Hanyue knew that his Highness didn't like to mention his likeness to Shen Yueran, so he tried to change the subject. He thought about Bairan's plan to return to her family.
He looked toward the roof and said calmly, "Dongyan, go do what Miss Lin wanted."
Bairan didn't hear any response—only a faint sound from above.
Hanyue smiled at her. "Now the plan has begun. Soon, you will be reunited with your family."
Bairan said warmly, "Thanks, Master Pei."
Then her gaze shifted back to the portraits. She thought, So he is the one who brought my soul back, then wondered aloud, "This must be Shen Yueran?"
Hanyue asked calmly, "Why do you think so?"
Bairan smiled. "It's not hard to think that way." She pointed at her own portrait. "This one is me." Then she moved her hand to Gu Yuxian's portrait. "And this is the monk." Finally, she set her finger on the last one. "And that must be the one you're searching for—Shen Yueran."
Hanyue nodded. "You are right. He's the reason we came to this town." His voice grew heavier, his eyes cold. "He's a great criminal. We wanted to arrest him at any cost."
Bairan thought to herself that they wanted to capture Shen Yueran at any cost—but he was already dead. Seeing Hanyue's steady, cold manner and Zhouyan's silent hatred, she felt guilty for not telling them the truth. It seemed Shen Yueran's crimes weren't only betrayal of the country, but that he had personal debts with those men.
She said softly, "What if he's dead?"
Zhouyan raised his head and looked at her directly.
Bairan quickly added, "There was a new grave below the cave I woke up in."
Zhouyan said slowly, without moving his eyes from her, "And?"
Hanyue fixed his gaze on Bairan as well. His Highness had not spoken to an outsider in years, yet this young girl had made him say a single word. Very interesting.
Bairan was surprised too. This man had finally spoken to her, but his first word was And. She found it funny, yet it stirred her interest even more.
She straightened her back and continued, "When I went down into the cave, I saw the new grave. The soil wasn't completely dry, which means the person hadn't been dead for long. And this morning, Master Pei asked that prisoner what he bought and when. The prisoner told some truth, like some things he brought were asked for by the monk, and that was a month ago, but he hid part of it. The herb seller's testimony also had two parts. The first time that man went to him for medicine was nearly two months ago, before spring came. He was in a hurry, desperately trying to get the herbs—which means the person was truly in need. And the herbs were for easing pain and treating external injuries. At that moment, you and Master Pei exchanged a glance. That means you either knew who was injured then… or perhaps you yourself were that person's enemy."
Zhouyan's gaze grew deeper, but Bairan continued calmly.
"You spotted him in the cave searching for him there." Which happened to be the same cave that me and that monk were in, so it held three people: me, the monk, and Shen Yueran. Master Pei said the one who saved me was the monk. And the first time I woke up, the letter advised me to drink the medicine—the medicine bowl was still hot. That's a strong reason to believe the monk left just before I woke up." She ended it with a small smile.
"He was alive and I'm alive. The only one missing… is him. So he must be the owner of the grave."
Hanyue was amazed by her ability to analyze the situation after only two days together.
He praised her. "Well, Miss Lin, you have a true talent."
But Bairan was still waiting for Zhouyan's praise, which didn't come. The latter only looked at her without a word. When Hanyue spoke, she turned to him and denied softly, "Master Pei must be joking with me. How can this be called talent? I'm just a scared bunny, worried not to fall into any traps."
Hanyue chuckled. "If you are a worried bunny, I fear the hunter may fall into his own traps without even knowing."
Bairan chuckled as well. She didn't know why, but with these two men, she wasn't afraid to show this side of herself. She responded jokingly, "Master Pei is roasting me with sweet words. But it's fine—I would never set traps for someone who helped me."
The more she spoke, the deeper Zhouyan's gaze grew. The way she spoke was too familiar to him.
Hanyue smiled. "May I ask… was this bunny the same one who cut some strings from the bamboo slip?"
Bairan looked delighted. "Maybe it was like that in the first place."
Hanyue raised his brows. She didn't even care if he realized she might have hidden part of the bamboo slip. He said,
"He had long strips to write a receipt on, yet he used only three strips to write a letter to you."
Bairan denied casually, "Maybe he was short of bamboo…" Then she frowned mysteriously. "And who knows? Maybe someone cut it while I was still sleeping."
Hanyue: "…"
As she said "who knows," a sharp ding sounded in Zhouyan's head, followed by jumbled voices.
A man's angry voice roared: "Xinyi, who knocked my head with something just now?"
Then came a woman's laugh, echoing in his mind: "Who knows? Maybe it was someone while I was sleeping."
Zhouyan's brows furrowed. He raised his hand to his head.
The voices continued, the man's anger rising: "Who knows? It was you—wait for me, I will fight you..."
The woman laughed even louder, pleading jokingly: "Zhouyan, help me! Hanzhou's gone crazy!"
Zhouyan's hand trembled, his head pounding with pain.
Hanyue rose, almost calling out "Your Highness." He called him worriedly, "Master, what's wrong?"
Zhouyan raised his eyes to look at Bairan, who stood up in shock, but in her eyes, he didn't see the familiar concern that Xinyi had.
He closed his eyes, though how could there be someone like her?
When he opened his eyes, his eyes returned to the cold and foggy state.He put down his hand and stood up, saying coldly, "It's nothing."
Hanyue hesitated. "But Master, we should call a doctor..."
Zhouyan didn't respond and walked away.
Bairan looked at his back with mixed emotions, wondering what look it was! Why were his eyes full of despair and pain? Did I say something wrong?
Hanyue was worried about Zhouyan; he went after him, leaving Bairan alone.
Bairan sat down, swept her gaze on the portraits, tapped Shen Yueran's portrait with her fingers, and lightly muttered to herself, "What kind of relationship do you two have? You look pretty much like each other still he chasing you till death's door. You didn't feel sorry for harming me in my previous life. What about him? Did you hurt him as well?" She shook her head, "Shen Yueran, oh Shen Yueran, it looks like in your lifetime you created so many enemies for yourself."
She looked where Zhouyan and Hanyue left, touched her chin, "If they know you, can they help me find my true identity and who I really was?"
Not much time passed before Hanyue came back. He clasped his hands respectfully and apologetically said, "Miss Lin, I'm very sorry to leave you like that."
Bairan stood up and said with concern, "It's okay. No need to be sorry. How's your master now? Is he okay?"
"He went back to his room," Hanyue sighed softly. Both of them sat down; he poured a cup of tea, handed it to Bairan, and poured one for himself as he continued, "He will be fine."
Though Hanyue still had a small smile on his lips as always.
But Bairan felt he was really worried about his master, so she asked, "Just now, did I say something to make your master unhappy?"
Hanyue was surprised. Why did she think like that?
He responded gently, "You? I don't think so. It's just..." he looked toward Shen Yueran's portrait. "There are other things that make Master unhappy."
Bairan didn't ask any further. She drank her tea in silence.
As for dinner, Zhouyan didn't show up, so they ended up eating alone. Hanyue told her new information about Master Tong's case and the possibility that Baian may have been kidnapped when he was a child. He promised he would try his best to find Baian's family and others who kidnapped by those men.
Bairan thanked him, and her respect grew more toward him. He is really a smart and righteous man; she is happy to have a friendship with him. After dinner, she said goodbye and headed back to her room.