She hesitated outside the door next to hers for a long ti before finally knocking. But there was no response from inside. She pushed the door open and saw that the room was empty, not even a ghost shadow.
Zhi Chen hadn’t returned all night. Ever since he moved into this small courtyard, he had never spent the night outside. Could sothing have happened? Was he held up by sothing? She suddenly recalled a similar incident that happened back when they were in the Golden Triangle.
It was during that ti when first they lost contact with Zhi Chen. Although they found him eventually, he was unconscious when they did. By the ti they revived him, he couldn’t rember her.
She lost her calm, perhaps it was a case of once bitten twice shy. Nearly out of her wits, she rushed out of the courtyard and hurried towards the Blue Mansion in a panic.
***
The sky had not yet fully brightened as she threw herself against the vermilion doors of the Blue Mansion, gripping the door knocker, banging it loudly.
The doorman woken by her, "Who is it?"
The doorman ca sleepily to answer. When the door opened a crack, she looked as pale as a ghost, squeezing through the gap.
"Where is Zhi Chen?"
"Zhi..." The doorman’s mind was slow to react, then hurriedly said, "The Master is in the backyard!"
The backyard, is that the place Zhi Chen used to live?
She lifted her skirt and rushed swiftly towards the backyard. Just as she arrived, she encountered Lan Gu.
Lan Gu looked unwell. She was coming out of the Master’s room, carefully closing the door. She pressed her forehead and was about to return to her room to rest for a while, when she saw the mistress coming towards her.
"Zhi Chen..." She grabbed Lan Gu’s hand, her heart filled with anxiety.
Lan Gu blinked in surprise, "Mistress?"
Why is she here?
The matter of the Master’s attack last night was supposed to be kept quiet. It shouldn’t have alerted the Mistress. But here she was now. "Is Zhi Chen inside?" she asked urgently.
Lan Gu dumbly nodded, "The Master just went to sleep..." Dong Huiying sighed in relief, then stepped into the room.
She saw a basin on the shelf, filled with bloody water. The towel hanging next to it was also soaked with the blood, turning it red.
Her heart twisted, the relief she’d felt began to dissipate.
She slowly approached the bed drapes, the pale gray curtains cascading down with a faint outline of a person visible through them.
When she lifted the drape, she saw the man’s lips were slightly pale. He was covered with a damask blanket, but his shoulders were exposed. The left shoulder was wrapped in gauze, with blood seeping through.
Her throat tightened, and she gently lifted the blanket, seeing that besides his shoulder, his waist and abdon were also wrapped in blood-soaked gauze. He... her eyes turned red. Suddenly, a large hand reached out, grabbing her wrist.
She raised her eyes, eting his gaze. "You..."
Just as she was about to speak, she saw the man, who was lying, sit up.
The man looked at her feet, "Why aren’t you wearing shoes?"
She was startled for a mont, then looked down, finally rembering. Waking up earlier, knowing Shu Yu was a light sleeper, she feared waking Shu Yu, so she ca out barefoot. But upon discovering no one in the room next to hers, she panicked and rushed to the Blue Mansion.
Now her small feet were blackened, dirty, and her soles were likely bruised by small stones, causing piercing pain with every slight movent.
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