Scratch… scratch…
Scratch… scratch…
A sheet of paper was slowly pushed through the narrow gap of Lanyi’s window and fluttered down onto the floor.
The young woman, who had been sitting absentmindedly beneath the warm glow of the oil lamp, stared at it for a moment.
“…!?”
‘What is that…?’
She looked at the sheet of paper before finally rising and walking over to pick it up.
When she unfolded it, only a few words were written across the page.
‘I was wrong.’
The characters were fierce and forceful, clearly written by someone trained in martial arts.
However, they lacked refinement. The strokes varied wildly in thickness, and the ink lines were so uneven that the entire message appeared messy and unpractised.
There was no need to guess who had written it.
‘These characters… They belong to her.’
The shifting shadow of Lanyi behind the window caused Bajie, who was anxiously hiding outside, to feel her heart pounding in waves.
‘There! She has read it! She saw my message! This is the moment!’
Lanyi stared at the paper with complicated emotions.
In the end, however, she merely placed it upon the table as though it meant nothing and showed no intention of responding.
The red-haired woman immediately slid a second sheet of paper through the gap.
Rustle, rustle, rustle…
This time, the shadow behind the window remained completely still.
Lanyi did not even move to pick it up.
Bajie soon became too agitated to endure the silence any longer.
She whispered through the narrow crack in a trembling voice,
“I am sorry… I said I was sorry. Is my handwriting not beautiful enough? Or can you not read it?”
Inside the room, the faint sound of Bajie’s voice only caused the memory of Lanyi’s terror and the pain of her still-throbbing wounds to return.
Frustration surged through her until her eyes began to burn.
Bajie tried to push the window open.
“Lanyi… please open it. Whatever you want, come outside and speak with me properly…”
But the window had been securely bolted from within.
“…Do not bother me!”
Lanyi’s voice snapped from inside the room, filled with anger and exhaustion.
“Do you not understand? You asked me what I wanted…”
“At this moment, I do not wish to speak with you. I do not wish to see your face!”
“Leave!”
The merciless rejection struck Bajie like a slap across the face.
Hurt and anger rose together until the rims of her eyes began to burn.
‘This is nothing like what Mother suggested!’
‘Was she not the one who hinted that I should copy words of apology and give them to Lanyi?’
Bajie gripped the brush in her hand tightly before stepping away from the window.
“Fine!”
With her head hanging low, she returned to the library, where her three elder brothers were still sitting with solemn expressions, copying characters because of the trouble she had caused.
“Unreasonable… Utterly unreasonable!”
The little troublemaker muttered as she slammed her brush against the inkstone.
Beyuan raised his head and looked toward his younger sister.
He had not been paying much attention to the calligraphy before him. He already knew that he would never compete with scholars in the imperial examinations anyway.
As her kind and considerate third brother, he asked gently,
“And who exactly is being unreasonable? Could it perhaps be our Fourth Sister herself?”
Bajie immediately puckered her lips at him until they protruded in a pout.
Pabao spoke without even lifting his gaze from the sheet of paper.
“You caused her to be injured. It is hardly strange that she remains angry.”
“A pampered young lady from the capital such as her may never even have fallen down and stood up again by herself before.”
“I never wanted Lanyi to be injured!”
Bajie argued stubbornly, her neck stiffening with indignation.
“And… and how was I supposed to know that everything would become so serious!?”
Puzhen saw an opportunity and immediately joined the conversation.
“So you truly did not intend for her to encounter danger when you took her to the Willow Forest?”
He nodded knowingly.
“I thought as much. How could my sweet younger sister ever devise such a wicked plan?”
He turned toward Beyuan.
“Did I not tell you, Third Brother? Our younger sister is the loveliest Zhenyuan in existence.”
“Is that truly so, Second Brother?” Beyuan replied with exaggerated innocence.
“I had assumed Fourth Sister intended to frighten Lady Lanyi with stories about demons so that the poor woman would become terrified, allowing Fourth Sister to display how impressive and heroic a Zhenyuan she was.”
He sighed dramatically.
“It seems I was the one who thought too badly of her. As her third brother, I must have been far too suspicious.”
Bajie stiffened when both brothers struck directly at the truth.
“Urk…”
She quickly avoided the gazes of all three brothers, looking deeply suspicious.
“…”
Her sudden silence caused Puzhen and Beyuan to raise their heads and stare at her closely.
Their expressions clearly showed that they were waiting for her to confess.
At last, Bajie could no longer withstand the pressure.
“Fine! Fine!”
She threw up her hands.
“Yes… I did want to take her on a small adventure!”
“B-but the Willow Forest was supposed to be safe! How could I possibly know that a demon would suddenly awaken there!?”
“To be fair, demons have indeed become unusually active lately,” Pabao said in a grave voice.
He showed no intention of scolding his sister for her carelessness—or at least he did not show it openly.
“Yes! Those wretched demons!”
Bajie ground her teeth furiously, redirecting all her anger toward the creature responsible.
“If that thing had not appeared, Lanyi would not be this angry with me!”
“That demon was the one that appeared where it did not belong!”
“If it had remained in the place where it was supposed to be, none of this would have happened!”
Her words caused the three brothers to exchange utterly blank looks.
‘Our younger sister’s ability to take her own side truly has no limit.’
‘Do you think she realizes that she should never have taken Lanyi outside the estate in the first place?’
‘Impossible. If she understood that, she would no longer be our younger sister.’
Puzhen reached over and gently patted Bajie’s head before pinching her cheek in consolation.
However, he secretly wiped the tip of one ink-stained finger across her smooth skin.
“There, there. Be patient, little sister.”
“If she does not wish to see your face, then simply do not show it to her.”
When Beyuan noticed that Puzhen had begun teasing her, he subtly wet his lips before joining in.
He leaned forward and discreetly dabbed ink onto Bajie’s forehead.
“That is right. Leave her alone.”
“Why bother with such a cold, gloomy and arrogant lady?”
Pabao saw his two younger brothers ganging up on their sister.
Not wishing to be excluded, he used one ink-stained finger to lightly flick the tip of Bajie’s nose.
“In any case, she cannot possibly compete with the cuteness of her elder brothers.”
“When her cultivation is complete, she will eventually leave.”
“Until then, simply behave well toward her. Your brother believes even ice must eventually melt.”
Bajie felt somewhat surprised.
It was rare for her brothers to touch her so affectionately and speak so sweetly to her.
But as long as they praised her and did not blame her, Bajie was always willing to accept their words.
“Thank you, Brothers…”
“I knew the three of you would understand me.”
At that moment, the Third Wife entered carrying a plate of steamed buns, intending to allow all four children to take a break.
“Children, Mother has brought you some refreshments…”
She suddenly stopped.
Her eyes widened when she saw her daughter’s face.
“Pabao… Puzhen… Beyuan… Ba…”
“Bajie?”
“Bajie, what happened to you, my child?”
“What happened?” Bajie asked in confusion.
“What do you mean, Third Mother?”
“It is time for me to patrol. I shall take my leave,” Pabao said at once.
“Mine as well,” Puzhen added.
“I must also go,” Beyuan agreed.
The three brothers vanished from their seats as quickly as the wind.
One of the Third Wife’s maids hurriedly brought over a polished bronze mirror and held it before the Fourth Young Miss.
“Big Brother! Second Brother! Third Brother! Stop right there!”
Bajie shouted furiously when she saw her face covered in black ink.
But the three troublesome brothers had already fled far beyond the library.
“You wretches! Faster than the wind!”
“Just wait! I will have my revenge!”
The Third Wife laughed softly when she saw that her daughter’s mood had improved after being teased by her brothers.
“Oh, my poor Fourth Child…”
She stepped forward and used a handkerchief to wipe the ink from Bajie’s face.
“With your face painted like this, Mother could hardly recognize you.”
“I nearly forgot that this was my beloved daughter, Bajie.”
Those words immediately caused Bajie’s eyes to widen.
It was as though a brilliant flash of light had appeared inside her mind.
“That is it! Mother is right!”
Bajie exclaimed excitedly as a magnificent new idea formed in an instant.
“If Lanyi does not want to see ‘my face’…”
“Then I merely need to turn it into ‘someone else’s face’!”
As the red-haired woman sprang to her feet, filled with determination and shining enthusiasm, her mother watched her with a smile of weary familiarity.
‘Oh, my child…’
‘She is about to cause trouble again.’
Several days later, the garden of the Wei Estate was quiet and peaceful.
Lanyi sat in meditation under the supervision of the First Wife and Second Lady Yufan.
The wounds upon her arm and side no longer caused her pain.
However, whenever she remembered the claws and gleaming fangs within the Willow Forest, her slender hands still trembled slightly beyond her control.
The First Wife, an experienced Rouling herself, immediately sensed the tremors passing through Lanyi’s Qi.
She spoke in a warm and reassuring voice.
“Lanyi, you need not be afraid.”
“You are safe here. Nothing within the boundaries of this estate will ever be permitted to harm you.”
Yufan observed the lingering unease upon Lanyi’s face and attempted to distract her with praise.
“Even so, throughout these past few days, your control over your Qi has become considerably calmer and more stable.”
Lanyi herself was surprised by those words.
‘That is true…’
‘Why has my Qi become steadier than before?’
Although she was not presently wearing the Dark Jade Bracelet, the energy within her body remained strangely calm and smooth.
‘Could it be the result of cultivating within the Willow Forest that day?’
‘Or perhaps… it is because the Fourth Young Miss has truly stopped appearing to disturb me throughout these past several days, just as I demanded?’
Even though Lanyi repeatedly told herself that it was better for the troublesome woman to disappear, she had still kept the sheet of paper bearing the words ‘I was wrong.’
She had not thrown it away.
‘Come to think of it…’
‘Where has she been throughout these past few days?’
The young woman shook her head slightly.
‘No. No!’
‘Her affairs have nothing to do with me.’
‘It is better that she has disappeared.’
‘Neither the First Wife nor Second Lady Yufan has mentioned anything about her… That must mean she remains safe.’
She looked toward the two Rouling women with a faint trace of sadness within her eyes.
Yufan noticed the shadow across her expression and hurriedly changed the subject.
“Yi’er, Second Mother recommends that you apply this medicine.”
She held out a small container.
“This is Pink Winter Pearl Ointment. It will heal your wounds so thoroughly that not even the faintest scar will remain.”
Lanyi accepted the container and lowered her head gratefully.
Yet as she did so, Yufan added with a gentle smile,
“This is an exceptionally rare medicine that Bajie went to great lengths to bring back from the Southern Lands.”
“She wished to present it to you herself, but she feared that you would refuse to accept it…”
Yufan secretly exchanged a glance with the First Wife.
‘Please allow me to help our daughter a little.’
The First Wife frowned slightly, but did not interrupt.
“We truly must thank you for not continuing to hold Bajie’s actions against her,” Yufan continued.
Lanyi remained silent for a moment before answering,
“To tell the truth… I was the one who chose to follow her that day.”
“It was not entirely the Fourth Young Miss’s fault.”
“I also ignored your warnings. Therefore, I should receive punishment as well.”
“How could we possibly punish someone with such a good heart?”
The First Wife smiled warmly and gently took Lanyi’s hand within her own.
“If anything, you deserve to be rewarded.”
“Young Master Fang, who will one day take you as his wife, is truly fortunate.”
“I hear he is presently sending a gift to you. Once it arrives, perhaps it will help improve your spirits.”
After the two women departed and left Lanyi alone to rest, the news of a gift from her fiancé should have delighted her.
Yet Lanyi remained seated, gazing at the small container of medicine in her hand as the hardness within her heart slowly began to soften.
‘Medicine from that troublesome Wei Bajie…’
‘Was this what she disappeared to obtain for me?’
‘If she entrusted it to the ladies of the house, then it is unlikely to be some form of prank.’
A debate began within Lanyi’s mind.
Perhaps what happened that day truly had been an accident, just as everyone claimed.
A demon should never have appeared in that region.
‘Should I give her another chance?’
Lanyi remembered the touch of Bajie’s hand when she had urgently seized her wrist and replaced the Dark Jade Bracelet.
She remembered Bajie’s face draining of color from panic and worry at that moment.
That concern had clearly come from the heart.
Bajie certainly did not appear clever enough to perform such convincing deception.
‘She herself seemed shocked and frightened at the time…’
‘Perhaps she truly did not wish for me to be injured.’
Just as Lanyi began to open the lid of the medicine container—
“Ahem! Ahem!”
Someone deliberately cleared their throat from behind the large tree in the garden.
Lanyi immediately froze and turned toward the sound.
And there, she saw—