Chapter 7: The Innocent Lotus of the Demon Sect
Today, once again, Anran only woke up when the sun was already shining on her face. She called out, ‘Qiu Yue’, but after a while, no one answered, and no one ca in. Seeing that no one responded, Anran slowly got up by herself and dressed. Since she didn’t know how to do her hair, she just tied it into a ponytail and wrapped a string around it several tis to secure it.
Anran glanced in the mirror and didn’t think it looked very good. She noticed a hairpin shaped like bamboo on the table and decided to stick it in her hair. After checking her reflection again, she smiled at herself and left the room.
She was really hungry and had to go find sothing to eat. If she waited for Qiu Yue, who knows when she’d return? She might end up starving.
No, better not think about that. Shaking her head to rid herself of the thought, she quickened her pace.
Once outside, Anran felt a bit lost, seeing all the busy servants. She was too embarrassed to stop anyone.
“Ah, I might’ve acted impulsively. Where am I supposed to find the kitchen?” She sighed.
Just as she was wondering what to do, the scent of food wafted toward her. A mont ago, she had felt like a withered eggplant, but now she was full of energy again, walking quickly in the direction of the delicious sll.
“Hehe, there really is always a way out. Food, here I co!” Anran exclaid happily.
The kitchen wasn’t far from where Anran lived, just three corridors away. Soon, she spotted the kitchen door.
The people inside were extrely busy. Today was the old lady’s 70th birthday, and there were nearly 200 guests, including people from the martial world, rchants, governnt officials, and their families. Without proper preparation, there would be no ti to serve the banquet.
Anran had originally planned to ask the kitchen staff for sothing to eat, but seeing how busy they were, she felt bad about disturbing them. After wandering around the kitchen for a bit, she ca out with a food box in hand.
As she walked, she muttered softly to herself, “I just took a little bit, it should be fine, right? You guys were too busy, I didn’t want to bother you. Please don’t bla .”
Despite her apologetic words, her face was full of satisfaction, like a cat that just got into the cream. She couldn’t hide her delight.
Now, where should I eat this? With so much good food, I should find a place with a beautiful view to enjoy it properly, she thought, swinging the food box around as she walked aimlessly.
“Oh, right! There’s a pavilion in the little garden where I go for walks in the evening. Let’s go there!”
Feeling like a genius, Anran proudly changed direction and headed towards the garden. When she arrived at the small pavilion, she set out all the dishes and snacks she had taken from the kitchen, filling the table completely.
“Oh no, this might be a bit too much. It’d be a sha to waste it. If only Qiu Yue were here,” Anran sighed with regret before starting to eat.
While Anran was leisurely enjoying the scenery and her al, Qiu Yue was on the verge of panic. At first, Qiu Yue had waited outside the door for Anran to wake up, as usual. But today, with so much going on, the staff was short-handed.
One of Qiu Yue’s close friends, who was supposed to guide the female guests arriving for the birthday celebration, had so stomach trouble in the morning, possibly from sothing she ate the day before. Even though she wasn’t feeling well, she didn’t dare take the day off, so she took so dicine and started working.
However, while she was guiding guests, her stomach pain beca unbearable. At a loss for what to do, she spotted Qiu Yue, who was waiting outside Anran’s room. She begged Qiu Yue to take over for a while so she could find relief.
Qiu Yue saw how much pain her friend was in and thought that Anran usually slept in a bit longer. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to help out for a little while. But the guests just kept coming, and even after her friend returned, Qiu Yue couldn’t leave. She had to continue escorting the guests to their designated rooms.
When Qiu Yue finally finished her task, she realized that it was already late morning. In a panic, she rushed back, knowing that Anran must have woken up by now. Upon returning, she found that Anran was nowhere to be seen.
The bed was a ss, and the dressing table was in disarray. If it weren’t for the fact that it was impossible for thieves to infiltrate Jianhai Manor, Qiu Yue would have reported a burglary. She stared at the chaotic room for a few seconds, frozen in shock. Then she realized this wasn’t the ti to worry about the ss.
The real question was, where had Anran gone? If the young master found out she had lost track of Anran, Qiu Yue didn’t even want to think about what might happen to her. Qiu Yue stepped outside and looked around at the bustling crowd, not knowing where to start searching.
All she could do was ask everyone she saw, “Have you seen my lady? Have you seen my lady anywhere?”
She kept repeating the sa question to person after person, but everyone said they hadn’t seen her.
Qiu Yue was so flustered that she forgot to add any descriptors when asking if anyone had seen her mistress. Anran had only arrived six days ago, and for most of that ti, she had been unconscious. Even after waking, she spent most of her ti in her room, so very few people had seen or knew her. As a result, despite Qiu Yue’s repeated questioning, she hadn’t gotten any useful information.
Realizing that it was already late morning and still not having found Anran, Qiu Yue decided it was ti to report the matter to the young master. With that thought in mind, she started heading towards Qin Yuan’s study.
Halfway there, she saw Dongzhu approaching her. Dongzhu seed relieved when he spotted her and hurried over.
“Where are you going? Why weren’t you by Miss An’s side?” Dongzhu asked sternly.
Qiu Yue’s heart sank at the harsh tone and his dark expression. It seed that the situation with Anran had been discovered. She quickly stepped forward to explain.
“I…”
Qiu Yue hesitated, wondering whether to tell the truth or try to cover it up, hoping that the young master didn’t know yet.
“What do you an ‘I’? Just tell what you’ve been up to. Don’t waste my ti!” Dongzhu urged impatiently.
“I was called to help guide so guests. I thought Miss An was still asleep, so I figured I could return before she woke up. But there were too many people coming to celebrate the old lady’s birthday, and I lost track of ti. When I got back, I realized Miss An was gone. I’ve been looking for her ever since,” Qiu Yue explained in one breath, confessing everything.
She had considered hiding the truth, but if the young master found out, her punishnt would be even worse.
Dongzhu’s expression shifted multiple tis as he listened to Qiu Yue’s explanation, his brow furrowed deeply.
“You don’t need to keep looking. Miss An is with the young master right now. Co with ,” he said, turning and walking away. Qiu Yue quickly followed.
anwhile, Anran had been leisurely enjoying her food and drinks in the small pavilion. However, since there were so many guests today, the small garden had been chosen as a scenic spot for visitors to tour.
Anran, sitting there eating and drinking, stood out quite awkwardly among the group of guests enjoying the garden.
“Oh my, what a beautiful scene, but how could it be ruined by soone so out of place?” A girl in pink mockingly comnted while looking at Anran.
The girl in white standing next to her gently tugged at her sleeve.
“Xue Yue, keep your voice down. It’s not good if soone overhears,” she cautioned.
Xue Yue pulled her arm away, displeased.
“Zhao Qiqi, I’m standing up for you, so don’t be ungrateful,” she snapped.
Zhao Qiqi’s face paled at the remark.
“I know you an well, but I don’t want to make things difficult for Brother Yuan. Let’s just leave,” Zhao Qiqi said, her tone soft.
Xue Yue, wearing an expression of frustration, turned her head towards Anran and continued, “You may be kind and sensible, but you need to know your place. So people, when they don’t know their limits and act shalessly, deserve to be taught a lesson.”
Her voice was loud, and it drew the attention of many onlookers. In fact, several people had already been curious about the woman casually eating in the pavilion, but since they were guests in soone else’s ho, it would have been rude to openly ask about her identity.
The servants escorting the guests didn’t know Anran either, but her calm deanor had deterred them from approaching her. Now, with the two won clearly implying a conflict, the small garden fell silent as everyone waited to see what would happen next.
Anran had heard their conversation but hadn’t paid much attention at first. After all, she was new here, and she didn’t think anyone would know her. But then, she noticed that both the girl in pink and the girl in white kept glancing in her direction. If she didn’t catch on now, she would truly be too naive.
“Oh, co on! I just want to live a peaceful life and avoid trouble, but why is it so hard? Sigh, it seems that exceptional people are always targets of jealousy,” Anran muttered in frustration.
Her grumbling was overheard by the martial artists in the garden, all of whom had sharp hearing. They were stunned—how could anyone be so shalessly self-satisfied?
The girl in white had an odd expression on her face, while the girl in pink was furious. She snapped her whip toward Anran.
“How dare you! You’re so shaless, constantly flattering yourself!”
Though her whip was long, the pavilion was still a bit too far, so she didn’t hit Anran.
“Where did this rude girl co from? This is Jianhai Manor. How dare you strike at people so carelessly? Even though you didn’t hit , damaging the flowers and plants here isn’t allowed either. You’ll have to pay for that!” Anran shouted from the pavilion, looking down at the girl in pink with a commanding air.
The girl in pink beca even more enraged upon hearing Anran’s authoritative tone and her demand for compensation. She shoved the girl in white aside and stord forward, swinging her whip towards Anran’s face.
Seeing that the girl in pink had been provoked into a frenzy, recklessly swinging her whip, Anran froze for a mont, forgetting to react. By the ti she snapped out of it, the whip had already lashed down. Fortunately, she managed to dodge at the last second, but it was too late—her arm was struck.
“Ouch! She’s going to kill ! Help! Soone save !” Anran scread, turning and running as she yelled for help.
The girl in pink, excited that her whip had hit its target, gave chase, refusing to let up.
Anran’s cries for help were loud and pitiful, but no one ca to her aid—everyone was too busy watching the spectacle unfold.
Desperate, Anran wondered if the heavens had forsaken her.
“Are you all just going to stand there and watch? Go find your young master to save ! If sothing happens to , you’ll all be punished!” Anran shouted at the maids leading the tour.
Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, the maids rushed off to fetch help.
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