"What? Why aren't you finishing your sentence?" Lu Taobao squinted his eyes open slightly, looking curiously at Zheng Wei.
"By then, you probably won't be able to get through this door," Zheng Wei rolled his eyes and continued.
"Why?" Lu Taobao was shocked. Was he not going to be allowed in because he'd gotten too fat?
"You're too fat and you'll get stuck," Shen Xiaoyan said, bursting into laughter.
"You scared me to death! I thought you wouldn't let me in because I'd gained weight. It's just that if you're worried I can't fit through the door, that's no problem. I'll be careful and make sure I can get in."
Lu Taobao's words made Shen Xiaoyan feel like ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through her mind.
"Are you giving up on yourself? No one's going to look twice at you anyway," Yue Qingxin said coolly, glancing sideways at Lu Taobao.
"I'm just enjoying life! This kind of life is so pleasant. I should eat what I should eat and not worry about anything."
Lu Taobao sighed contentedly without opening his eyes.
After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Before they could say anything, he suddenly opened his eyes and said excitedly,
"Don't you think what I just said is very philosophical? If my father heard it, he definitely wouldn't say I'm uneducated and only know how to eat anymore."
After speaking, Lu Taobao nodded to himself, indicating he was absolutely right. Then, he suddenly stood up, "I'm going back now to tell him this. Otherwise, I'll forget it."
With that, he walked towards the door.
Shen Xiaoyan watched him leave and said to Huo Fen, who was waiting by the side, "Go ask your father to drive him back."
Huo Fen agreed, quickly ran off to follow.
A short while later, she ran back, saying that Lu Taobao had already been sent off.
Shen Xiaoyan waved Huo Fen away, then said, "Earlier, I suspected that Bai Ying was the person Lu Taobao mentioned. But since she didn't say it herself, I couldn't bring it up. I didn't expect it to be true. It's just a pity..."
"There's nothing to be a pity about, sis. It's just a personal choice. We are outsiders after all, and we can't control their affairs," Yue Qingxin consoled her.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded in agreement. Yes, that's how it was.
If she had spoken up, it might not have led to anything good. It was better not to say anything and pretend not to know.
In the evening, the group ate dinner together and then sat around a stone table in the courtyard.
On the table were fruits, melon seeds, peanuts, mooncakes, and a pot of tea.
Because the four children had very good biological clocks, it was generally time for them to sleep when it was completely dark. Therefore, Shen Xiaoyan coaxed them to sleep and then asked the nanny to watch them in their room. She would call the nanny back to sleep after they went in.
Shen Xiaoyan propped her chin on her hand and looked up at the moon, her heart filled with deep emotion.
In her previous life, although she celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was just gathering with friends, eating meals, or spending it alone at home.
But no matter how she celebrated, she had never truly looked up at the moon, let alone admired it.
Now, with her lover and friends, eating tea and mooncakes, and admiring the moon, it was truly a different kind of feeling.
Shen Xiaoyan couldn't quite articulate what she was thinking at the moment, but she felt an unusual sense of peace, as if it wouldn't be bad if life just went on like this.
But life was never that smooth. Every time Shen Xiaoyan wanted to live peacefully, someone would come to cause trouble, turning her life upside down.
The most annoying among them was Baili Ziyun.
This sharp scream, even though it was from a distance and the sound was distorted by its height, Shen Xiaoyan could still recognize it as Baili Ziyun's voice.
"Disturbing the peace in the middle of the night," Shen Xiaoyan sighed, shaking her head.
"I'll go take a look. You all wait here," Zheng Wei said, getting up.
"Shall I go with you?" Sima Han also said.
"No need. You stay here and keep sister company. After all, you have that kind of relationship with her. It's better if you don't meet,"
Shen Xiaoyan rejected Sima Han's suggestion and stood up to walk towards the side courtyard with Zheng Wei.
Huo Fen was sitting in the corridor. Seeing Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei approaching, she said, "Shall I go with Madam? I can also hold the lamb horn lantern for Madam. Although there's moonlight, the path might not be very clear."
"Go to sleep. It's nothing. Just give me the lamb horn lantern," Shen Xiaoyan said, taking the lamb horn lantern from Huo Fen's hand.
Shen Xiaoyan had always been a person of her word, someone who didn't like others to question her decisions. Therefore, upon hearing this, Huo Fen said nothing more. She handed the lamb horn lantern to Shen Xiaoyan and watched the two of them walk away before returning to her room in the back.
"Originally, we could live peacefully here, but who knew..."
Yue Qingxin watched the figures of Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei disappear, retracted her gaze, and her tone was somewhat melancholic.
"Where in life can everything go as one wishes? We should be content that we can live such happy days. As for the future, let's just wait and see."
"I know. It's just that I still hope that Rong'er can grow up a little. He's so happy right now, he can't withstand any storms."
When Yue Qingxin mentioned Sima Shui Rong, her face was filled with happiness, but her words were tinged with sadness.
"Don't worry. I'm here. Besides, Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan are capable people. Together, no one can bully us."
Sima Han said this, pulled Yue Qingxin into his arms, and gently patted her back.
The two of them fell silent, leaning against each other, looking at the moon in the sky.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei walked slowly towards the orchard.
They walked slowly not because they couldn't see the path.
It was because they really didn't want to be too hasty. Although they heard Baili Ziyun's cry earlier, indicating something had happened, it had nothing to do with them, right?
Baili Ziyun and the others could currently only be considered prisoners.
When the two of them reached the grove, they heard Baili Ziyun's whimpering cries.
Shen Xiaoyan immediately frowned. Baili Ziyun, incapable of anything and with such a bad temper, only knew how to cry when something happened.
She really didn't know how she had managed to grow up all these years.
She didn't need to think to know that Grand Princess Zande had spoiled her into this state.
The two of them continued deeper into the orchard and soon arrived at the construction site.
The dark construction site, illuminated by the moonlight, allowed them to vaguely see figures.
On the east side lay the 800 guards. They were sleeping soundly, as if they hadn't heard the scream earlier, nor the crying that was still ongoing.
Seeing this, Shen Xiaoyan had to admire Luo Luo's ability to control so many people simultaneously and for such a long period.
However, it also reminded her of something. If she could control so many people, why couldn't she control hundreds of zombies in her previous life?