The carriage sped at an extreme pace, driven by urgency, and within half an incense stick's time, they were at the doorstep of home.
Seeing the main gate wide open and two servants standing by, Shen Xiaoyan's anxiety lessened.
"Master and Madam have returned. Master Shui said to go to the main courtyard immediately upon your return," the servants said quickly before any questions could be asked.
"Have the carriage driven into the courtyard, and bring the people on the carriage to the main courtyard later," Zheng Wei instructed, then followed Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming into the gate with quick steps.
The three hurried to the main courtyard. Before they had walked a few steps, they saw seven or eight burly men in black lying on the open ground in the center of the courtyard.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at them without lingering and hurried into the main house.
Upon entering the east wing of the main house, she saw four wet nurses each holding a child and feeding them. Yue Qingxin was sitting by, watching them.
"Sister, you're back..." Yue Qingxin stood up immediately upon seeing Shen Xiaoyan run in and took a few steps towards her.
"Yes, Sister. How are the children?" Shen Xiaoyan replied, her steps unpausing as she walked towards the wet nurses.
Only when she saw that all the children in the wet nurses' arms had their eyes open and were feeding, and that they even grinned at her upon seeing her before continuing to feed, did Shen Xiaoyan's heart truly relax. Seeing the children safe and sound, with no injuries or signs of fright, put her mind at ease.
Shen Xiaoming and Zheng Wei, who followed her in and stood by the door, saw this scene and did not go further inside.
Since the children were all safe, it was best to deal with the matter quickly.
"Awei, Xiaoming, you're back?" Sima Han entered the main house from outside and saw the two standing by the east wing door, saying in a low voice.
Zheng Wei turned around and saw Sima Han holding a sword, and asked, "What is this?"
"Someone escaped, I went to chase them," Sima Han replied.
"Did you catch them?"
"Caught them. Luo Luo knocked them out with a single slap, so I didn't even get to act. Hua Diandian carried the person back, and they're in the courtyard," Sima Han said, shaking his head helplessly.
Zheng Wei, along with Shen Xiaoming and Sima Han, walked towards the courtyard, asking in a low voice what had happened after they left.
Inside the house, Shen Xiaoyan was asking Yue Qingxin the same question.
It turned out that only half an hour after Shen Xiaoyan and the other two had left, ten men with murderous intent arrived.
They first pounded on the gate from outside. Huo Cheng, seeing them from the gatehouse window, did not open the door but ran to the back to inform Sima Han.
Upon hearing Huo Cheng's description, Sima Han knew these people were definitely here to cause trouble, so he took his sword and went out.
At this time, Luo Luo and Hua Diandian, who were in the main house, also heard Huo Cheng's words. The two of them walked out together and followed Sima Han to the gate.
As soon as the gate was opened, the ten men tried to barge in without saying a word, but they were stopped by Sima Han, Luo Luo, and Hua Diandian.
Sima Han never went easy on those who dared to provoke him. He drew his sword and began fighting them.
However, to his surprise, Luo Luo and Hua Diandian also joined the fight, and could knock out one person with a single paw.
In less than a moment, nine of the ten men were knocked unconscious. The remaining one was the person fighting with Sima Han.
This person's martial arts were not great, but his speed of escape was first-class.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, he turned and fled, vanishing a hundred meters away in an instant.
He probably felt that heading towards the main road was too conspicuous, so he ran in the direction of Baiyun Peak.
But what he did not expect was that Luo Luo and Hua Diandian were extremely familiar with Baiyun Peak, treating it as their own backyard.
Sima Han assigned two subordinates to watch the gate, while he followed to investigate.
Unexpectedly, before he even reached the foot of the mountain, Hua Diandian had already carried the person back.
He returned with Luo Luo and Hua Diandian and saw Zheng Wei.
By the time Zheng Wei heard his account, the three of them were already sitting on the stone benches in the courtyard.
Above their heads was a blueberry trellis. Even though it was nearly noon, the hottest time of the day, the three of them did not feel hot.
And not far in front of them, in the center of the courtyard, on a round area paved with pebbles, lay more than ten people in a disorderly fashion.
Among these people, only Bai Fang, who was injured by Shen Xiaoyan, was still conscious. The rest were all unconscious.
Sima Han saw the extra people and knew they were brought back by Zheng Wei. Remembering what had just happened, he asked with a hint of curiosity, "What's going on here?"
Zheng Wei then explained the events of the past while to Sima Han.
After Sima Han heard it, he was also baffled, completely unable to understand the reason behind it.
Inside the house, Shen Xiaoyan played with the children after they had eaten their fill. Seeing that they were all sleepy, she walked out with Yue Qingxin.
"It's so hot today, go get some cold water to cool them down, and add some ice to it," Shen Xiaoyan instructed the servants standing in the corridor, waiting for orders, as she glanced at the people lying on the ground.
The servants responded and went to fetch water. As soon as Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin sat down, and after a brief exchange of words, the servants returned carrying wooden buckets.
Four men each carried two buckets of water, and two servants each carried one bucket.
"Pour it all over them, let them cool off properly," Shen Xiaoyan ordered.
"Yes."
The group agreed and carried the water, pouring it onto the people.
The more than ten people, who were sweating under the scorching sun, were suddenly doused with ice-cold water. Although there was a moment of coolness, the subsequent feeling was not pleasant.
Shen Xiaoyan did not stop them, but continuously poured cold water mixed with ice onto these people. This alternating cold and heat, even in their unconscious state, was tormenting.
Bai Fang, who had been awake the whole time, was on the verge of fainting from this torture.
It was not until the servants had made five trips back and forth that Zheng Wei told them to stop.
"What do we do? They're still not waking up," Zheng Wei said with a faint smile. Although he seemed to be asking, he was actually confident.
Seeing him like this, the others did not reply but simply looked at him, waiting for his next move.
"How about we switch to hot water? After pouring so much cold water, they must be frozen stiff," Zheng Wei said, stroking his chin with a brilliant smile on his face.
"You guys..." Baili Ziyun, groggily just waking up, heard Zheng Wei's suggestion and instinctively spoke out.
"That's a good idea. Before we could even do it, one has woken up," Shen Xiaoyan said with a low chuckle, taking a sip of tea.
"You cheap whore, you're going to die a horrible death," Baili Ziyun said, struggling to get up and glaring at Shen Xiaoyan fiercely.
Her entire body was soaked, and her exquisite makeup had smeared into a mess upon contact with water, looking both disgusting and horrifying.
Shen Xiaoyan's skin, nurtured by the immortal spring water, was exceptionally delicate, so she never wore any makeup.
However, in her space, she had a lot of cosmetics collected during the apocalypse. Back then, people were only concerned with finding food and anything usable.
Those cosmetics, along with luxury goods, jewelry, and bags, all fell into her hands cheaply.
Her space had infinite storage, but she had only collected from a few malls and the occasional cosmetic shop she encountered on the street.
Looking at Baili Ziyun's face at that moment, Shen Xiaoyan wished she could lend her the waterproof cosmetics from her space, if only the time and place were not so inappropriate.