Shen Miao felt even more uncertain, but the suffocating thirst in her heart made her forget what Shen Li and Jiaoyue had warned her before. It also made her a bit bolder unconsciously.
Shen Miao walked according to the memory she had left after wandering around the area in the afternoon. When she walked out of the courtyard gate of Shen Li's small courtyard by the faint light of the lantern, she then followed Shen Li's previous words and headed towards the kitchen.
But she was out of luck this time. She had only taken a few steps when she saw a flash of light in front of her. Immediately afterwards, she felt a chill on her neck.
Shen Miao didn't dare to move. But just now, out of fear, she had knocked the lantern to the ground. Now she couldn't see who had put a sword on her neck at all.
"I'm Shen Yi's younger sister, the third young miss of the Shen Mansion. You can't hurt me!" Shen Miao said in a trembling voice into the darkness. "I just want to go to the kitchen to get some water to drink. I have no other intentions! Please... please move the sword away!"
Shen Miao knew that in the mansions of some high - ranking officials, there were not only the visible guards but also some invisible secret guards responsible for the safety of the mansion. That's why Shen Miao said so just now.
The person in the darkness seemed to think about the credibility of Shen Miao's words, and then he removed the sword from Shen Miao's neck. "It's dark. Don't go out anymore! Didn't anyone ever tell you this?"
There was already a thin layer of sweat on Shen Miao's back. Even though she didn't see the person hidden in the black clothes, just listening to his emotionless, machine - like voice made her hands and feet tremble.
"I... I didn't know!"
After Shen Miao finished speaking, she didn't get a reply. After a while, when she didn't hear any other sounds around, she panicked and ran back. She didn't even dare to pick up the lantern that had fallen on the ground.
Back in her room, Shen Miao didn't feel thirsty anymore. She just covered herself with the quilt and went to sleep.
The next day, because of the scare the previous night, Shen Miao felt a bit of pain when she got up in the morning. She was groggy and lay in bed for a while.
When she got up again, she felt both thirsty and hungry. When she went to Shen Li's room next door, only Jiaoyue was there.
When Shen Miao asked about Shen Li, Jiaoyue only replied with a "She's not here" and then ignored her.
Shen Miao had no choice but to ask Jiaoyue for help. "Jiaoyue, I haven't eaten anything since noon yesterday. Please go to the kitchen to make some food and bring it to me! Also, bring me a pot of hot water!"
This time, Shen Miao didn't speak to Jiaoyue in a tough attitude. Seeing her listless look, Jiaoyue just muttered something and then said to Shen Miao, "Go and wait! I'll call you when it's done!"
After seeing Shen Miao leave, Jiaoyue walked behind the screen and complained to Shen Li, "The second young miss is really persistent! We've even hidden in the Night Hidden Department, but she still has to chase after us. I don't know what's on her mind. I think the whip you gave her last time wasn't hard enough. That's why the second young miss hasn't learned her lesson."
Shen Li was teasing a parrot she had newly raised recently. She said to Jiaoyue, "She won't come to the Night Hidden Department for no reason. There must be some scheme this time. Judging from the fact that she can endure all the ill - treatment here these two days, we know that she has big plans this time."
"You don't need to pay attention to her on weekdays. After a few days, we'll know what she's up to by watching her actions."
Shen Li had gotten along with Shen Miao for many years. Maybe she couldn't see through Shen Miao's nature before, but since her rebirth and the contact with Shen Miao in the past few months, as long as Shen Miao put on an act of sisterly affection, she must be up to some bad tricks and trying to deal with her!
After Shen Miao had eaten the meal sent by Jiaoyue, she noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Only then did she remember that the things sent by the people from the Shen Mansion hadn't arrived yet.
So she asked Jiaoyue to help her find them. Jiaoyue went to the front and asked around, then brought back a bundle for her. Only then was Shen Miao satisfied and stopped making other requests.
Shen Miao had stayed in the Night Hidden Department for two nights in a row. Except that she didn't dare to go out at night, she just wandered around the small courtyard during the day, but she didn't dare to go too far.
Except for seeing Shen Li on the first day she arrived, Shen Li had been hiding in her room these two days, busy with something unknown and ignoring her.
On the third day, when Shen Miao got up, she happened to see Shen Li walking out of the room. As if afraid that Shen Li would run away, she quickly greeted her with a big smile.
"Good morning, sister!"
Shen Li also smiled at her. "Sister, have you been living well here these two days?"
"Very well. It's just like being in the Shen Mansion!" Shen Miao said with an unchanged smile. "It's just that I haven't seen sister these two days. I can't help but miss you! I wonder where sister has been playing these two days. Why didn't you take me with you?"
Looking at Shen Miao's shrewd and calculating eyes, Shen Li felt annoyed. "Sister must be misunderstanding. Where else could I go? Haven't I been staying in the room these two days? It's just that I've been feeling unwell, so I haven't gone out. I've made sister worried!"
"Oh, I see! I wonder if sister is free today. I've been here for two days, but I haven't had a good stroll around yet!"
Shen Li immediately understood what she meant and guessed what she was up to.
"To be honest with sister, if it were anywhere else, I could take sister around. But this is the Night Hidden Department, and it's impossible. There are secrets everywhere in the Night Hidden Department. Letting sister in the previous two days has already broken the rules. It's out of the question to take sister around!"
"Sister, I'm not an outsider. Besides, I'm just a young girl in the boudoir. Even if there are some secret matters, they have nothing to do with me, and I don't want to see them. I just want to see the place where my elder brother and sister live. What's wrong with that?" Shen Miao said as she pulled at Shen Li's sleeve.
Shen Li patted Shen Miao's hand.
"Of course I trust sister. But the Night Hidden Department is quite large. If we really go for a stroll, there's nothing interesting to see. It's far less beautiful than the scenery in an ordinary mansion. I'm afraid it will disappoint sister and make you not want to stay with me here!"
"Sister, don't worry. How could I be like that!"
Shen Li agreed to Shen Miao. After breakfast, she took her for a stroll in the back courtyard.
Shen Li first took Shen Miao around the small courtyard where they were staying. They first visited the garden and admired the flowers for a while, and then went boating on the lake.
The Night Hidden Department covered a large area. Although the scenery wasn't the best, it couldn't be fully explored in just one morning.