Water Moon Pavilion stood in the northwestern corner of the Shang Family. From outside, it was nothing more than an ordinary courtyard. Shang Xin Lei stood at the entrance, with a brazier only four or five steps away, yet its light failed to illuminate her face, as though she had deliberately hidden herself in the shadows, afraid of being seen.
There were no guards nearby. If they wished, any Second Turn Messenger could scale the wall and escape the Shang Family with their footwork. The so-called imprisonment was merely ceremonial. Yet no one fled—not her, nor the people living inside. Anyone who lived within society's web was already tightly bound, unable to break free.
When every move you made and every word you spoke might implicate your relatives and affect everything you valued, how could you act recklessly for your own sake? Everyone knew that considering the bigger picture meant putting up with things, retreating, and swallowing grievances. But when you were caught within that bigger picture, and it was filled with every precious thing you had accumulated over the years, how could you not tread carefully?
Draw your saber and sever the dusty web; face death as though returning home... But not everyone could appear as Jiang Shi had, without a single attachment, and leave without mercy.
"Miss."
The maid came to the entrance with two servants. "Let me carry them inside for you, Miss."
"No need." Shang Xin Lei took all four food boxes from them. Each was quite heavy, but to a Second Turn Messenger, that weight was nothing. "Go back. Don't linger around here."
The servants hurried away, naturally. The maid looked at Shang Xin Lei worriedly. "Do you really not need Hua Lian to attend you?"
Shang Xin Lei shook her head and gave no