Zhao Feng knew that something about the letter of the empress was bothering Tang Zhelan, but she wasn't willing to tell him. He was worried about her, but knew that he didn't have any right to be with her. Still, he couldn't understand how she could allow her own family to maltreat her.

  His family might not be as well off as the Tangs, but they would always put their family first. His parents would never have used him for their own gains nor had verbally abused him like what Tang Zhelan's parents had done to her.

  It was no wonder Tang Zhelan turned into a 'hateful' person like this. Since she couldn't rely on her family, she only had herself to rely on.

  A sense of disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e washed through Zhao Feng. Was there anything else he could do to help Tang Zhelan free herself from her family?

  "Anyway, that's enough. It's nothing serious." Tang Zhelan tried to reassure him. Her lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She was pretending everything was fine when it wasn't.

  Except that it was serious in Zhao Feng's opinion.

  Tang Moyu wouldn't try to locate her and send her this letter if it wasn't serious. Although he deemed the empress as a decent person, he wasn't sure if Tang Moyu was petty enough to persecute her own cousin.

  The following days remained uneventful. Zhao Feng paid attention to Tang Zhelan, and she remained unperturbed by the letter she received from the empress. It was as if she was pretending it never came at all.

  She said the audit had been finished and Tang Moyu was to offer her a deal, but what could it be? Sighing to himself in frustration, Zhao Feng resumed the work he had on hand. He hoped that he was just overthinking things again.

  His shoes crunched on the pebbles as he made his way to the courtyard to clean it. The afternoon breeze made him feel cooler as the sun shone brightly above the sky. Tang Zhelan was currently helping the staff with the inn's inventory, and it would take some time before she would be done with it.

  A small sigh escaped him. If only he could lessen the burden on Tang Zhelan's shoulder, but that would be impossible. Tang Zhelan would never allow him to get involved with her family affairs. Just like what she'd told his niece, he was only a good friend in her eyes.

  He remembered when he first met her. He was just fresh out of high school and wanted to start working right away. Zhao Feng got a recommendation letter to work in Shenzhen for the Tang household and accepted it right away.

  The tasks given to him weren't hard, but he was warned not to get into the bad side of their young miss. Zhao Feng had been curious as to why they spoke that way about their young miss. It was only after he met the thirteen-year-old Tang Zhelan did he realize what was the problem.

  In other people's eyes, she was nothing but a brat who always wanted her ways to be followed, but Zhao Feng realized that her outrageous demands were to hide her longing for her parent's affections.

  The way Tang Zhelan looked dejected whenever her parents leave her to the maids at home, the way she looked at Tang Moyu as if she wanted to talk to her, befriend her, he saw them all. As her parents continued to ignore her needs as a child, her attitude turned worse.

  Other maids and servants of their household made sure to stay clear, far from her, but not Zhao Feng. At first, he couldn't understand why her parents were treating her like that. It was only after he found out the outrageous tradition the Tang family had to their daughters did he pity Tang Zhelan and Tang Moyu for being subjected to such emotional abuse.

  "You don't have to stay here with me if you don't want to." Young Tang Zhelan scowled as she tucked her small body beneath the covers. She had been burning with fever for the past three days, and she never saw the shadows of her own parents to check on her.

  "I don't mind accompanying you, Miss Lan." Zhao Feng sat next to her bed and handed her the medicine she needed to take to get better.

  Tang Zhelan grimaced as she looked at the pills in his hand, knowing how bitter they would be. However, if she wanted to get better, she needed to take it. She took the pills from him and had those in one go.

  Since then, Tang Zhelan allowed Zhao Feng to accompany her whenever she was at home. No one was able to serve her without fearing her, except him. Tang Zhelan found it odd that he was willing to serve her in spite of her bad reputation.

  "Why are you being nice to me?" she asked him once. Was he waiting for some kind of reward for taming an unruly heiress like her?

  "Why shouldn't I?" Zhao Feng asked in return. "Isn't it my responsibility to serve my miss at the best of my capabilities?" He added with a smile.

  Tang Zhelan eyed him for a moment, and then shook her head.

  "You are a weird one; do you know that, Zhao Feng?"

  "I'm perfectly aware of that, Miss Lan." Zhao Feng smiled back.

  Zhao Feng came back to his senses when he heard someone calling after him. He turned his attention and saw his niece coming towards him in a hurry.

  "What is it?" he asked once Zhao Jing stopped and panted for breath.

  "Uncle! You must help Miss Tang! Someone came to take her back!" She tugged his sleeve and begged him.

  Zhao Feng was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly ran to the front door to see what was happening.

  Was it the empress of Tang Zhelan's parents? No matter who it was, he would never allow anyone to take her against her will!