How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Yan Ru was educated and had a clear understanding of things. She was grateful for Song Yuanliang's concern and sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you very much."

That was all.

As she regained consciousness, she suddenly realized she was leaning against Song Yuanliang's chest. She blushed with embarrassment and quickly pulled away.

With the beauty gone and the warmth fading, Song Yuanliang felt a pang of loss.

Just as the two were feeling awkward, the door to the bedroom was pounded on loudly again.

"Miss Lü, are you asleep?"

Yan Ru was startled and quickly and gently opened the door to enter her boudoir. She saw the little one outside and felt a little suspicious.

"what's up?"

The little creature outside, seeing that it couldn't open the door, complained, "What kind of precious place is this that's worth locking up?"

Song Yuanliang was surprised by the poor attitude of his servants and looked at Yan Ru with a questioning look.

Yan Ru shook her head at him, signaling him to mind his own business. Song Yuanliang frowned; if the timing weren't so bad, he would have definitely taught this maid a lesson.

Yan Ru held Song Yuanliang back, feeling a little afraid that Master Song might come, given the situation last night...

She sighed inwardly, "I don't like people barging in in the middle of the night. Just tell me what you want."

The little thing kicked the door again, and seeing that it still wouldn't open, it said irritably, "Do you think I wanted to come? It's only because Brother Song Yi brought you some things that you should open the door so I can put them in."

It's just sending things.

Yan Ruwei breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief and quickly gestured for Song Yuanliang to leave so she could open the door.

Song Yuanliang, however, deliberately played a trick on her, whispering in her ear, "Give me a kiss, and I'll leave right away."

Yan Ru felt nervous and quickly distanced herself.

With the little creature so close and Song Yuanliang leaning against her side, Yan Ru couldn't help but feel anxious, looking at Song Yuanliang with pleading eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, Song Yuanliang finally gave in and gently kissed her cheek. "I'm leaving now, goodnight."

After he left, Yan Ru opened the door.

The little thing was getting impatient, carrying a tray piled high with food, which looked very convenient.

Pushing past Yan Ru, he went into the house and left his things there, saying, "You can take care of it yourself. I'll come back to clean up tomorrow."

Yanru naturally wanted her to leave quickly, and without even looking at the thing on the table, she stood at the door gesturing for her to go.

The little thing walked very heavily, taking a few "thump-thump" steps before leaving, but turned back and glared at Yanru a few times just before reaching the door.

Yan Ru was unaware of what was going on, but didn't care, and closed the door again.

Lifting the cloth off the tray revealed only a few pieces of clothing; I don't know why the little thing cares so much.

I thought it was some rare and precious treasure that made her jealous.

Yan Ru flipped through it a few times and then tossed it aside.

Another thing came to mind: when she left, she was carrying several jade pendants. Although her father hadn't said it outright, Yanru knew that they must be something important that couldn't fall into the hands of others.

Fortunately, Master Song seemed unaware of the situation, and no one checked the box she brought.

Where should it be hidden? What if Master Song finds out about this one day? Should I give it to him or not? After much deliberation, he finally made a silent decision.

The little girl wondered to herself, what does this mean? The master himself didn't come, but instead sent his trusted confidants to deliver clothes to her.

Before it was sent up, the little girl had already looked through it. Every item was the latest style from the foreign firm, and each one cost several tens of dollars. The master valued her so much.

The little thing has long wanted to get a share of the pie from Master Song. If Yanru is taken seriously by the master and comes over often, then she will have her chance sooner or later.

With that thought in mind, I drifted off to sleep with sweet dreams.

Several days passed like this; Master Song never came to the small building again, but gifts arrived every day.

This made the little one's attitude fluctuate wildly, sometimes giving a cold shoulder and sometimes a friendly one.

If Yan Ruxin weren't so easygoing, she would have been furious.

Song Yuanliang also acted as a "gentleman on the thief's roof" every day, making sure to stay for a while before Yan Ru went to sleep each night.

Although he never overstepped the bounds, he always gained the upper hand in conversation, which annoyed Yan Ru to no end.

This is actually a flaw in human nature. Back in school, Yan Ru was always cold and aloof, as distant and unapproachable as the bright moon.

Even though Song Yuanliang was the son of the richest man in the city, Yan Ru never gave him a second glance. So no matter how much Song Yuanliang was infatuated with her, he only dared to watch from afar and tried every means to get Yan Ru's attention, for fear of offending the beauty.

Now that Yan Ru has fallen on hard times, like a banished immortal descending to the mortal realm, Song Yuanliang dares to bully him instead. Even if he hasn't done anything, his words are still frivolous and his behavior is frivolous.

This transformation was probably not even noticed by Song Yuanliang himself; he probably thought he was "pursuing" it.

Whether their reluctance to take real action stemmed from moral constraints or fear of their father is hard to say.

Yan Ru didn't actually dislike Song Yuanliang, she was just annoyed by him.

However, due to her own circumstances, she could only feign compliance, since she naturally preferred to be closer to Song Yuanliang, who was the same age as her, than to Master Song.

Mid-Autumn Festival arrived in the blink of an eye, and the Song family mansion was visibly bustling with activity.

The little guy who's never around these days is now spending all his time lazing around downstairs.

"Every Mid-Autumn Festival is such a hassle, I really don't know what's so great about it," she complained to Yanru.

Whether she truly disliked him or not, Yan Ru didn't know, but she did know that her days probably wouldn't be peaceful for long.

"Sister Fang." A handsome young servant came to the door and greeted the little thing politely.

The little thing clearly perked up. "Who is it? What do you need me for?"

The servant said, "Greetings, sister. I am Afu, the master's servant. The steward sent me to deliver a message to you."

The little thing quickly grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and stuffed them into Afu's hand, saying, "What message do you want to convey? Tell me."

I also took the opportunity to stroke the person's well-defined hands.

Ah Fu withdrew his hand without changing his expression and said with a smile, "The master is coming tonight. You should clean the building thoroughly tonight, make sure it is brightly lit and spotless, and replace all the rooms with new ones, so that Miss Lü can have a festive occasion."

The little thing grinned from ear to ear, "Oh, okay, just leave it to me."

The servant, having delivered the message, was about to leave when he respectfully bowed to Yan Ru and withdrew.

The little thing stared intently, then, without turning its head, said, "I have to see them off," and chased after them out.

Yan Ru idly fiddled with a Suzhou embroidery fan, shook her head, and let her be; she could never control her anyway.

He pondered the servant's words, then chuckled self-deprecatingly. See? I knew it would turn out this way.

It wasn't dark yet, and Yan Ru was still leaning against the balustrade on the second-floor veranda, her mind unsettled.

Tonight is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a night for family reunion, but in just a few days, Yanrujia has changed beyond recognition.

I remember how harmonious and happy the Lu family was back then.

Although the Lü family was not extremely wealthy, they were one of the more well-off families in Sifang City. Apart from planting flowers and grass, the rest of the courtyard was used to grow vegetables.

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the pomegranates and apples in the yard, adorned with red and green decorations, grow high on the branches, creating a festive atmosphere even before they are fully decorated.

That night, Mr. Lü would personally prepare a large table of dishes and invite Grandpa Hua's family for a reunion dinner.

After dinner, they enjoyed the moon in the courtyard. Various fruits and mooncakes were laid out on the table. She and her sister played the piano and danced, played drinking games with their father, asked Grandpa Hua to tell stories, and fought with Grandpa Hua's grandson, Xiao Zhuangshi, for candy. How happy the whole family was! It was much better than being all alone in someone else's house now.

The only thing in this courtyard that bears a resemblance to the Lü family is this osmanthus tree in front of us, only it's taller and its fragrance is sweeter.

Watching the little one busily directing several old women to clean up the place, Yanru felt empty and uneasy.

Since arriving here, Yanru has never gone downstairs again, but today she's taken the time to come down and admire the flowers.

After descending the stairs and passing through the hall, Yanru arrived at the osmanthus tree.

This is a red osmanthus tree with orange-red flowers hidden among the dark green leaves. Its fragrance is more intense than that of ordinary osmanthus, and its aroma is irresistible.

In the season when osmanthus flowers are in full bloom, the early-blooming flowers have already begun to fall, covering the ground like a carpet.

Occasionally, a few tiny blossoms would fall, and Yanru would reach out to catch them. Those tiny blossoms landed in her palm, too small to hold, but if she pinched them between her fingertips, they could be easily crushed.

Yanru crushed the flower, brought it to her nose, and smelled it. In addition to the sweet fragrance, there was also a faint grassy scent.

"Scattered into mud and ground into dust, only the fragrance remains the same."

Yan Ru read softly, perhaps feeling a pang of sadness at the sight of the flowers, her eyes gradually turning cold.

When Master Song was coming, he instructed the servants to clean in advance, and he even deliberately chose to do so at night. The meaning of this was self-evident.

If it had been explained in advance, Yan Ru would have been somewhat prepared, but this vague and unclear explanation made her feel like she was just a toy.

Looking up at the window of the outer study, Yan Ru had never been so eager to see Song Yuanliang, but the person who harassed her every night had not appeared yet.

The more anxious I became, the less I could think of a good solution. I pinched my hands hard, forcing myself to calm down.

"So you're here. Come back with me and wash up."

The little creature was so busy that it realized the key person was missing, so it hurriedly came down to look for her.

"Wash it clean? What do you take me for?" Yan Ru couldn't help but lose her temper.

The sudden outburst of anger startled the little thing, and she stood there stunned for a moment.

Realizing what was happening, he grabbed her in a fit of rage, saying, "Why are you yelling at me? What do you think you are? You're just an object. You live in this little building and you still don't know what you are. This is what our Song family prepared for a concubine. She's not even a proper concubine, just a 'secondary concubine.' She'll only be considered a concubine after she has a child."

The little thing spoke louder and louder, and Yan Ruxin's heart sank deeper and deeper. She had thought this was the young lady's pavilion in the Song family mansion. So that's how it is...

Out of sheer rage, Yan Ru suddenly let out a cold laugh.

“How would I know about the rules of your Song family? I don’t recognize them. I’m not a member of your Song family at all. My surname is Lü, and I’m a student at Nancheng University. I’m not a concubine of the Song family.”

Shaking off the little thing's hand, Yan Ru quickly thought about how to leave.

When I was terrified, tears involuntarily streamed down my face, but my mind calmed down.

You must take your luggage and leave.

Running upstairs, Yanru locked the door, hastily gathered her clothes, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

After changing back into her school uniform, Yanru sat on the bed, covered her face, and started crying.

The little thing was only annoyed by Yan Ru's offense and was still cursing from below.

"You're always putting on airs. Even the old men have been in the house late at night. Don't you understand what it means?"

As expected, without a mother's guidance, she's completely unbecoming. So petty, I spit on her! What female student, what haughty airs? She's still hiding in our Song family, pretending to be some kind of master. You'd better have something better to say before you call yourself my father…”

Several old women pulled her along, because the lowest-ranking servants in the household could be ordered around by anyone.

So they couldn't afford to offend either the little thing or Yanru upstairs, and were extremely afraid that the two of them would start a fight.

Fortunately, Yan Ru was focused on leaving and simply ignored the little thing's barking.

Everything else is fine, but we haven't decided where to put these jade pendants yet.

After much deliberation, Yan Ru concluded that the best course of action was to hide them away and then find a way to take them back once she was free.