The voices grew closer, and footsteps drew ever closer.
Meng Qingluan's gaze was already fixed on the vase placed on the cabinet.
Before the two could make a move, a sharp female voice rang out.
"Zhu Yougan! How dare you hide a vixen in my house?"
"Wife?! Why are you back? I didn't..."
A burst of angry curses soon erupted outside, mixed with Young Master Zhu's pleas for mercy and explanations.
It was a noisy scene.
Meng Qingluan recognized the voice, thought for a moment, and quickly realized who the woman was.
Meng Qingluan chuckled softly.
Hearing her laughter, Shen Yan asked curiously, "What are you laughing at?"
Meng Qingluan whispered an explanation in his ear, then grabbed Chen Yan's hand, preparing to slip away in the chaos.
"He's currently tied up with his wife, so we'll take advantage of the chaos to escape."
"No."
Shen Yan grasped Meng Qingluan's hand in return, "He's a smooth talker, not to mention those servants are in cahoots with him. He'll be back soon."
"What can we do then? We can't just wait for him to come in."
Shen Yan stood up and led Meng Qingluan behind the screen inside the room.
"You stay here obediently, and no matter what happens later, don't come out, understand?"
Meng Qingluan asked him, "And what about you?"
Shen Yan's large hand caressed her face; this was the first time he had done so while Meng Qingluan was conscious.
"Don't worry, just wait for me to take care of things."
Meng Qingluan was still worried and wanted to say something more, but Chen Yan seemed to have a premonition and raised his index finger to press against her lips.
Do you want me to be bullied by him?
Meng Qingluan shook her head.
"Then wait here obediently for me. I promise I won't get hurt. It'll be quick."
Meng Qingluan didn't know what he was going to do, but a thought vaguely popped into her mind.
Knowing she couldn't persuade him otherwise, Meng Qingluan didn't dwell on it any longer and sat behind the screen waiting for him to handle it.
After settling Meng Qingluan in, Shen Yan sat alone on the couch.
The short knife was twirled and rotated in the palm of the hand with fluid movements, the blade flashing with silver light.
Tsk.
Looks like I need to act quickly, before she hears anything.
Otherwise, it would definitely scare her.
Shen Yan is absolutely right.
With the help of his servants, Young Master Zhu quickly sent his wife away.
He dismissed the servants, closed the courtyard gate, and pushed open the door with unsteady steps.
Chen Yan sat on the couch, a faint smile on his face.
This smile made Young Master Zhu feel somewhat dazed, and he felt a sense of elation.
"You figured it out so quickly?"
"Tsk, it's actually quite normal for you to have come to your senses. I'm incredibly wealthy, what's so difficult about supporting a man like you?"
"You should have realized this long ago. Instead of selling your ass in the South Wind Pavilion, you should lie in my gentle embrace and live a life of pleasure with me..."
Before Young Master Zhu could finish his humiliating words, blood began to gush from his head.
With a wide-open gaze, he fell straight to the ground.
Meng Qingluan held a vase in her hand, on which were still specks of blood.
The commotion caused by Young Master Zhu falling to the ground was quite loud. His head landed right next to Meng Qingluan's feet, and his eyes were still staring straight ahead, filled with shock.
Meng Qingluan was startled by this scene and took several steps back.
Chen Yan put away the short knife hidden in his sleeve, took the vase from Meng Qingluan's hand and placed it on the table, then pulled Meng Qingluan over.
Meng Qingluan pointed blankly at Young Master Zhu, who was lying unconscious on the ground.
"He's dead?"
Shen Yan squatted down and checked his breath.
She stood up and covered Meng Qingluan's eyes, saying, "No, she just fainted."
Meng Qingluan swallowed hard, it would be a lie to say she wasn't scared.
If you add the two lifetimes together, she's practically lived two lives.
But she wasn't some kind of female agent; she had never killed anyone in her two lifetimes.
That was close! I thought I had just gotten first blood.
Meng Qingluan hesitated before pointing to Young Master Zhu, who was lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.
What about him?
Chen Yan put his arm around Meng Qingluan's shoulder. "Life and death are predestined."
"..."
Meng Qingluan didn't waste any more words and followed Chen Yan.
She wasn't a particularly kind-hearted person, nor was she so saintly as to want to save him.
The gatekeepers had already been dismissed by Young Master Zhu, and the two of them walked out of the back door without any hindrance.
Back home, Meng Qingluan felt vaguely uneasy.
Shen Yan had already changed his clothes and was wiping her hands with a freshly damp, hot towel.
"If he dies, will the government officials come looking for him?"
Chen Yan continued moving, "Don't worry, no one will come to arrest you."
Meng Qingluan didn't speak again, and pursed her lips slightly.
Shen Yan wiped her hands clean and then held her hands in his large hands.
How did you know he kidnapped me?
“I went to the academy but couldn’t find you. The old lady who lives across the street from the academy saw me and told me that you had Mr. Zhu’s men following you.”
Chen Yan sighed softly.
"Feel sorry."
Meng Qingluan shook her head. "Did the academy dismiss classes early today? The doorman said you left very early."
Shen Yan's eyes flickered slightly, and he shook his head. "I wasn't feeling well and wanted to come find you, but I was drugged on the way."
Meng Qingluan hummed in agreement, her voice sounding somewhat tired.
"Take a nap? I'll go cook," Chen Yan said.
"Okay, you should rest for a while too." Meng Qingluan didn't refuse and snuggled into the quilt.
Too many things happened today, I'm still feeling stressed and the lingering fear hasn't completely subsided, and I'm really tired.
"You go to sleep first, I'm not tired."
Shen Yan pulled the blanket up a little to cover her entire body.
Meng Qingluan felt drowsy and dizzy. She closed her eyes and soon became sleepy, falling asleep without realizing it.
Shen Yan still held Meng Qingluan's hand hidden under the blanket. Once the breathing around him became even, he gently pulled his hand out of Meng Qingluan's grasp.
To make herself more comfortable, Meng Qingluan lay on her side on the pillow, a few strands of hair falling onto her cheek.
Chen Yan's fingers hovered there, then gently parted them.
When Meng Qingluan returned, she changed her clothes. Shen Yan stood up and reached out to grab the clothes that were on the stool at the foot of the bed.
I picked up the shirt from the sleeve and took a gentle sniff; the cool pine resin filled my nostrils.
Chen Yan's eyes were dark and inky.
No wonder that stupid pig had the bone-softening powder that was only available in the palace; it turned out he was the one who gave it to him.
Frame him? He repeatedly approached Meng Qingluan; was he just like that idiot Li Zhanjue, trying to steal her away from him?
The cuffs still emitted a cool, pine scent, a strange fragrance that didn't belong to him, driving him almost to madness with jealousy.
A sinister atmosphere spread, and Shen Yan clenched the clothes in his hands, got up and threw them into the stove in the room.
Chen Yan smiled enigmatically.
He had spent lifetimes to earn this warmth; how dare these ants try to take it from him?
Since he's so reckless, he'll have to teach him a lesson.
Shen Yan turned around expressionlessly, wrote another letter, and threw it out, with some millet scattered next to the envelope.
…
Meng Qingluan opened her eyes and found herself in an environment that was both strange and somewhat familiar.
Meng Qingluan looked around and, after recalling where she was, her face turned pale instantly.
She returned to the Zhu family.
This time, however, it was her turn to be tied to the bed, her limbs tightly bound with red rope.
Meng Qingluan opened her eyes wide, trying to call for help, but her mouth was stuffed with a white rag.
The whimpers and screams that were about to escape his mouth were all muffled.
Where is the inkstone?
Meng Qingluan reluctantly turned her head to look for someone, only to find the room empty, without even a sound of wind.
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