Nan Yue had once imagined how opulent Miss Wen and Master Wen's chambers would be in the lavish Eden Garden.
But everything before her still challenged her perception.
The first impression upon entering Miss Wen's bedroom was the scent—an overly strong rose fragrance that went straight to her brain.
However, an unknown incense was also lit in a corner of the room. The rising woody scent, similar to sandalwood, mixed with the rose fragrance, creating a uniquely pleasant aroma.
Nan Yue's first thought was that this spice must be extremely expensive.
Miss Wen's bedroom, more than any other place, truly fit the description of Eden Garden.
It was simply a room nestled within a rose bush.
Large patches of blooming roses were everywhere, arranged in glass-gold vases, placed before classical medieval oil paintings. It looked like a meticulously crafted, stunning landscape.
Only then did Nan Yue understand why Eden Garden employed so many gardeners—they truly needed to cultivate a vast quantity of perfect roses.
But what truly surprised Nan Yue was the arrangement of Miss Wen's bedroom.
It was too peculiar.
While many wealthy people had walk-in closets, dressing rooms, and studies, their bedrooms would still contain some of these items.
But Miss Wen's bedroom did not.
Aside from roses, her bedroom contained only one thing.
A bed.
A very, very large bed.
Nan Yue had previously scoffed at the brainless novels Zhu Xi Ning read, like protagonists waking up in their 180-square-meter beds.
But now, fiction had become reality.
Miss Wen's bed wasn't 180 square meters, but it was certainly forty or fifty.
Such a size was already astonishing.
Miss Wen's bedroom wasn't small, but it was occupied by a vast number of roses, and then this enormous and peculiar bed.
It truly looked like the roses were supporting the bed.
The extremely expensive bed, made of gold-silk nanmu with gilded carvings, had red drapes on both sides, which were now half-drawn, concealing Miss Wen within.
Yet, faintly through the semi-transparent drapes, Nan Yue could still vaguely make out her figure.
Miss Wen looked very pale and somewhat gaunt, likely due to her perennial confinement indoors, without sunlight or outdoor activity.
Nan Yue also saw a delicate wooden wheelchair, like a piece of art, placed in an inconspicuous corner of the room.
A wheelchair?
Was Miss Wen disabled?
That would explain it.
She never left her room or went downstairs, precisely because she couldn't accept her physical disability, so she simply locked herself in her room, staying in bed.
Nan Yue pretended to casually glance up and see all this, then quickly lowered her gaze, standing obediently like the others.
Wen Shen, with her hands crossed over her abdomen, looked at them. “Since Master Wen has assigned you as Miss Wen's personal maids, there are a few things I must remind you of.”
“First, in this room, Miss Wen's words take precedence, and mine come second.”
“Aside from us, you don't need to obey anyone else's commands.”
“Second, have the self-awareness a servant should possess: no matter what you see in this room, you are not allowed to spread it outside.”
“Third, Miss Wen has no need for useless traitors.”
Wen Shen's three statements seemed normal; at first listen, they were simply rules one would expect from a high-ranking noble family.
But upon closer thought, something felt off.
If the first rule meant Nan Yue and the others didn't need to listen to the head maid or Butler Zhao, it was somewhat understandable.
However, this rule also showed that Wen Shen's status in Eden Garden was very high, certainly above the head maid.
As for Butler Zhao, he reported directly to Master Wen, but at least within this room, Wen Shen's authority surpassed his.
The second rule needed no further explanation, but the third was quite intriguing.
Miss Wen has no need for useless traitors.
This statement could be interpreted as meaning that the Wen family, being the most important family in the federation, also had many rival family factions, and these factions would undoubtedly arrange people to infiltrate the Wen family.
So Wen Shen was targeting those with ulterior motives.
However, Miss Wen hadn't left her room for a long time, and given her appearance, she clearly had no access to important Wen family matters.
In such a situation, would anyone truly try to get close to her specifically?
Nan Yue had a faint suspicion that Wen Shen's “traitors” were aimed at Master Wen.
“As long as you obey, I have a way to keep you alive. But if you harbor ill intentions…”
Nan Yue understood. Although Master Wen had ordered the maids serving Miss Wen to be killed earlier, Wen Shen likely had a way to protect them.
The conflict between these siblings was far greater than she had imagined.
Wen Shen said no more, simply waved her hand, and the five maids quickly moved to a corner of the room, like a line of ghosts, awaiting their master's command.
Wen Shen then drew back the red drapes and went in to speak with Miss Wen. Nan Yue didn't seem to hear Miss Wen speak, but when Wen Shen emerged, she said to Nan Yue, “Miss Wen hasn't eaten all day. Go see if the kitchen has prepared her meal.”
Nan Yue nodded in agreement, turned, and left the room, almost jumping in surprise the moment she stepped out.
Master Wen, who had already left, had returned at some unknown time. He was pressed against Miss Wen's bedroom door, his lips stretched into an unnatural grin, and his wide eyes twitched nervously.
Nan Yue could feel a spine-chilling excitement emanating from him.
She quickly lowered her head, pretending not to have looked up, and softly called out, “Master Wen?”
Master Wen instantly returned to normal. He appraised Nan Yue, then stepped aside.
As Nan Yue left, she could feel his gaze lingering on her.
Nan Yue found Jiang Siyan and told him about what she had seen and Master Wen's odd behavior. Jiang Siyan, while sending someone to fetch the food from the kitchen, nodded and promised to find an opportunity to check on Master Wen.
Two assistant maids followed Nan Yue, and the three of them went upstairs together to deliver the meal.
When she returned to the room, Master Wen was no longer there. Nan Yue knocked and entered. Wen Shen raised an eyebrow, her attitude seemingly less rigid than before.
“Well done.”
Nan Yue felt that Wen Shen's words implied more than just her fetching the food.
Wen Shen personally took the food tray and walked into the drapes. Nan Yue saw Miss Wen sit up, but she didn't seem to eat anything.
“Take it away.”
Nan Yue heard Miss Wen's voice for the first time: cold, dead, utterly unlike that of a living person.
“I won't eat.”
Wen Shen tried to persuade her twice, but Miss Wen sneered and knocked everything onto the floor.
“I said I won't eat!”
“What difference does it make if I eat or not?”
“I'll still be trapped here all the same.”
Wen Shen sighed and gestured for the assistant maids to clear away the food.
The broken glass and soiled bedsheets certainly needed cleaning. Nan Yue followed the other four maids forward. She intended to pull back the curtain and go inside to clean, but Wen Shen was quicker.
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