Perhaps it was due to the presence of an honored guest in the household.
Tonight, Fengsong Courtyard was brightly lit, its amber lanterns illuminating half the sky. It was quite different from when Ying Xiaoman had observed it from afar under Seventh Young Master's guidance last time.
The steward of Fengsong Courtyard led Ying Xiaoman inside, quickly guiding her along winding corridors, passing through three archways, before finally stopping at a small, secluded courtyard in a corner.
The steward opened a tiny side room, "This is where you'll stay. It's late tonight, so rest for now. You'll be assigned tasks in the morning."
"Oh, and one more thing," the steward turned back specifically to instruct before leaving: "Fengsong Courtyard has an honored guest tonight. Stay put in your room, don't go out at night, and be sure not to offend the young master or the guest."
Ying Xiaoman, clutching her bundle, nodded vigorously.
As soon as the steward left, she immediately slung her bundle over her shoulder and silently opened the door—
Voices could be heard from the half-open door of the small courtyard, and they sounded oddly familiar.
"Is the new sweeping maid who arrived tonight a well-behaved one?" The questioner was none other than Sui Miao, Seventh Young Master's trusted aide!
The steward replied, "We don't know much about the newcomer, so we've placed her separately. She seems docile and is dressed plainly. When I gave instructions earlier, she didn't even dare raise her head, just nodded and quietly went to her room to rest."
Ying Xiaoman silently retreated back into her room, closing the slightly ajar door.
Sure enough, Sui Miao entered the courtyard to check.
Faint footsteps circled the side room half a round before leaving, satisfied. Before departing, Sui Miao instructed the steward, "Lock the courtyard gate. Open it again in the morning."
Ying Xiaoman came prepared; a mere lock couldn't contain her.
With a soft swish, a polished grappling hook scaled the wall, then vanished in an instant.
Sui Miao seemed extremely busy tonight, striding briskly along the covered corridor. Ying Xiaoman followed behind, puzzled, keeping tabs on him.
Wasn't he Seventh Young Master's trusted aide? Why was he managing affairs at Fengsong Courtyard?
Could it be that Seventh Young Master's position in the family was so precarious that even his close aide could be casually ordered around by the family head Yan Rongshi? That despicable official was truly detestable!
Ying Xiaoman's heart clenched. A pair of bright eyes peeked out from behind a vermilion pillar, thoughtfully watching Sui Miao's rapidly retreating figure.
Should she intercept him and ask privately... Pah! She shouldn't meddle in Seventh Young Master's affairs!
But if Seventh Young Master was having a hard time at home yet acted as if nothing was wrong, never revealing a word to her, perhaps it would be better to ask.
Seventh Young Master also had a grudge against Yan Rongshi. What if one day, like Eighth Young Master Yan, he faced the wrath of his enemy and was sent to be detained at the Ministry of Justice...
Pah! Seventh Young Master had just saved his enemy's life from her hands; let the brothers sort out their own issues. She shouldn't meddle in Seventh Young Master's affairs!
Sui Miao's footsteps suddenly halted.
"Where is the young master?" he stopped a passing steward to ask.
Ying Xiaoman's ears perked up.
She was no longer the country bumpkin who first arrived in the capital, clueless about everything. In the great noble families of the capital with their thriving clans, there were surely many "young masters," but there was only one "young master," referring to the head of the household.
Sui Miao was inquiring about the whereabouts of their enemy, Yan Rongshi!
She immediately held her breath, listening as the steward gave directions. She couldn't quite make out the specific location, but as long as Sui Miao understood, that was enough.
The lanterns hanging high illuminated the winding covered corridor, also casting a hazy light on the surrounding flower beds and tree shadows.
Sui Miao hurried along the corridor. Among the flower beds and tree shadows on both sides, a smoke-like figure flashed by from time to time.
Ying Xiaoman came prepared today, wearing new clothes she had bought with the five strings of cash she had wrung out of Eighth Young Master Yan – a dark blue thin shirt and a smoke-gray floral skirt, suitable for moving about at night...
Soon, a brightly lit courtyard gate appeared before them.
They were clearly very familiar with each other. The guard nodded to Sui Miao and said, "The young master and the honored guest are discussing matters in the study."
Sui Miao asked, "What time does the honored guest plan to return? The night roads are not safe; we should prepare in advance."
The guard sighed, "The honored guest doesn't plan to return. He said he'll sleep in the study tonight. The people he brought have already sent in pillows, bedding, and change of clothes."
Sui Miao revealed a helpless expression.
Last time, when Eleventh Young Master was ambushed in the dark alley, he learned that the Ying family's young lady actually intended to assassinate Yan Seventh Young Master, Yan Rongshi. Somehow, she had mistaken Eleventh Young Master for her target.
Eleventh Young Master insisted on impersonating "Yan Rongshi" to lure Miss Ying to attempt another assassination, using the opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding and inquire about the so-called "generational feud."
Yan Seventh Young Master didn't think this was a good idea.
But Eleventh Young Master wasn't one to be easily dissuaded.
After silently regarding each other for a while, another capable-looking man quickly walked out of the courtyard and relayed to Sui Miao, "The young master has instructed that the honored guest will stay in the study tonight, while the young master will rest in the East Garden."
Sui Miao said resignedly, "I'll go make preparations then." He quickly walked into the courtyard.
The gate closed behind him, shutting the bright lights inside.
Behind a rockery in the lush corridor, Ying Xiaoman silently pricked up her ears.
The Yan family head, Yan Rongshi, was indeed cunning. He actually arranged for the honored guest to stay in his own study!
If she hadn't accidentally overheard tonight's arrangements, she would have naturally infiltrated the largest and most impressive study in Fengsong Courtyard, and with one strike of the door bolt... the unfortunate guest would have become the scapegoat!
Now that she knew the plan, she held her breath, adjusted her smoke-gray floral skirt, and quietly crouched in the shadows of the bushes.
A crescent moon silently moved overhead, while the figure crouched in the bushes hugged her knees, motionless.
In the distance, the night watchman's clapper sounded the third watch.
Ying Xiaoman, curled up in the bushes, dozed off.
She dreamed of her adoptive father.
Her adoptive father, built like a black bear, approached through a vast darkness and crouched before her, reaching out to pat her head.
In the dream, she seemed to have transformed into a very small girl. Perhaps as small as Zhi.
Hugging her knees, she looked up and asked, "Dad, I miss you. Why haven't you come to see me for half a year? Are you upset that I haven't avenged you yet?" She started with a playful whine, but by the end, her voice trembled, betraying a nasal tone.
Her adoptive father, still with that deep, rumbling voice, said sternly, "How old are you now, still calling me Dad! You have your own birth parents, you should call me adoptive father!"
Even in the dream, she felt wronged. She looked down at her short arms and legs, and suddenly a wave of joy surged in her heart. How old was she? She was the same age as Zhi!
She immediately happily pounced forward, hugging her adoptive father's leg and wheedling, "I'm only four years old, what else should I call you but Dad? Daddy!"
In the dream, father and daughter embraced.
Her adoptive father resignedly let her hug him.
A warm, large hand rested on her head, and the rumbling voice said, "Child, remember, leave after you've taken your revenge. Use the fifty taels of silver I gave you wisely..."
Ying Xiaoman gradually awakened from her dream.
She raised her hand to wipe the dampness from the corners of her eyes. In her dream, she had actually cried tears of joy. She wondered if she had laughed out loud...
She suddenly became alert, quickly rolling over and cautiously looking around.
No one had noticed this spot. Evidently, she hadn't laughed out loud in her dream, attracting the attention of the guards.
She was used to hunting in the mountains, and choosing hiding spots while tracking prey had become almost instinctive. The bush she had chosen was not so secluded that guards would specially come to check, but close enough to the small path where one or two people occasionally passed by, making it less conspicuous.
In the dead of night, the bright light from the study courtyard that had illuminated the sky was extinguished, with only a faint glow seeping through the door cracks.
Ying Xiaoman quietly made her way along the courtyard wall to the east.
In the deep of night, the master of the westernmost of the three main rooms in the East Garden was still awake.
The East Garden had a small lotus pond. The croaking of frogs filled the air as a night breeze blew through the courtyard.
Ying Xiaoman crouched behind a rockery and shrubs near the lotus pond, with a diagonal view of the half-open window of the bedchamber.
At this late hour, the room was still lit.
The shrubs parted silently, revealing a clear, bright eye that darted around.
Inside the room, against the wall stood an exquisitely carved canopy bed, occupying a considerable space. Golden hooks hung empty on both sides, with double gauze curtains already lowered.
A shadowy figure could be seen inside, sitting at the head of the bed in a robe, seemingly writing a letter.
Amidst the cacophony of frog croaks and cricket chirps, the scratching of writing couldn't be heard, but the figure could be seen pausing briefly after writing for a while. After a moment of deep thought, the pen would move again.
The writing progressed extremely slowly, with half a page taking a long time to complete.
A faint sigh could be heard among the frog croaks, though it was too noisy to hear clearly.
But it was this vague sigh that made Ying Xiaoman's eyelid twitch.
Indeed, as blood brothers, the deep sigh of the enemy Yan Rongshi in the night sounded somewhat similar to Seventh Young Master's.
She resolutely covered her ears, refusing to listen!
After another half-hour, the silhouette behind the curtain finally placed the letter by the pillow, though it was unclear if the writing was finished. In any case, the person behind the gauze curtain finally lay down.
Soft rustling sounds came from inside the room.
The young master lying on the bed didn't blow out the oil lamp beside it. Under the golden glow of the lamplight, the person behind the gauze curtain tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep for a long while.
Ying Xiaoman crouched in the shadowy corner, silently glaring at the moon shifting overhead.
The enemy family was truly detestable. Not sleeping so late, deliberately tormenting her as she kept watch outside.
There was a lotus pond in the east garden, and many mosquitoes in the grass. She had been crouching for half an hour, silently killing twenty mosquitoes...
At the end of the third watch, between 1 and 3 AM, the stars moved and the moon set. The person inside finally blew out the small oil lamp.
The bedchamber fell into darkness.
Almost simultaneously, Sui Miao, who had been sitting in front of the door all along, let out a light sigh and finally stood up, walking to a room not far away to rest.
Ying Xiaoman watched Sui Miao's departing figure with sympathy.
As one of Seventh Young Master's people, yet requisitioned by the family head, he must be very unhappy.
During the half-hour he sat like a door god just now, the enemy inside tossed and turned sleeplessly, while Sui Miao outside sighed along, not smiling once from start to finish.
The bedchamber sank into darkness, and the night guards patrolled various places as usual.
In the shrubbery near the lotus pond, exposed eyes gleamed.
Frog croaks rose and fell around her ears.
The crescent moon overhead shifted silently.
The two windows open for ventilation on the west side were pushed even wider without a sound.
A slender figure like wisps of smoke tumbled into the dark room.
The double-layered curtains were lifted and dropped like lightning. In that brief moment, the smoke-like slender figure had rolled into the bed, and behind the lowered curtains it was pitch black. She groped around to grab the enemy.
Her fingers touched the soft bedding, but felt nothing as she searched all over the bed.
Ying Xiaoman was stunned. It was such a large canopy bed, even bigger than two kang beds from her home put together. The enemy should be lying against the wall inside the bed... but she couldn't grab anyone.
Even worse than grasping at thin air was the fact that the young master lying in bed was still not asleep. In the darkness, a pair of wide-awake eyes stared silently at the uninvited guest kneeling by the bedside, groping around.
Their gazes suddenly met in the darkness, and the young master lying on the bed blinked.
Ying Xiaoman: "..."
In for a penny, in for a pound. She swiftly kicked off her cloth shoes and pounced into the bed with a leap, this time accurately grabbing hold of a collar.
She followed up immediately, directly kneeling on top with her knee pressed against the enemy's chest. She lowered her voice and shouted, "Yan Rongshi! Do you remember my father Da Shuo? I've come to avenge my father—!"
In that split second, as her long-cherished wish was about to be fulfilled, her palm gripping the collar began to sweat.
A series of key points flashed through her mind.
Dark clothes, worn on the body! Spare clothes, in the bundle! Four meat buns to distract the dogs, in the bundle! Father's keepsake brought from home, the iron door bolt for revenge... still in the bundle?!
She hastily untied the bundle with one hand.
Her emotions surging, her movements lost their precision. The kneecap was already one of the hardest parts of the body, and she pressed it forcefully on the enemy's chest, immediately eliciting a muffled groan.
This time the sound came from very close, and Ying Xiaoman's eyelids twitched violently.
She had heard the enemy's voice before, which was clearly very deep. Why did his muffled groan sound so much like Seventh Young Master's voice!
Her breathing faltered for a moment. In that brief daze, her gaze met the enemy's again in the darkness.
After the slight delay, her vision had gradually adapted to the darkness. The enemy she was pressing down hadn't tried to struggle.
A pair of increasingly familiar peach blossom eyes gazed at her from up close, with an extremely complex look that seemed both joyful and sorrowful. In the darkness, he called out to her:
"Xiaoman."
Ying Xiaoman's movements froze in place, her mind buzzing.
She might have mistaken the muffled groan, but she could never mistake his speaking voice.
The one sleeping in the east garden bedchamber at midnight was actually Seventh Young Master!
The one she had broken into the room to seek revenge on in the darkness, grabbed by the collar and pinned down on the bed, nearly struck on the head with the twenty-pound iron door bolt from her bundle, was Seventh Young Master!
The taut string of tension in her body suddenly loosened.
Ying Xiaoman's breathing grew rapid, the excited emotions of taking revenge dissipating in an instant, replaced by a sense of dread rising in her heart.
If Seventh Young Master hadn't recognized her in the darkness, if he hadn't called out "Xiaoman," if he hadn't been sleeping on the inside of the bed, and she had grabbed his collar right away and brought the door bolt down in the pitch darkness—
The unlucky scapegoat taking the blow meant for the enemy tonight would have been Seventh Young Master!
With a thud, her grip loosened and the heavy bundle fell onto the bed frame with a dull sound.
Ying Xiaoman's eyes grew moist, and she suddenly threw herself at Yan Seventh Young Master, embracing him. As her arms wrapped around his warm shoulders, her full body weight pressed down on Yan Seventh Young Master's chest, immediately eliciting another muffled groan.
"Seventh Young Master, why- why are you sleeping in the east garden! I heard Sui Miao say that Yan Rongshi was sleeping in the east garden tonight! I almost mistook you for the enemy and struck you!"
Yan Seventh Young Master held the person who had thrown herself into his arms, and they embraced tightly in the darkness for a while before he finally spoke: "Xiaoman, you... still think I'm Seventh Young Master? I thought you snuck in here to strike me..."
Ying Xiaoman: "?"
Ying Xiaoman didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and raised her hand to give him a hard smack.
"Why would I strike you? Even that bastard Yan Erlang is alive and well, why would I strike you? You're the last person in this capital I'd want anything to happen to!"
Yan Seventh Young Master lowered his head, seeming to want to say something, but in the end said nothing. He only held the young woman in his arms tighter and tighter, as if trying to embed her into his body.
Just now, Ying Xiaoman had already prepared to strike, and had opened her bundle. She was a hair's breadth away from pulling out the twenty-pound iron-clad door bolt from the bundle.
At the critical moment, she suddenly realized the one lying in bed was Seventh Young Master. The excitement and exhilaration before striking turned into utter dread.
Her breathing quickened, her chest heaving nonstop, tears belatedly streaming down uncontrollably. In just a moment, Seventh Young Master's front was soaked through.
Someone knocked loudly on the door outside. Sui Miao, hearing the commotion, rushed over from the neighboring room.
"Young Master!" he shouted through the door, "We heard unusual talking sounds inside. Do you need us to come in?"
The rustling inside the room suddenly went quiet. A moment later, a calm and composed voice replied, "It's nothing. Xiaoman has come to see me."
Sui Miao: !!
Cold sweat burst out all over Sui Miao's body like a gushing spring, flowing down his entire back.
Miss Xiaoman came to see Seventh Young Master...
Despite all their precautions, with Eleventh Young Master specially staying over in the Yan family study, they still couldn't prevent Miss Xiaoman from coming to seek revenge on the real target?!
"Young Master, are- are you alright?!" Sui Miao's voice trembled.
His whole body tensed, ready to kick open the door and rush in at any moment.
In the darkness of the room, behind the double-layered curtains hanging down, Yan Seventh Young Master held the softly sobbing young woman in his arms, and leisurely replied to those outside:
"It's a long story. But for now, hmm, all is well."