In order to avoid being seen by the servants, Shen Chen sneaked all the way back to his garden.
Just as he sat down in his room.
"Dong, dong, dong."
The sound of knocking came from outside the house.
The honest and simple Qiushuang stood outside the door with a basin of face-washing water, "Mr. Shen, it’s time to get up and practice martial arts."
Shen Chen instructed, "Place the basin at the door and then leave."
"Yes."
Qiushuang responded and left after putting it down.
At that time, the Ye Family, worried that Shen Chen had no one to care for him, assigned Li Chun and Qiushuang to come in and serve. Now, having joined the Imperial College, they only come to serve during rest days; other times they are helping with other tasks at the Ye Mansion.
Shen Chen listened to the footsteps leaving from the door.
Feeling slightly at ease.
At this moment, it was as if he were amidst the clouds, with mist swirling around; everything that happened yesterday seemed like a dream.
The red ink on the thumb of his right hand reminded the owner that it was real.
My glory is the glory of the Ye Mansion.
Shen Chen thought of the promise note he had hastily glanced at this morning: I, Shen Chen. In my youthful years, fortunately aided by the Ye Mansion, blessed by the kindness of noblemen...
His eyes held clarity mixed with tenderness, his thin lips slightly curved upward, and a smile bloomed on his fair little face, a genuine smile that hadn’t been seen in a long time; he was truly happy.
The promise note seemed to show he was at a disadvantage, but it also signified one thing, that he could continue to interact with Ah Zhi this way, and how the future unfolded would depend on his own efforts.
The Ye Mansion had been kind to him, and even without writing it down, he would repay them in the future.
He gathered his emotions and calmed down, then went to the door to pick up the basin and wash up.
Before leaving, Gu Yan had taught him a set of exercises for strengthening the body, which Shen Chen practiced regularly.
He had studied diagrams of acupuncture points in books, familiar with the various points on the human body. During the previous fight in the back mountain, he hit the person’s pain point, which he had learned from the books.
Elsewhere in Qingyi Garden.
Ah Tao noticed that the sun was rising and the young lady had not called for her, and couldn’t help but remark: The young lady truly knows how to sleep; she’s skipping breakfast.
Yet, she dared not knock on the door to disturb.
She remembered the young lady saying yesterday: "Ah Tao, it took me great effort to get a rest day, so no matter how late I sleep tomorrow, don’t wake me, or I’ll punish you by forbidding you from eating meat for three days."
Three days without meat, wasn’t that a death sentence for her...
How could she dare disturb the young lady’s sleep.
With no one to disturb, Ye Zhi slept until almost noon. The beautiful girl awoke with sleepy eyes, yawning widely; the other side of the bed was empty, the Little Traitor was nowhere to be seen.
Nowhere to be seen?
Could it be that he hadn’t signed the promise note...
The pink, adorable small figure rushed to the desk at whirlwind speed.
The first thing that met her eyes was the name Shen Chen.
The writing flowed smoothly and was beautiful.
Above the name was a pressed thumbprint, with some force applied, the red thumbprint was very clear.
The rice paper was carefully folded, placed into an envelope, and locked away in a brocade box.
This paper was a very important item, it represented a promise.
Just as she put away the envelope, Father Ye’s boisterous voice came from outside, showing no authority of a Lord Minister at all.
"Ah Zhi, Ah Zhi, come out quickly."
"Dong, dong, dong..."
The knocking was incessant.
"My good daughter, are you still sleeping? Your father is about to face a calamity."
Father Ye was shouting in alarm outside. Ah Tao, hearing the commotion, went to him even before Ye Zhi could open the door: "Master, what happened? Did someone bully you?"
With an expression of wanting to hear gossip.