Ruan Xuening was full of energy. She changed back into the clothes she wore when she entered yesterday, then tidied herself up to look like someone who had been bullied.

By the time she left in the late afternoon, her angry expression was so convincing that Shi Buyu, who was hiding behind the door watching, really felt as if she had done all those things she spoke of.

Sigh, she’s really quite devious.

Shi Buyu shook his head and walked back. Passing by the study hall, he twisted his steps intending to find a book to pass the time, but once he went in, he couldn’t come out for quite a while.

Yan Shian came back home after hearing the report and went to check on her. Seeing the stack of books beside her, he smiled.

“Have you never read these kinds of storybooks before?”

“How would I know? No one told me there were such books to read.” Shi Buyu was engrossed, not looking at him as he spoke, flipping to the next page.

Yan Shian glanced around, then, like her, rolled up his sleeves and sat on the floor, picking up a book to flip through. He had never read these either and found no interest in them — but since a fellow student’s family had them, he had to have them too.

“Interesting?”

“Pretty fun. The stories are written as if they’re real.” After finishing the last page, Shi Buyu finally looked up, rubbed his eyes, and asked, “Is Xuening’s matter all arranged?”

“It’s arranged. She needs to learn how to manage the shopkeeper role.”

Shi Buyu didn’t ask further, stood up, put the finished books back on the shelf, and carried a few unread ones under his arm.

Yan Shian grabbed a book casually and followed her. “From tomorrow, I’ll only stay half a day at the academy.”

“Other plans?”

“All the stalls have been set up. Now that you’re here to help, some things can no longer be delayed.”

Shi Buyu nodded. Spending too much time at the academy wasn’t good anymore. Before, it didn’t matter much and even gave him the best cover for his identity. But once things really got moving, it might cause trouble. Still, he asked, “Does Master Qi agree?”

“I said I needed to focus on preparing for the autumn exam; the Master thought that was right.”

That was a hard reason to refuse.

Shi Buyu stopped and faced him. “Good that you have time. I need to know all your deployments. Let’s do it tomorrow afternoon. It won’t be easy for you, but I must know.”

“It won’t be easy.” Yan Shian looked at her. “So I probably can’t tell you everything at once. Give me some time to trust you more.”

“To let someone who trusts no one slowly peel off their shell and show their soft flesh—that’s already a huge trust to me. No rush. It’s not that urgent yet. First, just tell me what you should right now.”

Shi Buyu tapped his arm with a book as a reward. They had only known each other for a short while, and this level of honesty was already quite an improvement. She was satisfied.

Yan Shian silently watched her walk away, then lowered his head to flip through the book in his hand and went toward his courtyard.

Yan Ze, who had been silently following behind, hesitated but didn’t speak.

In the outer study, Luo Bo was writing something. Seeing the young master come in, he quickly stood and followed him into the inner study.

Yan Ze wrung a cloth and handed it to the young master, hesitating before asking, “Young master, are you really going to tell Miss Biao?”

“If I don’t tell her, how can she help me?” Yan Shian wiped his hands and tossed the cloth back. “Even if she has great skills, she first needs to know what I have at hand.”

Luo Bo immediately understood what they were talking about and frowned. “If madam finds out, I’m afraid…”

“Then so be it. So what? I’m no longer a child and don’t need her to tell me what to do next. If things fail, I’ll take all the consequences myself.” Yan Shian picked up a paperweight and slammed it down. “I am part of the game, a chess piece. No matter what, I can’t leave this game. I need someone to hold the chessboard.”

Luo Bo was confused. “Do you think Miss Biao can be your chessboard holder?”

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes and participated personally, I wouldn’t believe she had that ability.” Yan Shian seemed to smile. “After the hostage rescue, I reviewed the situation and realized how meticulous her planning was. Approaching me for a deal was already her last step. Before that, she had found hiding places for the people, arranged for people to receive them, the fires in the capital were set by her people, and the stampeding horses were arranged by her. The evacuation routes she set had very few panicked civilians heading that way, which means someone was guiding them. The Shi family escaped the city safely because the pursuers went the wrong way, buying them time. Did the Forbidden Army want to let them go? She must have done something.”

Yan Shian looked at the two whose faces changed again and again. “That’s only what I know. There must be things I don’t know. If all arrangements came from her hands… do you think she’s qualified?”

More than qualified — the people she used in this game make you think even deeper.

“If all this really was done by Miss Biao.” Luo Bo stepped back and bowed slightly, whispering, “Young master, your great cause is about to succeed.”

Yan Shian silently unrolled a sheet of rice paper and ground ink without waiting for Yan Ze to serve.

Great cause. Since childhood, those two words were what he heard most. What he learned, what he did, what he thought, what he dreamed—all for those two words. Beyond that, his heart was a barren wasteland, not a blade of grass growing.

He… envied Shi Buyu.

“Go buy all the storybooks that are missing at home.”

Yan Ze was stunned but quickly agreed. Of course, he knew who the books were for.

Luo Bo, however, didn’t know and didn’t think much. His mind was still on what had just happened. “Should we keep this news sealed?”

Yan Shian originally wanted to say no, but a figure he saw yesterday flashed in his mind. Over the years, the thing he had seen most was her back, still straight but visibly thinner with each passing day.

“Don’t let it reach her ears for now.”

“Yes.” They already knew who was spreading news in the mansion. The other party didn’t even hide it—it was blatant from the start. Sometimes they even let her send messages. If there was news they didn’t want the other side to know, she wouldn’t say a word. She was half one of them.

---

With no one to supervise her, Shi Buyu happily read storybooks for half the night, finally falling asleep at dawn from sheer exhaustion.

Worrying in her heart, she didn’t sleep in the next day, getting up early instead. Having grown used to meals made by A Gu, food made by others always felt a bit bland. She ate a few bites, then went to the study hall, where she saw those extra storybooks — no need to guess who had added them.

Alright, to win her favor, he’d have to plan more carefully for him next time.

She read again all morning, and finally, utterly exhausted, she just lay on the floor and fell asleep.

Yan Shian had been in for a while. Seeing the scattered storybooks and the person sleeping so deeply, he suddenly understood what helplessness felt like. He finally saw why Shi Buyu needed someone like Wan Xia around her—without her following, it looked like the whole place was about to fall apart.