Inside the private guest room prepared for distinguished guests at the Duke of the Empire’s residence, Lin Ce sat at the table, holding a piece of paper in the candlelight. It was a slightly stiff sheet of red paper—an old marriage contract personally written by Lin Huairui, the Prime Minister of the former Empire. Beside it was another paper listing the birth date and eight characters of Su Nanqiao, daughter of the current Minister of Rites, Su Zhang.
At that moment, footsteps approached outside the door, followed by the voice of his personal maid, Li’er. “Young Master, I’m back.” Lin Ce folded the marriage contract and tucked it into his robe just as Li’er entered with a basin of charcoal.
“This charcoal was personally ordered by the Duke’s wife. The maids used the best smokeless charcoal in the house.” Li’er placed the brazier on the ground, quickly shut the door, then turned around and poured Lin Ce a cup of hot tea. “With this charcoal, the room will be much warmer. You’ll definitely sleep well tonight, Young Master.”
“Thank you for your trouble.” Lin Ce smiled faintly and warmed his hands above the charcoal. Once he felt the heat, he loosened the fur collar around his neck. Though it was only late autumn and not yet winter, Lin Ce seemed far more sensitive to the cold than most.
“It’s not hard for me.” Li’er’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she said, “Young Master, you don’t know what I saw when I went to fetch the charcoal. That Chen Qian from Jiexian was still sitting in the pavilion studying the chess situation. If you ask me, he’s all hype. What Chessmaster? He’s not even worth one of your fingers!”
As she laughed with pride, there was an unmistakable sense of honor in her expression. And why not? Her Young Master had broken the chess situation and saved the Young Lord. Now the entire Duke of the Empire’s residence treated Lin Ce as a great benefactor. Even she, a lowly maid, was respected everywhere she went. Not just by other servants—even the Duke’s wife was kind to her and often praised her.
Lin Ce shook his head and said, “Don’t speak carelessly. Chen Qian’s skill in chess is unmatched. In front of him, I’m no more than a three-year-old child.”
“Young Master, that’s what annoys me about you. You’re too modest. It’s not a good habit.” Li’er pouted, “You were clearly the one who broke the Star River Dream chess situation. Even Chen Qian had to ask you how you did it. What right does he have to compare with you?”
“You don’t understand,” Lin Ce said.
Li’er rolled her eyes. “Maybe I don’t, but I do know that the news of you breaking the chess situation that Chen Qian couldn’t solve will soon spread throughout the Duke’s residence, then all of Bianjing, and eventually all of the Great Zhou Empire. We’ll see what everyone says then.”
“What others say doesn’t matter.” Lin Ce shook his head calmly. He wasn’t being modest. In truth, the method to break the Star River Dream chess situation had originally been devised by Chen Qian.
Lin Ce was someone who had been reborn.
In his previous life, on this very day, Chen Qian had failed to break the chess situation. He even declared that the Star River Dream was a dead-end puzzle, impossible to solve. As a result, Qin Shizhong knocked Qin Xuan unconscious. When Qin Xuan woke the next day, he had become a fool, lost in a daze.
It wasn’t until five years later that Chen Qian had a sudden epiphany and finally figured out how to break the Star River Dream chess situation. The discovery caused a huge sensation across the chess world in the Great Zhou Empire. Qin Shizhong had even used the solution again and again to try and bring Qin Xuan back to his senses, but it was all in vain.
That was also when Lin Ce learned the method to break the Star River Dream chess situation.
Qin Shizhong had ties with the Lin family and had shown Lin Ce kindness in his previous life. Lin Ce had always respected him as an elder. So when he was reborn and realized he had returned in time to this very event, he came specifically to the Duke of the Empire’s residence to help Qin Shizhong and save Qin Xuan.
Of course, Lin Ce also had personal motives. He touched the marriage contract tucked into his robe and said to Li’er, “Go warm the bed. Rest early. Tomorrow I need to visit the Su residence.”
“Alright!” Li’er immediately began to undress. She first untied her braid and let her long hair fall down her back. Then she removed her dress and pants, revealing smooth, snow-white skin. Only a thin red embroidered undershirt and underwear remained.
She was still a few months shy of fifteen, yet her body was already well developed. Though her back was to Lin Ce as she undressed, a blush still rose to her cheeks with shy embarrassment. She climbed into the bed, her plump and firm hips shifting under the white underwear. Lifting the quilt, she quickly slipped inside, leaving only her head visible as she turned and asked, “Young Master, do you want to sleep inside or outside?”
“As usual,” Lin Ce replied. Throughout Li’er’s entire undressing, he had kept his head turned away. Only when she asked did he look back.
“Okay!” Li’er then lay still on the outer side of the bed.
“Young Master, everyone says that Minister Su’s daughter is not only breathtakingly beautiful but also a genius in cultivation. Tomorrow, I must take a look at this future lady of the house and see if she’s really that amazing.”
She stared at the ceiling, blinking with curiosity and anticipation in her eyes.
A trace of nostalgia flashed in Lin Ce’s eyes. In his previous life, when he had been driven to a dead end by seven powerful experts and plunged into an abyss thousands of meters deep, it was her—Su Nanqiao—who had jumped off the cliff after him without hesitation.
“Lin Ce, even if you’re the one who broke off the engagement first, I will never abandon you! If we die, we die together. Don’t even think about dying before me!”
Dressed in a flowing white gown, her beauty stunning like a painting, she had held him tightly. In her eyes, which could hold the entire starry sky, there was only his reflection.
Returning from the memory, Lin Ce murmured, “She… is truly extraordinary.”
“But you haven’t even seen her yet! What if she dislikes the decline of the Lin family, or thinks you’re just a sickly, cold-sensitive weakling?” Li’er said, sounding a bit jealous as she stared at him intently.
Lin Ce chuckled, “I’ve dreamed of her. In the dream, she treated me very well.”
Li’er pouted, “Hmph, dreams are always the opposite of reality.”
Lin Ce smiled without saying more. The room fell silent for a while.
A moment later, Li’er said, “The bed’s warm now.”
Lin Ce stood up, blew out the candle, took off his outer garments, and approached the bed. Li’er rolled over to the inner side of the bed.
Lin Ce got into the warm quilt. “So warm. Thank you.”
The inside of the bed was still cold. Li’er hugged her arms, curled into a ball, and rubbed her little feet together for warmth. But hearing Lin Ce say thank you, she instantly didn’t feel cold anymore. Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, “Ah, it’s fine. I’m not afraid of the cold. This is nothing.”
…
At the same time, on the other side of Bianjing, at the Su residence.
A tall woman in a flowing white dress quickly walked down the street. Her aura was graceful and otherworldly, and her face was elegant and refined. Though her expression appeared calm, there was a hint of anxiety beneath it.
As she arrived outside the Su residence, she asked, “Tell me, has Young Master Lin Ce of the Lin family from Yuzhou come by today?”
Though she was anxious, her voice was still soft and pleasant.
“Young Lady? Why are you back?” The guard was startled to recognize Su Nanqiao.
“I asked you a question. Answer me—has Lin Ce been here today?” Su Nanqiao asked again.
The guard came to his senses and quickly shook his head. “No, he hasn’t. I’ve been on duty all day and haven’t seen Young Master Lin Ce.”
“He didn’t come?” Su Nanqiao’s delicate brows slightly furrowed.
‘That’s not right. In my previous life, he came to the Su residence on this very day, asked my parents to annul the engagement, and tore up the marriage contract in front of everyone. Did I remember it wrong?’ she thought to herself, then nodded and said, “Open the gate.”
The guard didn’t dare delay. He turned and knocked on the door, signaling the gatekeeper inside to open it. Meanwhile, he asked curiously, “Young Lady, didn’t you just visit home last month? Why are you back so soon?”
Su Nanqiao glanced at him without speaking.
The guard panicked and lowered his head. “Please forgive me, Young Lady. I spoke out of turn.”
Su Nanqiao stepped into the residence.
At her waist hung two swords—one long, one short, one black, one white. They matched perfectly with her white dress and flowing black hair.
Under the bright moon hanging in the east, she walked through the moonlight, shining with radiant brilliance.