The maids here were all beautiful and well-mannered, a subtle reflection of their master’s refined tastes. The one who had called her was a young maid named Xiao Yun, around fifteen or sixteen years old—the first person Hong Ning had seen when she woke up. She had been personally assigned by the young master to take care of her.
Casually, Hong Ning asked, “Your young master hasn’t returned yet?”
Xiao Yun pursed her lips and smiled. “Steward Han was just here. I specially asked him for you. He said since the year-end is approaching, the young master has gone to various places in Jiezhou to inspect his businesses. It seems he won’t return until after the New Year.”
Hong Ning frowned slightly.
Xiao Yun playfully nudged her. “Why are you in such a hurry? The young master already said you can stay as long as you like. If you want to thank him, you’ll just have to wait until he returns.”
The "young master" she spoke of was, of course, Hong Ning’s benefactor. Unfortunately, after staying here for more than half a month, she had yet to truly meet him. The day she had regained consciousness, he had already left, and everything she knew about him had been pieced together from casual conversations with the maids.
His surname was Duan, given name Fei—Duan Fei. Twenty-six years old, in his prime. From the way the maids spoke of him, he seemed to be one of the most renowned and wealthy merchants in Ganzhou.
"Of the wealth spread across Ganzhou, nine-tenths lie in the hands of Young Master Duan."
But more famous than his fortune was his reputation as a libertine.
A man who never took a wife or concubines did not necessarily mean he was reserved and well-behaved—it only meant he had fewer restraints when indulging in his affairs. He could spend thousands of silver taels just to win a beauty’s smile, going as far as to search for a rare exotic flower from the Western Regions just to adorn a woman’s hair. He could also, on a whim, reward a beggar with enough silver to turn him into a small landlord overnight—such acts of extravagance were not uncommon for him.
If anyone else behaved this way, they would have long been scorned as a wasteful prodigal.
But Duan Fei?
An orphan who single-handedly upheld his entire clan, who had risen in just five years to become the wealthiest man in Ganzhou, with businesses spanning the empire—who would dare mock him?
His wealth seemed endless.
It was one thing to rescue an unknown woman, but to also house and feed her for free for so long—only someone like him would do such a thing. After all, for a man who didn’t care about spending, having one more person to lavish his money on was hardly worth mentioning. That explained why the maids weren’t surprised; they had long grown used to such whims. Their master had done far more outlandish things—this was nothing unusual.
Hong Ning had already heard plenty of tales about his romantic escapades.
What worried her was that he was known to frequent brothels and entertainment houses. If he got distracted and didn’t return for a year or two, what then?
After all, she owed him her life—she couldn’t just leave without a word.
It was said that the night she was brought back, she had burned like a furnace, her mind lost in delirium, hovering at death’s door.
Fearing she wouldn’t last the night, Duan Fei had rushed to the city and summoned several physicians, having them prescribe medicine and administer treatment. At the time, after taking the medicine, even the doctors doubted she would make it to dawn. But to everyone’s surprise, by morning, her fever had inexplicably subsided, and her life was saved.
Even now, when Xiao Yun brought it up, she still called it a miracle.
Hong Ning, however, had nothing to say about it.
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