Zhangsun Heng was born into the Zhangsun Clan of the State of Jin. Throughout all of Jin, there were likely few who had not heard of the Zhangsun name—it was one of the most powerful surnames in the state, and its clan head, Zhangsun Yan, served as chief minister, deeply trusted by the ruler.
Compared to the Zhangsun Clan, even the Jiang Clan, powerful as they were in their borderland stronghold, counted for little.
As for Zhangsun Heng, he was the most outstanding of the younger generation in the Zhangsun Clan, and was especially favored by his grandfather, Zhangsun Yan.
Not long ago, the Crown Prince of Qi had held his wedding, and Zhangsun Heng had attended the ceremony on his grandfather’s behalf. He had only just returned from Qi. When he passed through Pingxiang Town, the Jiang Clan invited him to stay, citing the upcoming Spring Banquet in the town. Unable to decline their earnest hospitality, Zhangsun Heng had lingered there for two extra days.
For someone of his standing, even a casually spoken remark would be taken to heart by those around him.
Half a day later, facing Yunxiu—who claimed to be Zhangsun Heng's maidservant—A’He's eyes widened slightly, as if she could not believe what she had just heard.
Though she called herself a maidservant, Yunxiu was accompanied by several guards, and her silken robes gleamed with splendor. Even some women of the Jiang Clan could not match her bearing.
And it was this woman, who seemed utterly unattainable in A’He's eyes, who asked whether A’He would be willing to serve at the side of the young lord of the Zhangsun Clan.
What was plainly a matter of becoming a servant was spoken by the woman before her as though it were a favor bestowed upon A’He.
And indeed, Yunxiu thought of it that way. She looked critically at A’He's plain face, at the thick calluses on her hands from rough labor, at her cowering posture with head bowed and chest drawn in—this was clearly a village girl raised in the fields, and yet she could play music that even the young lord found pleasing.
But since the young lord found it pleasing, there was no harm in bringing her to the Zhangsun household as a maidservant. Yunxiu thought with some condescension that for the young lord to deign to listen to her music was already the girl's great honor.
It was not only Yunxiu who thought this way—A’He herself thought the same.
She could not tell what difference there was between the Zhangsun Clan and the Jiang Clan; she only knew that these were all great figures she had never even seen before in her life.
During her two days in the Jiang household, A’He had watched quietly and felt that even the Jiang maidservants lived far better than she herself had before, and she could not help but envy them.
After A’He’s parents died, her grandmother had supported herself and her granddaughter on two mu of poor farmland. Even keeping hunger at bay had been difficult.
Staying on as a maidservant in the Jiang household was already a stroke of good fortune A’He had never dared imagine—and now Yunxiu said that Zhangsun Heng's status was far more exalted than anyone in the Jiang Clan. Serving as his maidservant must surely be even better.
But A’He felt that compared to the Jiang maidservants, she was neither good-looking nor clever enough. Even if she wanted to be a maidservant like them, she probably did not have the qualifications.
So then—could someone like her really serve an even more powerful noble?
"Wh-why?" A’He could not help asking, flattered and overwhelmed.
"The tune you played by the stream was quite good." Yunxiu repeated what Zhangsun Heng had said earlier, her face betraying an arrogance she did not put into words. That was the only reason she had come to see A’He.
Since the young lord found it pleasing, she would simply summon the girl to his side. As long as the music could delight the young lord's heart a little, raising one extra maidservant was a trivial matter for the Zhangsun Clan.
Hearing this, A’He was momentarily stunned. So that was it?
But…
She had not originally known this song Return to the Nether. It was Lady Ming Zhu who had taught her.
A’He clutched the hem of her sleeve, remaining silent for a long time, her expression so much like she was daydreaming that Yunxiu furrowed her brow.
Sensing something amiss, Yunxiu was about to speak when A’He, head lowered, finally stammered, "This tune… it isn't mine."
In A’He's view, since Yunxiu had come for this tune, the opportunity to go to the Zhangsun Clan rightfully belonged to Ming Zhu.
Yunxiu had no idea where A’He had learned this tune, and A’He could certainly have chosen not to say anything—as long as she knew the tune, she would be qualified to stay by Zhangsun Heng's side.
For A’He, who had seen little of the world, becoming Zhangsun Heng's maidservant was already the best path she could imagine for herself.
Even if her aunt were willing to take her in, her life probably wouldn't be any easier than serving as a noble's maidservant.
But this opportunity should belong to Miss Ming Zhu.
After much inner struggle, A’He suppressed her own longing and explained the whole story to Yunxiu.
Yunxiu studied A’He appraisingly. Before coming to see her, Yunxiu had asked the Jiang Clan's servants about A’He's background and learned that she had entered the Jiang Clan because a rogue cultivator traveling with her had accidentally saved a member of the Jiang Clan's collateral branch.
In truth, when she first laid eyes on A’He, she had wondered how someone who clearly grew up in the countryside could know a piece of refined orthodox music so different from rustic folk tunes—now she had her answer.
"If she's a cultivator, it's not strange that she knows orthodox elegant music," Yunxiu murmured to herself.
But a rogue cultivator of the Nine Mansions—only ignorant country folk would call such a person an immortal master. Yunxiu let out a light scoff, thinking idly.
Given Zhangsun Heng's status, even the maidservants and attendants who served him were not without cultivation bases. Having followed at his side, Yunxiu had seen countless prodigies—a fourteen-year-old at the Nine Mansions could only be described as so mediocre as to be unremarkable.
At that age, Zhangsun Heng had already awakened the stars of the seventeenth mansion on his Life Chart.
Perhaps feeling that she had no chance of going to the Zhangsun Clan, A’He's face betrayed a hint of poorly concealed disappointment after telling Yunxiu the full story.
"Then take me to see her," Yunxiu instructed matter-of-factly, seeing nothing wrong with her words.
A moment later, A’He led Yunxiu into the courtyard where they had been staying these past few days.
As the group stepped through the courtyard gate, Ming Zhu was lying on a swing beneath the pear tree. On the stone table beside her lay silk that Gu Congshan had obtained for her from the Jiang Clan's maidservants. The silk was marked with intricate patterns drawn in charcoal, interlocking and overlapping, impossible to take in at a single glance.
Gazing up at the flowering branches overhead, Ming Zhu idly tossed the Jade Slip in her hand, lost in thought.
At the sound of footsteps, as if sensing someone's approach, she caught the Jade Slip, stopped moving, and sat up to look over.
When her eyes met Ming Zhu's, even Yunxiu, who was accustomed to all manner of beauties, couldn't help but let a flicker of admiration pass through her gaze.
She truly has a lovely face, Yunxiu thought with a sigh, unable to keep her eyes from lingering a moment longer on Ming Zhu's features. Beautiful people always made one want to look twice.
Even if she had no other talents, just having her around to look at was a pleasure to the eyes.
Gu Congshan walked past from beneath the corridor and spotted A’He, his eyes lighting up. He had circled around looking for her and had been wondering where she had gone.
Mindful of his promise to help A’He search for her relatives, Gu Congshan, now that his injuries had improved somewhat, had immediately planned to take her out—only to find her nowhere to be seen.
Just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of Yunxiu arriving with A’He, accompanied by several guards, and hesitated, coming to a stop.
Though he didn't recognize her, her status seemed rather ordinary. Who were they?
Yunxiu swept a glance over him, her appraisal carrying a distinct air of condescension, before she raised her hand in greeting and announced herself: "I am an attendant to a young lord of the Zhangsun Clan of capital of the State of Jin. My young lord is passing through Pingxiang Town and, at the invitation of the Jiang Clan, is staying here as a guest for two days."
Her courtesy was impeccable, but it was not born of respect for Ming Zhu and Gu Congshan—rather, it was a self-conscious pride, a determination that her every word and action must uphold the dignity of the Zhangsun name.
Gu Congshan returned her greeting a beat too slow. The Zhangsun Clan…
The Zhangsun Clan of Jin's chief minister?!
"Might I ask what business you have here, miss?" he ventured cautiously, wondering how someone of such standing could possibly be connected to them.
Yunxiu did not answer. Instead, she looked at Ming Zhu, who had not risen to return the greeting, and frowned almost imperceptibly. Still, she decided not to quibble over such trifles and spoke: "I have heard that the tune Return to the Nether was taught by you to her."
As she spoke, she gestured toward A’He beside her.
"Yes," Ming Zhu met her gaze. "And what of it?"
Seeing Ming Zhu admit it, Yunxiu lifted her chin slightly, her expression tinged with arrogance: "This song has earned my young lord's appreciation. I have come to offer you a chance to serve him."
"Though your cultivation base is lacking, you are still fit to remain by my young lord's side as a maidservant."
After all, she had a fine face. She lacked proper discipline for now, but after a period of instruction, she would surely learn her place.
Gu Congshan listened to Yunxiu's tone of condescending favor and found it rather strange. The song had earned Zhangsun Heng's appreciation, so she was asking Ming Zhu to become his maidservant?
As Yunxiu's words fell, Ming Zhu raised an eyebrow: “You mean you want me to become his servant?”
Her tone held none of the flattered surprise A’He had shown upon hearing such words earlier, and she clearly harbored little reverence for the Zhangsun Clan Yunxiu spoke of.
The smile faded from Yunxiu's face: "Do you know what kind of person my young lord is? To be his maidservant is your honor!"
Even the servants attending Zhangsun Heng wore fine clothes and dined on delicacies. Moreover, for a rogue cultivator like her, only in a great clan such as the Zhangsun could she learn cultivation methods kept within the clan.
Now that she had been given such an opportunity, she did not even cherish it!
Unfortunately, these words, spoken to Ming Zhu who had not the slightest bit of common sense, were no different from playing a lute to a cow. Ming Zhu said thoughtfully: "So being someone's servant counts as an honor?"
As she spoke, a faint smile curved at her lips for reasons unknown.
Sensing the change in Ming Zhu's expression, and knowing her well from the past few days, Gu Congshan felt a foreboding dread rise in his chest. He tried to say something to salvage the situation, but he was a step too slow.
"How about this—let your young lord become my servant instead." Her expression was serious, with not a hint of jest.
She had not refused Yunxiu's proposal, but Ming Zhu did not like being another's servant, so it was better for Zhangsun Heng to become hers instead.
If being Zhangsun Heng's maidservant was her honor, then why was being her servant not his honor?
In Ming Zhu's view, the logic was that simple.
But others clearly did not see it that way. As her words fell, Yunxiu looked at her with shock and fury. Did she even know what she was saying?!
Perhaps too shocked and enraged to speak, this senior servant of the Zhangsun Clan, who prided herself on her status, was momentarily rendered speechless. Yunxiu and the guards beside her were speechless; even A’He could hardly believe what she had just heard.
Off to the side, Gu Congshan barely dared to look at the expression on the person before him—he knew it!
No one spoke again, and the scene fell into an abrupt silence. In the stifling atmosphere, the laughter that seemed to come from nowhere stood out all the more jarringly.
Several gazes followed the sound, only to see the youth sitting atop the wall laughing so hard he was nearly doubling over, no longer bothering to conceal his presence.