Since that day, no one had seen Yinyuan again.
Shang Yu was responsible for handling the matter. He didn’t want such mundane affairs to trouble the young lady, and Xiaobai, for her part, had no interest in delving further into it, knowing full well that Shang Yu would take care of everything.
She had once examined Shang Yu’s bone structure. As a seasoned veteran of the jianghu, Xiaobai felt a rare sense of appreciation for his potential. In an unusually gentle tone, she said to him, “You have the makings of a fine martial artist. Though not top-tier, your aptitude is something many martial artists would envy. Have you ever considered seeking a master to train under?”
Shang Yu, still bearing the whip marks on his back, was startled by her words and immediately knelt heavily, pleading with the young lady not to abandon him. Xiaobai was left speechless, unable to steer the conversation further.
Recently, as her health improved slightly, her mind grew restless again. All she wanted was to leave and seek a master, cherishing every moment to become a renowned hero in the jianghu as soon as possible.
Yes, she had lowered her ambitions. While no woman had ever become the Martial Arts Alliance Leader since ancient times, female heroes were not unheard of, even if most relied on their partners’ reputations or were simply nuns. However, the previous generation’s master of the Hundred Beasts Manor beyond the Great Wall was an exceptional woman—decisive, generous, and skilled in martial arts. She even attracted a top-ranked, renowned assassin of the time to retire from his life of killing and marry into the Beast King Manor, a story that had become widely celebrated.
Xiaobai still remembered how she had once joined others in mocking the assassin’s peculiar taste, wondering why he would marry such a fierce woman and who would take the lead in bed. But now, her perspective had changed. She felt she could emulate this female hero. However, the Central Plains were not as open-minded as the lands beyond the Great Wall, and finding a master to train under was no easy task.
The Shang family indeed had many ventures connected to the jianghu, but they were also a prominent and influential household. An entity as massive as the Shang family feared not even the imperial court. Strictly speaking, the original host of this body was a sheltered young lady of the inner chambers.
After all, no matter how much mischief she caused, it was confined within the Shang family’s own estate. Venturing outside required some restraint. Previously, if not for being provoked to fury by Yinyuan, the original host would never have resorted to violence in the streets.
With these thoughts weighing on her mind, Xiaobai went to pay her daily respects to Old Madame Shang. The Shang residence felt empty, and with no one else to build relationships with, she decided to play the part of the dutiful granddaughter. Suppressing her temper, she smiled sweetly, wrapped her arms around Old Madame Shang’s waist, and showered her with affection.
Having served as a miscellaneous disciple in so many sects, Xiaobai’s experience in the jianghu taught her the importance of adaptability. Besides, as the saying goes, “A man’s pride lies beneath his knees.” Now that she was a woman, what use was pride?
Women could even act magnanimously by seeking concubines for their husbands. What harm was there in simply coaxing an old lady?
Old Madame Shang was delighted, calling her “my dear” over and over while holding her close. She even showed Xiaobai a curious little trinket her cheap father had sent back—a simple-looking device with two small pieces of glass mounted on a frame. The old lady told her it was called “eyeglasses.”
With this little contraption, Old Madame Shang could see people clearly. It was a rare treasure Xiaobai’s father had specially sought out, one of a kind. Xiaobai examined it for a while but couldn’t quite grasp how it worked. After praising it to please the old lady, she subtly steered the conversation toward martial arts training.
The ultimate techniques of major sects are only passed down to direct disciples, and stealing teachings is a grave taboo. Thus, in the past, as a menial disciple, even if she managed to learn a little in secret, it was never complete. After all, her aptitude was insufficient, and she couldn’t remember much. Therefore, Xiaobai hoped to find a good master to guide her step by step. Moreover, joining a major sect would provide more resources for navigating the martial world.
She was quite confident. With the Shang family’s influence and the original host’s Root Bone, no sect would refuse such a promising seedling. After all, sects also need to develop, and accepting disciples from wealthy backgrounds is a source of income to sustain their survival.
“I’m so angry, Grandma. That Ming Tianguang actually caught my whip so effortlessly. I heard he’s from that so-called Blazing Sun Palace. If I were to learn martial arts, I’d definitely be better than him…” However, before Xiaobai could finish, the old lady hugged her tightly. “My dear, what if you get hurt while learning martial arts? Grandma would be heartbroken. Besides, so what if that boy caught your whip? He was still captured in the end.”
Even a seasoned veteran like Xiaobai was momentarily at a loss for words to refute. She couldn’t help but resent the overly capable shadow guards around her.
“Listen to Grandma, my dear. Practicing martial arts is exhausting. If you really want to learn some techniques, let Sanxiao teach you. The whip techniques she taught you before were quite impressive, weren’t they?”
The Sanxiao the old lady referred to was none other than Miao Sanxiao, the wife of Guo Ding’an, the chief escort of the Golden Lion Escort Agency. Miao Sanxiao hailed from Tongshui Stronghold in Nanmang, and her whip skills were nothing short of miraculous. When the master of the Shang family was away, she often visited Lady Shang, teaching the original host a few moves along the way.
But this wasn’t what Xiaobai wanted. She pouted unhappily. “Grandma, it’s not the same. I want to learn Internal Cultivation Methods. Otherwise, my whip strikes have no power at all. I really want to join a major sect.”
It had to be said that the original host’s face was truly a gift from heaven. Even knowing how terrible her usual temperament was, when she cooed and acted spoiled, anyone without exceptional self-control would be utterly defenseless. Not to mention, she had deliberately eaten light vegetarian food for several days to adjust her voice, restoring its clear, childlike tone.
“Oh, my precious darling, Grandma really can’t win against you…”
Xiaobai’s heart leaped with joy, but the next moment, she heard the old lady slowly add, “How about this? Our family has some connections with Six Doors. Tomorrow, Grandma will have them send a few masters to teach you. If that doesn’t work, we also have a few gangs under our name—Xiao Guo, Sanxiao, Xiaobai Mao…”
Just as the old lady began rambling about strange things, a soft and charming female voice came from outside the door. “Madam, the techniques of the Shark-Merfolk Gang aren’t suitable for young ladies. As for Master Guo and his wife, the former practices his family’s ultimate techniques, while the latter follows her sect’s Secret Arts. Neither is quite appropriate to teach the young lady. If you don’t mind, why not let me teach her instead?”
Xiaobai heard the light tapping of shoes against the wooden corridor, like gentle drumbeats, one after another, capturing all her attention.
She looked up, and her eyes lit up with awe.
This was an extraordinarily beautiful woman.
She wore a magnificent feathered gown draped with a peach-pink veil. Her movements were graceful and elegant, and the veil shimmered with brilliant golden specks as it swayed subtly.
This was a master.
Her stance was remarkably steady; a master of such caliber would not make a sound while walking. The footsteps Xiaobai heard were more like a deliberate reminder, signaling her arrival to those inside the room.
This was also a woman who knew how to showcase her charm.
As she drew closer, Xiaobai could clearly see her exquisite features. This woman might not have been flawless, but she skillfully used makeup to conceal minor imperfections, so much so that at first glance, she appeared like a peach blossom fairy wandering the mortal realm. When she smiled, her entire being seemed to glow, captivating all who laid eyes on her.
Even Xiaobai, who had seen countless beauties in the martial world, was struck by her radiance. After all, while there were many women in the world who practiced martial arts and many who were beautiful, those who were both skilled in martial arts and exceptionally beautiful were exceedingly rare, let alone one as stunning as this. She could easily rank among the top ten on the martial world’s beauty list.
Old Madam Shang fumbled to put on her glasses, squinted as she looked over, and broke into a smile. “It’s A-Man! You’re early—Ling’er hasn’t returned yet.”
Xiaobai now knew who she was. Over the past few days, she had gleaned a great deal of information from Shang Yu, particularly about the various forces under the Shang family’s influence.
He Qiman, the master of the Cloud-Weaving Atelier in Jingzhou City of Shouyang Province. She was once an orphan taken in by Old Master Shang and later founded the renowned Cloud-Weaving Atelier. By combining the unique techniques of several martial arts schools, she created her own style, named the Cloud Sleeve Neon Raiment.
The Cloud-Weaving Atelier was not exactly a martial sect. Although its headquarters were in Jingzhou City, its fabric shops and stores spanned the entire country. However, as its master, He Qiman was considered a first-rate expert in the martial world, having created her own martial art and being a great beauty, she was highly respected among martial artists. Whenever gossip about her surfaced, the martial world tabloids would sell out instantly.
Jingzhou City lay between the capital, Yueyang, and Kaiyang Prefecture. Though it appeared close on the map, as the master of the atelier, He Qiman was busy with numerous responsibilities every day, in addition to her daily training, leaving her with almost no free time.
Despite this, she still made time each month to visit the Shang family to see the old madam and the original host, even personally sewing many garments for them. To the old madam, He Qiman was like a dear daughter—truly thoughtful and considerate.
Upon hearing this, He Qiman chuckled softly. “Old Madam, what are you saying? Even if the young master weren’t returning, I would still come to see you. And for Miss Xiaobai, I’ve taken inspiration from styles beyond the frontier and made a few sturdy yet lightweight outfits, guaranteed to keep you comfortable.”
“You’ve gone to so much trouble, A-Man. Are you happy, my dear?” But after all, “like” was only “like.” In the old madam’s eyes, her own granddaughter was still more important. Little did she know that Xiaobai was utterly startled.
She was taken aback by He Qiman’s address of “Miss Xiaobai.”
It was rather awkward. In this household, the old madam called her “my dear,” and the servants addressed her as “young miss.” Although she had asked about the original host’s given name and learned it was Shang Tianhuan, she had overlooked a crucial detail—forgetting to ask about her childhood name, or nickname.
In the Yue Dynasty, a woman’s given name was highly private, known only to close family members and personal maids. Even intimate friends might not be aware of it. For a man to inquire about a woman’s given name was tantamount to proposing marriage to her family. Therefore, whether at home or in public, those with close relationships mostly addressed each other by their childhood names, while those less familiar used titles based on family ranking.
So it usually goes like this—the Third Miss of the Li family in the north of the city, the youngest daughter of the Zhang family in the south of the city, or sometimes more specifically with the full names of their fathers or brothers. After marriage, only their husbands could call them by their maiden names. In daily life, they were referred to as Li née Zhang, Wang née Song, and so on. In short, they followed the rules: obeying their fathers at home, their elder brothers after their fathers passed away, their younger brothers after their elder brothers passed away, and their husbands after marriage. No matter where they went, they were merely appendages to men. And if a family had no men, even if they established a female-headed household, they would be looked down upon and bullied.
This was the fate of women confined to the inner chambers. Xiaobai had always roamed the martial world, accustomed to straightforward and open-minded female warriors, where there weren’t so many rules. She had forgotten that, given her current identity, her formal name wasn’t important, and her maiden name would only be used when she was betrothed—whether she had one or not made little difference.
The most important thing was the original owner’s childhood name.
And now she finally knew the original owner’s childhood name—it was also Xiaobai.
What a coincidence, it was exactly the same.
Author’s Note: 2 Here, I want to emphasize that a normal merchant family would absolutely never dare to defy the imperial court. The Shang family is an exception because it involves a later subplot. I won’t spoil it, but I just want to let you know this isn’t a logical flaw. Even in a fictional dynasty, I’ll try to make events as reasonable as possible.
I was late updating today because I was rushing to finish my assignments. Tomorrow, I’ll definitely update earlier and finish it all at once! (A promise from a procrastinator.)
【Mini Theater】
Name
Interview: So the question is, who told Xiaobai her maiden name?
Shang Yu: Miss suddenly said today that my handwriting is ugly and made me copy her maiden name a hundred times. She said it’s fine if I write my own name poorly, but I can’t write hers badly. Miss made a good point. From now on, I’ll write it a hundred times every day to ensure I don’t embarrass her.
However, in reality, as the personal servant who grew up with her, Shang Yu was the one who often did her homework whenever Miss didn’t want to study. Over time, this servant became skilled in both literature and martial arts, turning into an all-rounder—naturally, this included calligraphy.
Thank you all so much for your support. I’ll keep working hard!