and asked again.
"What I mean is, are we just going to leave like this? What if these fake monks team up with that bunch of bandits and block our way at the door?"
"I'm just a weak woman, and you're... well... not a very strong man. Your fate will be terrible..."
When Meng Qingluan mentioned Chen Yan, she deliberately used a different way of saying it, which she thought showed great emotional intelligence.
Chen Yan: "..."
Shen Yan was almost laughing in exasperation at her.
She was the one who was about to leave just now, but now that he has finished dealing with things, she is starting to think about it.
I really don't know how she had the courage to yell at Zhou San on her wedding night.
Shen Yan originally wanted to comfort her, but then he remembered how Meng Qingluan had just teased him...
A mischievous thought popped into his head, and he suddenly had an idea.
Chen Yan whispered in her ear, "Let's find a low wall and climb over it to leave."
Meng Qingluan glanced at him, "What if we get caught?"
Shen Yan said earnestly, "No, it won't happen. Even if we're discovered, I'll cover your escape."
Meng Qingluan slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
"Walk."
"..."
Meng Qingluan followed Shen Yan, the two of them bending over and sneaking around to the very back of the temple.
Meng Qingluan looked up at the towering courtyard wall.
I feel a little heartbroken…
Meng Qingluan asked, "What should we do?"
Shen Yan thought for a moment, then raised his finger and pointed to the corner of the wall.
“Go that way.”
Following the direction of his finger, Meng Qingluan saw a small dog hole, big enough for them to crawl through.
Crawling through a dog hole?
Meng Qingluan swallowed hard. It was so cold. If she went out through the dog hole, her clothes would get wet, wouldn't they?
But it seems there's no better way now.
Meng Qingluan steeled her heart and nodded.
"Okay! I'll crawl out first, you follow behind me."
Shen Yan looked at her with some confusion.
Drill?
Before he could figure out what to crawl into, Meng Qingluan had already knelt down and crawled directly into the small hole in the wall.
Chen Yan: "..."
He now knows what she's trying to drill into...
The dog hole was very small; Meng Qingluan crawled halfway through before her hip got stuck in the middle.
Meng Qingluan tried to crawl forward, but her hip bone was stuck and hurt terribly.
I tried to back up, but I was already stuck.
Feeling stuck in this awkward situation, Meng Qingluan called out to Chen Yan in fear.
"What should I do... I'm stuck."
Chen Yan sighed, groping his way to the cracks in the cave with both hands to support himself and create some space.
Chen Yan said, "Slowly crawl out."
Meng Qingluan took a deep breath and tried to back out.
With Chen Yan's hands protecting her, she quickly crawled out of the dog hole.
Chen Yan withdrew his hand, which was aching from being rubbed, his knuckles turning red.
He walked up to Meng Qingluan and flicked his knuckles.
Meng Qingluan raised her hand to rub her throbbing temples, which were aching from being flicked, and looked at him unhappily.
Chen Yan: "How do we crawl through the dog hole?"
Meng Qingluan replied, "Didn't you tell me to leave from there?"
Chen Yan: "..."
Shen Yan glanced at the wall and, right in front of her, kicked a brick from the corner of the wall.
Most of the wall was kicked open, enough for two people to walk out together...
“These bricks were just laid; they’ll fall off if you push them. I’m telling you to walk here.”
Meng Qingluan paused for a moment, then suddenly realized something was wrong.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
“I didn’t,” Chen Yan’s eyes flashed with amusement as he innocently opened his palm. “It’s just that Luan Luan didn’t understand what I meant.”
Meng Qingluan: "..."
How could she know?
Before Meng Qingluan could react, Shen Yan took her hand.
"Hurry up, do you want them to come after us after hearing the noise?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Qingluan stopped dwelling on the fact that she had just been tricked.
He ran even faster than Chen Yan.
Meng Qingluan returned home, tidied up, ate dinner, and lay down on the tatami mat.
My fingers are fidgeting and spinning around in frustration.
These past few days, these events have given her a bad feeling.
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