With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

The next morning, Shen Nannan was woken up by a rabbit licking her.

Its wet little nose nuzzled her face, and its furry ears rubbed against her chin, making her shiver with ticklishness.

"Stop messing around..." she mumbled, pushing the rabbit away and turning over.

The rabbit stubbornly hopped onto her pillow, squatted next to her head, and stared at her with its red eyes, giving her an expression that said, "If you don't get up, I'm going to pee on your pillow."

Shen Nannan opened her eyes, her big eyes meeting her red eyes.

"Where is your master?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

The rabbit, of course, didn't answer; it just tilted its head and then glanced towards the door.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. It was already broad daylight, and sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the window screen.

The curtain had been lowered at some point, covering everything completely, but on the table outside the curtain were a bowl of warm porridge, a plate of osmanthus cake, and a cup of honey water.

There was a note next to the porridge. Shen Nannan went over, picked up the note, and opened it. It read: "Wake me when you wake up."

The handwriting is sharp and forceful, each stroke like a knife's edge, penetrating the paper.

Shen Nannan stared at the two words for a moment, her lips curved slightly, then she folded the note and tucked it under her pillow.

There were already several notes under her pillow, all left by him. They contained messages like "The porridge is in the pot," "Going out for a short trip, will be back soon," and "Wear more clothes when it gets cold." She kept every single one of them.

She picked up the honey water and took a sip; it was lukewarm. The porridge was also lukewarm, and the osmanthus cake was still steaming, soft and chewy—clearly made to order.

When did this person get up and put it here? She didn't hear a thing.

"Qiuyu," she called out.

Qiu Yu lifted the curtain and came in, carrying a set of clothes in her hands. It was a pale yellow spring shirt with delicate peach blossom patterns embroidered on the collar, and it was her favorite piece.

"Miss, you're awake." Qiu Yu placed the clothes by the bedside, smiling. "A-Chao said you were tired last night and told me not to disturb you and to wait for you to wake up naturally."

Shen Nannan paused for a moment as she took the clothes: "He said I was tired last night?"

"Yes, they said you were looking at the account books very late." Qiu Yu said innocently, "Miss, you've been working so hard lately. But don't push yourself too hard, your health is important."

Shen Nannan replied without changing her expression, "Yes, it is indeed very tiring."

She bent down to put on her clothes, tying the collar tightly to cover the faint red mark on her neck.

Last night, when we came back from the rooftop, he rubbed against her neck for a long time, like a big dog.

After getting dressed, she sat down at the dressing table to comb her hair. Qiu Yu stood behind her, combing her hair as she said, "Miss, the pastries you asked me to send yesterday, someone from the Qian family came early this morning."

Shen Nannan paused, combing her hair. "Someone's here? Who?"

"The old nanny by Madam Qian's side said that Madam Qian tasted the pastries from our Fu Rui Zhai and praised them highly. She asked when Miss would be free, as she would like to invite Miss to sit at Zui Xian Lou."

Shen Nannan's lips curved slightly.

The fish has taken the bait.

"Go tell her, 'I'm free today. I'll be waiting for Madam Qian at Zuixianlou at noon.'"

Qiu Yu responded and turned to go out to deliver the message.

Shen Nannan looked in the bronze mirror, carefully placed the peach blossom hairpin in her hair, glanced at herself from left to right, and nodded in satisfaction. The person in the mirror had a face like a peach blossom, with a natural allure in the corners of her eyes; she was beautiful no matter how you looked at her.

She stood up, pushed open the door, and went out.

Under the eaves, Ah Chao was squatting in the yard feeding rabbits.

This little thing ran out at some point. There was a plate of chopped carrots in front of it, but it wouldn't eat them. Instead, it tilted its head and looked at Ah Chao with a haughty expression that said, "I'll eat if you feed me."

Ah Chao expressionlessly offered the carrot to the rabbit's mouth, but it turned its head away. Ah Chao offered it again, and it turned away again. Ah Chao offered it a third time, and the rabbit simply hopped away.

Ah Chao squatted in place, holding the carrot in his hand, and squinted his eyes.

"It's not hungry," he said, as if explaining to Shen Nannan, or perhaps to himself.

"The little thing is throwing a tantrum." Shen Nannan walked over, bent down, scooped up the rabbit, and held it in her arms.

The rabbit nestled in her arms, kicked its legs triumphantly, and even twitched its ears at Ah Chao.

Ah Chao stood up and looked at her. His gaze slid down her face, lingering for a moment on her high-necked spring blouse, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"You look beautiful today, Miss."

"When do I not look good?"

"You look good every day." He took a step forward, his voice lowering, "But you look especially good today."

Shen Nannan glared at him, but the tips of her ears turned red. She shoved the rabbit back into his arms and clapped her hands: "Let's go, time to get down to business."

"Where to?"

"Drunken Immortal Pavilion. I have an appointment."

Ah Chao followed behind her, his pace neither hurried nor slow. The rabbit peeked its head out from his arms, glanced at Shen Nannan, and then shrank back inside.

"How does Miss plan to talk to Madam Qian?" Ah Chao asked.

"Just say it." Shen Nannan said without turning her head.

Ah Chao paused for a moment: "Directly?"

"Hmm. Beating around the bush is too tiring." She smiled slightly. "The way she is, if you try to reason with her, she won't believe you. It's better to just tell her directly and let her see for herself."

"How much do you want to tell her, Miss?"

"Tell her what she needs to know." Shen Nannan stopped and looked back at him. "Don't say a word about what she shouldn't know."

Ah Chao paused for a moment, then said, "What if she doesn't believe me?"

"She'll believe it." Shen Nannan stopped and looked back at him. "Because I've been deceived before. People who are deceived usually have a feeling about it, they just need someone to help them see through the deception."

Ah Chao looked at her without saying a word.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing." He lowered his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Miss is acting a little differently today."

"What's different?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it." He paused, "It's beautiful."

Shen Nannan rolled her eyes and turned to continue walking.

"Did you sleep well last night, Miss?" he suddenly asked.

Shen Nannan paused, remembering last night—after he carried her down from the roof, he didn't go straight back to the mansion, but sat in that small courtyard for a while longer.

She leaned on his shoulder, watching the moon and the swaying shadow of the osmanthus tree on the ground, and fell asleep as she watched. She had no recollection of how she got back to the manor.

"It was alright," she said. "I just dreamt that someone was poking me with a dagger."

Ah Chao paused for a moment.

"...Is Miss not satisfied with my dagger?"

"It's too hard." She turned around and continued walking forward, her voice light and airy. "It's uncomfortable."

A very soft laugh came from behind me, muffled in my throat, like smoke blown away by the wind.