The Jiang Clan was a hereditary noble family of the State of Jin and the most powerful clan in Pingxiang Town.
Gu Congshan had heard of the Jiang Clan of Pingxiang before, but a down-and-out wandering swordsman like him wasn't even qualified to serve as a servant in the Jiang estate, let alone enter as a guest.
Now, by a twist of fate, he had helped a collateral descendant of the Jiang Clan and was returning to the estate with Jiang Yuan. The sight of the vermilion-lacquered gates made him feel an inexplicable pressure in his chest. He shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, trying to keep himself from looking out of place.
But the movement happened to pull at the wound on his shoulder, and the pain made Gu Congshan grimace again—so much for worrying about looking out of place.
The injuries he'd sustained this time were no small matter, but Jiang Yuan and his men had ridden out in too great a hurry to have prepared a spare carriage for an injured man like Gu Congshan to rest in.
Jiang Yuan's carriage entered through the side gate, and the moment it came to a stop, a host of servants and maids hurried forward to attend his descent. A maidservant first unfastened his great cloak, then presented clear water and white silk for him to wash his hands, while several others busied themselves replacing the cushions, incense burner, and other items in the carriage.
Though many people came and went, everything appeared perfectly orderly—a sight that broadened the horizons of the inexperienced Gu Congshan.
Following behind Gu Congshan and leading one of the mules, A’He didn’t know where to put her hands or feet. In all her ten-odd years of life, she had never set foot in a place like this, so her trepidation was understandable.
Jiang Yuan had already been escorted by his attendants into the inner courtyard. A maidservant in pale blue robes came, following the steward's instructions, to guide Gu Congshan and his companions to a swept-clean courtyard. The two mules A’He had brought were settled in the stables as well.
When he boarded the carriage the Jiang Clan had prepared, Gu Congshan thought it a bit unnecessary—since they were already here, why bother with a carriage?
But within moments, he realized it was truly necessary.
The sheer size of the Jiang estate exceeded anything Gu Congshan could have imagined.
A’He secretly stole glances at the maidservants leading the way ahead. Their garments were made of fine cloth woven from kudzu fiber, and the hands visible beneath their sleeves were slender and fair, and the hairpins in their coiffures caught the daylight, refracting a dazzling gleam.
Even the most beloved youngest daughter of village head's household was nowhere near as finely dressed as these maidservants leading the way.
A’He looked down at her own calloused palms, worn rough from years of hard labor, then caught sight of the patched mends on her coarse hemp clothing. Ashamed of her own shabbiness, she tucked her feet back a little.
The trees were lush and verdant, and the scenery shifted with every step, leaving Gu Congshan's eyes nearly too busy to take it all in. Ming Zhu also gazed out of the carriage, but she wasn't looking at these meticulously sculpted garden views.
In her eyes, spirit-light-infused patterns looped and interwove, extending outward without an end in sight, seeming to encompass the entire Jiang estate.
What is this?
Gu Congshan paused before understanding her question. “You mean the wards laid over the estate?”
“Wards are protections formed with formations, runes, and other means to repel attacks and keep out prying eyes. Great clans like the Jiangs lay many over their estates to protect their people.”
Ming Zhu recalled that the carriage Jiang Yuan had ridden earlier also bore similar circuits, while the one they were riding now did not.
"What are formations and runes, then?"
She asked again with a strong thirst for knowledge, but this time Gu Congshan racked his brains and still couldn't think of how to explain it. What she was asking about really couldn't be clarified in just a few sentences—and besides, he had no formal master, so his understanding of these matters was only partial at best. Much of what he knew came from hearsay.
Ming Zhu didn't insist on Gu Congshan giving her a thorough explanation. She turned her head and once again gazed at the restriction spell laid upon this place, a faint, flickering light in the depths of her eyes.
The rockery was piled up following the natural contours of the terrain, its gullies crisscrossing in every direction. A few ferns grew from the crevices between the stones, lending the scene a lively, rustic charm. Living water diverted from outside the courtyard wound its way around the rockery, converging into a stream. Beside the stream stood a waterside pavilion, surrounded by a dense planting of crabapple and pear trees—a tranquil and secluded spot.
Past the waterside pavilion lay the outer compound where the Jiang Clan housed their guests. The courtyard they were staying in was one filled with pear blossoms, and it happened to be the height of the blooming season. The trees were covered in blossoms whiter than snow, bursting into full, exuberant bloom.
Several maidservants waiting beneath the corridor stepped forward to offer their salutations and welcomed them into the main hall. The physician of the Jiang household had already been waiting there for some time, prepared to treat Gu Congshan.
Although he had already taken the healing alchemical pills, some injuries clearly couldn't be fully restored by just two pills alone.
Those precious pills capable of regenerating flesh and mending bone with such ease would never be used on someone like Gu Congshan anyway.
Seeing the physician about to dress Gu Congshan's wounds, the maidservants stepped forward to change his blood-stained robes for him. Gu Congshan hastily refused—he was hardly the type of young master from a noble family who needed others to help him change clothes. Flustered, he retreated into the inner chamber: "I can do it myself!"
While he lay face-down, being pricked into a pincushion by the physician's silver needles, Ming Zhu took in all the furnishings around her. Having lost interest, she rose and walked toward the door.
"Your wounds!" Gu Congshan called out after her. Though she looked fine on the surface, it would be more reassuring to have the physician examine her as well.
"No need." Ming Zhu glanced at Gu Congshan, not feeling the least bit inclined to wrap herself up like a dumpling the way he had. The wounds on her body from the Blade Qi weren't deep anyway.
Gu Congshan urged her twice more. Finally, worn down by his nagging, Ming Zhu allowed the physician to take her pulse. After hearing him say there was nothing wrong, she turned and headed for the door.
"Change your outer robes—" Gu Congshan called out again. Her outer garment was stained with blood; it wouldn't be comfortable to keep wearing it, would it?
Ming Zhu waved her hand without turning back, indicating that she understood.
After changing into a fresh set of robes at Gu Congshan's insistence, Ming Zhu leaped up onto the roof of the corridor, taking in the full view of the scenery below. Her gaze wandered as her fingertip traced through the air, unconsciously sketching out the circuits of the Jiang Clan's restriction spell.
The maidservants in the courtyard found her behavior inexplicable, but since she was a guest of the Jiang Clan, whatever she chose to do was hardly something they could question.
While the physician had been applying his needles, Gu Congshan—pricked into a pincushion—had endured the pain in silence to preserve his dignity. But once it was over, he no longer had the strength to climb back to his feet. He collapsed limply onto the couch, lying there like a corpse.
He simply couldn't understand how Ming Zhu could still not feel tired after that hair-raising chase through the bamboo grove.
A’He brought over a cup of tea, intending to feed it to Gu Congshan, but he couldn’t accept such attentive care. He thanked her and took the cup himself.
After taking a couple of sips of tea, Gu Congshan finally remembered something and said to A’He before him: "Miss A’He, don't worry. Let me rest for a couple of days, and then I'll take you to find your aunt."
Now that they were in Pingxiang Town, if A’He’s aunt was still there, they would find her sooner or later.
Hearing this, A’He lowered her head and murmured an acknowledgment, her tone revealing nothing of what she felt.
She had also changed into the moon-white silk robe prepared by the maidservants—the finest garment A’He had ever worn, soft as clouds and mist. Yet her face showed little joy.
But Gu Congshan was not a particularly perceptive man, and A’He was taciturn by nature. Since she did not speak, he had no way of knowing what weighed on her heart.
A’He lowered her head and left the room. Her aunt had married into a household in Pingxiang Town, but she had never had much say there. If she had, she would have brought her own mother and A’He from Zhuxi Village to live with her long ago.
It was not that she was unwilling—it was simply that she lacked the confidence to do so.
A’He did not want to put her aunt in a difficult position, but aside from her aunt, she did not know who else she could rely on.
But would her aunt keep her?
A’He could not be certain.
Late at night, in the outer courtyard of the Jiang Clan, even lying on a soft bed with plush pillows, A’He found it hard to fall asleep. She stared wide-eyed at the ceiling beams, her heart filled with uncertainty about the future.
She could light fires and cook, split firewood and till the fields—she would not eat without earning her keep…
Carrying these deep worries, A’He only drifted off to sleep as dawn broke.
When daylight spilled into the room, just as on so many mornings before, she opened her eyes with perfect punctuality. But now she no longer needed to do any chores—a maidservant had already brought her morning meal to her side.
A’He awkwardly thanked the maidservant.
After finishing her meal, she felt she should not sit idle and wanted to help the maidservants with their sweeping. She had just rolled up her sleeves when they hurriedly stopped her.
No matter A’He's origins, she was now a guest of the Jiang Clan—how could they allow a guest to do such work? If word got out that A’He had actually done it, these maidservants would all be punished.
With nothing to do, A’He walked out of the courtyard feeling dejected, unsure of what she could possibly do. Watching several Jiang Clan maidservants pass through the corridor, she felt a trace of envy.
A’He had been born in the countryside; she had never known that even the maidservants and servants of great noble families lived so respectably.
If only she…
Her heart in turmoil, she sat down on a stone bench by the stream and plucked a long, narrow blade of grass, bringing it to her lips.
An ethereal melody rose, echoing over the water, spreading ripples in small circles.
This tune, learned from Ming Zhu, A’He could now play with great proficiency. The pear blossoms covering the trees, whiter than snow, reflected on the water's surface, carried by the gentle sound of the stream toward the opposite bank.
In the waterside pavilion by the creek, Zhangsun Heng paused mid-step.
He wore dark robes, his figure poised between youth and young manhood. A bronze belt hook inlaid with gold and jade cinched his leather belt, and a five-jade pendant hung down, proclaiming a status far from ordinary.
Even Jiang Yuan would not be qualified to wear such jade.
A smile lingered on Zhangsun Heng's face. He was blessed with an incomparably refined and handsome appearance, which softened his bearing by a degree or two, keeping him from seeming aloof.
"Young Master?" Seeing him stop, the maidservant at his side could not help but ask.
"That tune is quite good," Zhangsun Heng said thoughtfully.
Though it was very subtle, he could indeed feel the spiritual breath within him being stirred by the music.
It truly was a fine tune.
The maidservant did not understand the reason for his comment, but followed the sound to where A’He sat across the stream, and was rather surprised.
Given Zhangsun Heng's status, he had witnessed countless masters of music and was himself highly accomplished in the art of the qin. Few could earn from him a single word of praise.
Thus, A’He's music was able to reach his ears, which the maidservant found somewhat unexpected.
After all, to her ears, A’He's music was merely ordinary.
But since the young lord said it was good, then it must indeed be a good tune. Watching A’He rise and leave, the maidservant thought to herself.