Qingxiang Residence.
Dragging her exhausted body back from the training ground, Jiang Ning bathed, changed clothes, and fell fast asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
She drifted into a dream.
She found herself back at the martial arts training ground, feeling as light as a swallow. In her excitement, she ran a few more laps—she couldn’t slack off on her training even in a dream.
Before long, another figure appeared: the Dream Man.
Jiang Ning turned and ran on the spot; men would only disrupt her training progress.
Thus, Jiang Ning ran all night, and the Dream Man chased her all night without catching her.
Early the next morning.
Waking up, Jiang Ning felt refreshed and full of energy.
She stretched lazily and called out, “Chuntao, prepare the brush and ink.”
Chuntao walked in with a beaming smile and asked, “Does Concubine Jiang wish to practice calligraphy?”
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, wagged her index finger, and said, “No, no, no. I am going to draw blueprints—draw something that will make Gu Jianshen realize at a glance that I am a rare and indispensable talent.”
East Courtyard.
Gu Jianshen woke up with a pair of resentment-filled eyes. He prided himself on his movement technique; even if it wasn’t divine, it was still among the absolute best in the realm.
Yet, after chasing her all night, he failed to catch the person and ultimately woke from the dream with lingering regret.
“Master, we have a lead on the Jiang family.”
When Yingyue came to report the news, seeing the master’s expression of bitter grievance, his own voice naturally turned solemn as well.
“According to the spies’ reports, the Jiang family was transferred and escorted to various places. While traveling by water, one of the female members managed to escape her guards, jumped into the water, and went missing. A few days later, a woman resembling her appeared in a riverside town. Because of her striking looks, she caught the eye of human traffickers and was eventually transferred and delivered into the hands of the Minister of Rites.”
Gu Jianshen massaged his temples and said coldly, “Minister Zhao, is it?”
A few days ago, the Minister of Rites had sent an invitation asking Gu Jianshen to attend a Peach Blossom Banquet.
The name sounded refined, but in reality, it was a foul, smoke-and-mirrors gathering where people congregated to amuse themselves with women—a garbage banquet that Gu Jianshen held in utter contempt, turning it down immediately.
Now, it seemed, attending it once would do no harm.
Qingxiang Residence.
“Concubine Jiang, the Master has ordered that you are to go out with him tonight to attend a banquet.”
“Huh? Me?”
Jiang Ning was in the middle of drawing the blueprint for a triangular paraglider. She had barely drawn half of it when Madam Li came over to inform her that she would be attending a banquet tonight. Jiang Ning was thoroughly surprised.
Chuntao was equally surprised and asked, “Madam Li, whose banquet is it?”
Though both were maidservants by Jiang Ning’s side, Madam Li’s attitude toward Chuntao was vastly different from her attitude toward Yan’er. Toward Yan’er, she looked down from on high; toward Chuntao, she was all smiles and spoke with gentle warmth.
Madam Li replied, “Girl Chuntao, it is a banquet hosted by Lord Zhao, the Minister of Rites.”
Chuntao’s expression shifted, and she pressed further, “Does the Master truly intend for Concubine Jiang to attend?”
Madam Li nodded. Seeing Chuntao’s displeasure, she quickly excused herself: “I am merely a messenger. I still have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave.”
Madam Li scurried away in embarrassment.
Jiang Ning was somewhat perplexed and asked, “Is there something wrong?”
Chuntao looked indignant as she said, “This Lord Zhao has a notorious track record. He loves organizing Peach Blossom Banquets, which are essentially gatherings where the invited guests bring beauties of their own to entertain everyone. The exchanging of beauties among guests happens all the time.”
“Official ranks crush those below them. Even if a man genuinely wants to protect his woman, he cannot keep her. Besides, bringing a woman to such a banquet is, in itself, an implicit acknowledgment of these rules.”
“For instance, you are currently the Master’s Concubine Jiang. After attending this banquet, you might end up belonging to the Zhao family or the Li family, and your ultimate destination will likely be just another nameless corpse discarded in a mass grave.”
“In a society where men are revered and women are humbled, women have no right to say ‘no’.”
A sudden chill washed over Jiang Ning. Wasn’t this Peach Blossom Banquet a blatant, man-eating feast?
And Gu Jianshen was now planning to take her to this man-eating feast?
Jiang Ning had met that Lord Zhao once—a greasy, fat-eared, middle-aged man.
She still vividly remembered the extremely vulgar and suggestive look Lord Zhao had given her.
If Prince Jing hadn’t specifically designated her as a gift for Gu Jianshen, causing Lord Zhao to exercise caution and refrain from making a move on her, her purity would likely have been defiled long ago.
If she fell back into Lord Zhao’s hands now, she would undoubtedly be dead for sure!
“No, this maidservant must go find the Master.”
Jiang Ning quickly grabbed Chuntao, who was about to leave, and said, “You said it yourself—men are revered and women are humbled, and women have no right to say ‘no’. If you go find Gu Jianshen now and defy him, he’ll probably pull out his whip again.”
Jiang Ning had only tasted his whip once, but she held a grudge and brought it up constantly to remind herself of Gu Jianshen’s cruel deeds so she wouldn’t be fooled by his handsome appearance.
Chuntao, however, felt she had some leverage: “The Master wouldn’t dare beat this maidservant. To beat a dog, one must still look at its owner.”
Jiang Ning’s eyes flicked as she stared intently at Chuntao.
Chuntao had been brought in from the outside only after Yan’er was married off, yet she was intimately familiar with the layout and framework of this estate. The guards and maidservants treated her with courtesy, and even Madam Li just now had spoken to her with pleasant words.
Chuntao… Chunyan…
Jiang Ning realized the truth belatedly.
The maidservants by the side of a great noble household’s young mistress always came in groups, and their names followed a strict pattern.
Wenya had been born in the spring, so all her maidservants had names starting with “Chun” (Spring), such as Chunyan who served by Wenya’s side.
This Chuntao was likely a maidservant specially selected and sent by Wenya from her maternal home, the Duke’s estate.
The reason Gu Jianshen hadn’t driven her away to this day was also because of Wenya.
Sister, oh sister, when are you finally coming back? I have so many questions I want to ask you.
Withdrawing her straying thoughts, Jiang Ning turned back to Chuntao and said, “We do need to find the Master, but not right now, and not you.”
Gu Jianshen respected Wenya, but that didn’t mean Wenya’s subordinates could challenge his authority.
Chuntao was only offering to take risks because she cared about her, but Jiang Ning couldn’t let Chuntao put herself in danger.
Walking back to her desk, Jiang Ning continued sketching her blueprints.
Anxious, Chuntao followed her back and asked, “Concubine Jiang, how can you still have the heart to draw?”
Jiang Ning replied, “Whether or not we can make Gu Jianshen change his mind depends entirely on this drawing.”
Evening.
Clutching several rolled-up paintings, Jiang Ning walked up to the entrance of the East Courtyard, only to be blocked by the guards stationed outside.
Without Gu Jianshen’s permission, no one was allowed to enter or leave the East Courtyard at will, a measure taken to prevent assassins from mixing in.
Given the taint on Jiang Ning’s background, entering was all the more difficult.
“Please report this. Jiang requests an audience with the Master.”
“The Master is already out. Please return, Concubine Jiang.”
Gu Jianshen wasn’t here?
Unwilling to give up just yet, Jiang Ning asked, “Where did the Master go?”
The guard replied coldly, “That is confidential.”
These guards were Gu Jianshen’s personal elite troops; they would never reveal Gu Jianshen’s whereabouts to Jiang Ning.
Dejected, Jiang Ning returned to Qingxiang Residence empty-handed.
Chuntao, who had also gone out, hurried back and cried, “Concubine Jiang, this is bad! The Master has gone out together with Physician Jiang. Physician Xia says the Master is hosting a banquet at Donghe Tower to bid farewell to Physician Jiang.”
And of all times, it had to be now.
Donghe Tower was the premier grand restaurant in the capital, frequented almost exclusively by high-ranking officials and nobles.
Gu Jianshen was very likely to return to pick up Jiang Ning only when it was close to time for the Peach Blossom Banquet.
After pondering through all her options, Jiang Ning put down the scroll and marched straight to her vanity table.
Since attending the banquet was unavoidable, she could only take a side path and make herself a woman no one would want to look at twice.