"Miss Liu."
Pei Su turned his head and raised his cup to Liu Zhi beside him.
She cried out in pleasant surprise, quickly lifting her blue-glazed cup to clink it against Pei Su's.
After downing the cup in one go, Liu Zhi's face was already flushed, whether from the alcohol or something else, it was hard to say.
"It seems Miss Liu can't hold her liquor..."
Pei Su teased. Liu Zhi's face turned an even deeper shade of red, flushing all the way to her earlobes. She stammered, "...Mmm..."
A smile remained on Pei Su's face, but his gaze secretly shifted, sweeping over the guard standing watch at the entrance.
...
Damn it!
Liu Zhi has never been so close to a man before!
Zhao Lan stood at the entrance, seemingly on guard duty, but his eyes kept secretly darting toward the seats in the main hall.
To be precise, they were focused on the central table, on the Liu Clan's daughter, Liu Zhi.
Seeing the girl he secretly admired interacting so intimately with a strange man, an inexplicable fire ignited in his heart.
As his gaze swept over the man in the black, wide-sleeved python robe, it flickered with hostility.
Besides his feelings for Liu Zhi, there was also a touch of jealousy he was unwilling to admit.
The Heir of the Northern Marquis, Pei Jiumu—he had, of course, heard of this prodigy whose name shook the world.
Before, it had all seemed so distant that he paid it no mind. But seeing him in person, he couldn't help but make comparisons.
And this comparison plunged him into a state of utter shame.
In terms of strength, he'd heard the Heir of the Northern Marquis had already reached the peak of the Xuanyuan realm. He himself had just achieved the Xuanyuan realm, so it seemed the gap wasn't that large.
But Pei Su was only nineteen this year, while he was already twenty-six. Only a true cultivator would understand the difference between them, a chasm as wide as heaven and earth.
As for looks, Zhao Lan couldn't compare at all. He had to admit that Pei Su's face was indeed superior and flawless...
As for status and position...
Even for someone as shameless as Zhao Lan, he couldn't help but blush. The man was the eldest son of a top noble family in the Imperial Capital, his father the formidable North Guard King Marquis whose name inspired awe throughout the court.
And he? He was just an orphan without a mother or father, with only a blacksmith for an adoptive father. If not for his success in cultivation, he wouldn't even be able to step through the gates of the provincial government office.
Zhao Lan grit his teeth, a knot of frustration tightening in his chest.
If that Heir has his eyes on Liu Zhi, how could he possibly compete?!
*No... Liu Zhi isn't that shallow. As long as I continue to be good to her, she'll surely be moved...*
*What are heirs and marquises? How can they compare to my pure, sincere heart!*
At this thought, Zhao Lan's body relaxed a little.
That's right!
Love in this world depends on mutual affection.
He, Zhao Lan, had nothing else, but he did have the resolve to go through fire and water for the one he loved, to face death without regret!
...
"Your Highness! Actually... actually, it's not that my father doesn't want to practice archery..."
Liu Zhi leaned in slightly, speaking in a low, hesitant voice.
"Oh?"
"It's true!" Seeing that Pei Su was interested in the topic, Liu Zhi was delighted and quickly continued.
"When my brother and I were eleven, Father personally taught us how to draw a bow and shoot an arrow, but..."
Her expression darkened.
"My brother and I were too dull-witted. We couldn't even learn a fraction of Father's archery skills."
"Lord Liu's archery is transcendent and exceptional. You two need not be so self-deprecating."
Liu Zhi still didn't dare to meet Pei Su's gaze, her fingers nervously twisting the corner of her clothes.
Although the others at the table were toasting each other and chatting idly, they were all secretly paying attention to Pei Su and Liu Zhi.
Liu Gongyun took a small sip of wine, his gaze distant.
How could he not notice his own daughter's lovesick appearance? He could only sigh in his heart—
*That is the legitimate eldest son of the Pei Duke's Mansion, the Marquis's only son! Countless noble ladies from prestigious families across the land dream of climbing that high branch, all to no avail.*
The grand banquet concluded amidst a chorus of laughter and cheer.
Before leaving, many people insisted on coming over to Pei Su to make their faces known. Even the high-ranking officials who had shared his table wore expressions of sincere enthusiasm, looking back every few steps as they said their goodbyes.
Only after leaving the provincial government office and boarding their own family carriages did they let their stiff smiles fall, wipe the sweat from their brows, and resume the cold expressions of family patriarchs.
Inside the Governor's Mansion, Pei Su followed Liu Gongyun into a quiet study.
"Uncle Liu, Jiumu has indeed come this time with a matter to discuss."
"Your Highness, please speak."
"I wonder if Uncle Liu has heard of the case from twenty years ago that shocked the court—the theft of the Divine Blade."
Hearing this, Liu Gongyun's body jolted, and he immediately shot to his feet.
"Of course!" he thundered, a look of astonishment on his face.
"Back then, I was at the North Guard Marquis Mansion at Tianque Pass. The imperial court had ordered the Imperial Guard to escort the Divine Blade Dragon Sparrow, but who would have known that a thief from within their ranks would steal the blade and flee..."
Liu Gongyun paused here, suddenly lowering his voice.
"Could it be... that there's news of that thief...?"
Pei Su nodded lightly.
"Good! Good!" Liu Gongyun said twice in a row, his brows shooting up.
"That thief stole the blade and caused the deaths of so many of our North Guard Army brothers..."
"This matter is of grave importance, Uncle Liu. I cannot reveal too much. The only ones assigned to this are myself and the retainer, Old Wu. We may require the assistance of the provincial government's intelligence."
Liu Gongyun nodded heavily.
"Rest assured, Your Highness. This is my official seal. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."
Pei Su accepted the seal, a dark light flashing in the depths of his eyes.
Leaving the study, Pei Su returned to Zhuyang Tower, the lodging Liu Gongyun had prepared for him.
Just as he stepped over the threshold, a hoarse, aged voice spoke.
"Young Master."
The speaker was shrouded from head to toe in a black robe, as if his entire being was hidden in the shadows.
The hood covered his face, leaving only a pair of cold, dark eyes visible, exuding an aura of death.
An ordinary person meeting that gaze would collapse to the ground within three breaths.
If any high-ranking official from Bingzhou with a good memory were present, they would surely find him familiar.
When Pei Su had first arrived in Lin'an County in his vermilion carriage, this black-robed old man had been the one driving it.
Of the Gentleman's Six Arts, charioteering is one. How could someone who drives for his master be any ordinary person?
"The Bingzhou seal."
Pei Su casually tossed the symbol of the province's highest authority into the air, and it was instantly caught and hidden within the old man's black robe.
"With this seal, you can mobilize the intelligence department of the Bingzhou provincial government. But the family has its own hidden agents and spies. Why not use them?"
A young woman in a blue and white dress approached from a distance, her voice like jade.
It was Pei Su's personal handmaiden, Banxia.
"Stealth," the black-robed old man rasped out, then said no more, his tone utterly cold.
"Because this is related to a family plan, and you don't want others to detect your investigation. By borrowing the Bingzhou seal, and with Old Wu's skills and movement techniques, even if someone with ulterior motives tries to investigate, they won't be able to trace it back to the Pei Family. Isn't that right?"
As he spoke the last sentence, Pei Su was already looking at the black-robed old man with a half-smile.
"The Young Master is brilliant."
"Old Wu, I'm already nineteen. The Divine Blade Dragon Sparrow, Xiao Lin's escape... what secret is truly hidden here?"
The black-robed old man was silent for a long moment.
"The Master said that after Xiao Lin is captured, he will tell the Young Master the truth of why the Dragon Sparrow was brought to the North."
Pei Su paced around the hall.
"Twenty years ago, before I was born, the Emperor abruptly went into seclusion on Kongtong Mountain, throwing the court into chaos. Chen Mang of the Northland used the pretext of 'corrupt officials in power, marching to the capital to serve the king' to invade the south. The Empress stabilized the court and enfeoffed my father as the North Guard Marquis to fight the Chen Army at Tianque Pass. My grandfather proposed at court to bring the Dragon Sparrow to the North..."
His voice recounted the events of twenty years ago as recorded in the annals—facts that everyone knew, that even the children in the capital could recite by heart.
"I'm growing more and more curious. What exactly did our family do back then?"
Pei Su smiled faintly.
Twenty years ago: the Emperor's seclusion, the Empress's consolidation of power, King Chen's southern invasion, the Marquis's defense of the north, the battle at Tianque Pass, the theft of the Divine Blade.
A series of major events, the likes of which are rarely seen even in a century, occurred one after another in a short period. Everyone in the court was utterly terrified. The officials in the Imperial Capital attended the morning court every day with their hearts in their throats, their nerves shot...
Pei Su knew that his family's hand was definitely behind all this. He just didn't know how big a hand it was.
"The Young Master can look forward to it."
The black-robed old man's lips curled into a rare, withered, and eerie smile. His voice was as low as a whisper from the netherworld.
"It is a secret as vast as the heavens..."
"Vast indeed."
Proofreader: Peter Pan