Chu Wujiu swore he hadn't meant to laugh—it was just that Ming Zhu's words were so utterly unexpected that he couldn't help himself.
Though he had only recently arrived in the State of Jin, he had heard of Zhangsun Heng's name.
This young master of the Zhangsun Clan possessed extraordinary talent; few among the younger generation of Jin could match him. At just seventeen, he had already reached the the stars of twenty mansions. At this rate of cultivation, reaching the Upper Three Realms was merely a matter of time.
In all the Nine Provinces under heaven, only those who reached the Upper Three Realms were qualified to play the art of chess.
So hearing Ming Zhu's words, Chu Wujiu found it truly amusing. There were certainly not many people in the world who would dare say such a thing, and he hadn't expected that Ming Zhu, with only a Nine Mansions cultivation base, would be one of them.
Seeing everyone turn to look at him, the youth quickly stifled his laughter. His face was so ordinary it was hard to remember, but his eyes were strikingly bright. He sat atop the wall, yet his bearing was like one seated high in a grand hall.
"I'm just here to watch the show—pay me no mind." Chu Wujiu waved a hand, showing not the slightest embarrassment at being caught eavesdropping.
Ming Zhu looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Just as she thought.
Yunxiu raised her head, her face iron-gray. "Perching on a wall and eavesdropping—is this what your upbringing teaches you?!"
Yunxiu had no idea where Chu Wujiu had come from. With the Spring Banquet approaching, many guests had arrived at the Jiang estate, and she couldn't immediately discern his identity.
Though she was merely a maidservant, ever since being chosen to serve at Zhangsun Heng's side, Yunxiu had lived a life of comfort and privilege. Even now, when she wanted to say something harsh, she couldn't summon the kind of crude, cutting insults one might hear in the streets.
"You must be mistaken, miss," Chu Wujiu replied lightly, his smile unwavering. "I merely happened to pass by and overheard a few words by chance."
"You said just now that the Zhangsun Clan taking this young lady as a maidservant was an act of grace, yet this young lady making your young master her servant is an insult worthy of your righteous fury?"
As Chu Wujiu spoke, he looked toward Ming Zhu, only to receive her expressionless gaze in return.
Why so cold? Her reaction clearly surprised him—surely this counted as him extending a gesture of goodwill toward her.
Chu Wujiu thoughtfully touched his face. Could it be that this world truly was one that judged by appearances?
"What is her status, and what is my young master's status?!" Yunxiu grew increasingly incensed at Chu Wujiu's words. Her furious gaze swept over him before landing on Ming Zhu.
"—How dare you speak such reckless nonsense!"
The two of them were playing off each other—did they truly think the Zhangsun Clan could be so easily bullied?!
The guards accompanying Yunxiu behind her also wore hostile expressions. Having been chosen to follow Zhangsun Heng across a thousand li to the State of Qi, their loyalty to him was beyond question.
Chu Wujiu was not surprised by their reaction. People in this world always judged rank and worth by status, so in their eyes, Ming Zhu—who had revealed no distinguished background—being able to serve as Zhangsun Heng's maidservant was itself a kind of honor.
But did she see it that way too? Chu Wujiu turned his gaze to Ming Zhu.
“What status does he have?” Ming Zhu asked earnestly, taking Yunxiu’s words at face value.
She seemed to be truly asking, not deliberately provoking. Chu Wujiu looked at her expressionless face and felt the urge to laugh again, but to avoid any misunderstanding, he held it in.
Gu Congshan opened his mouth, at a loss for how Ming Zhu could ask such a question—more provocative than provocation itself—with such a serene, untroubled face.
Now that she looked at Ming Zhu’s face again, Yunxiu no longer found it pleasing to the eye—only beautiful in a way that was almost infuriating. "The Zhangsun Clan is the pillar of the State of Jin. Our young lord comes from noble birth, and his cultivation base is among the best of his generation. How dare a mere Nine Mansions cultivator like you speak to him with such frivolity!"
Ming Zhu was entirely unmoved by her anger, and gave a flat "oh" before asking with curiosity, “So does that affect his ability to serve someone?”
It probably didn't, Gu Congshan thought instinctively—wait, no, why was she still hung up on that?!
Sneaking a glance at Yunxiu and the others' expressions, he barely dared to breathe, frantically signaling Ming Zhu with his eyes—stop talking!
But all he got in return was a puzzled glance from her.
Expecting Ming Zhu to understand subtle cues was clearly wishful thinking on Gu Congshan's part.
As Ming Zhu's words left her mouth, before Yunxiu even gave the order, the guards behind her had already stepped forward, a cold blade gleaming as it slid from its sheath, flashing with icy sharpness.
Daring to speak rudely of the young lord—she deserved a lesson!
Were they going to fight?
Although Ming Zhu didn't understand why they would turn so livid over two sentences from her, it didn't matter much to her anyway. Compared to speaking words that were baffling and hard to grasp, fighting was a much simpler matter to her—it just came down to whether she could win or not.
She sat up straight, a hint of eager anticipation surfacing in her eyes. These guards of the Zhangsun Clan were somewhat stronger than the assassins in the bamboo grove.
"This is the Jiang Clan's residence. No matter how illustrious the Zhangsun Clan may be, if you wish to lay hands on a guest of the Jiang Clan, that decision should still rest with the young lord you speak of, should it not?" Just as the tension reached its peak, Chu Wujiu spoke up again.
A smile lingered on his face, and though his words were simple, they precisely cornered these people of the Zhangsun Clan.
A flash of faltering crossed Yunxiu's furious face.
As illustrious as the Zhangsun Clan was, they indeed had no need to fear the Jiang Clan—but Yunxiu was merely an attendant by Zhangsun Heng's side, without the standing to represent the Zhangsun Clan.
Moreover, today's matter was something she had undertaken privately to cater to Zhangsun Heng's preferences. If she rashly started a fight and blew things out of proportion, and word of it got out, it would only bring shame to Zhangsun Heng and expose her own incompetence.
So no matter how furious she was, Yunxiu still spoke through gritted teeth to the guards behind her: "Sheathe it!"
The guards behind her also knew the gravity of the situation, and though unwilling, they sheathed their blades with suppressed anger.
As Chu Wujiu had said, this was the Jiang Clan's residence—whatever they wished to do, they had to consider the Jiang Clan's face. Regardless of Ming Zhu’s identity or cultivation base, she and Gu Congshan had previously protected the bloodline of the Jiang Clan's branch family, and now both counted as guests of the Jiang Clan.
Since they couldn't lay hands on Ming Zhu, there was no point in Yunxiu staying any longer. She turned away in fury, but her resentment still burned within her, and she looked back to address Chu Wujiu coldly: "We shall remember your counsel, sir."
Then she turned her gaze to Ming Zhu, looking at her with an almost contemptuous scrutiny. "I hope you remember what you said today, and don't come to regret it in the future!"
In the State of Jin, countless people wished to enter the Zhangsun Clan's gates but could not. Now she had missed that opportunity herself!
Rogue cultivators without any lineage, regardless of their aptitude, could only glimpse the scenery of higher realms by attaching themselves to a great clan—otherwise, they could only waste away their years.
She was still young and did not yet know the hardships of the world. When her cultivation failed to progress in the future, then she would know what regret meant!
Ming Zhu was unaware of the thoughts churning in Yunxiu's mind, her gaze still lingering on the guards behind her.
Seeing them sheathe their blades and leave, not fighting anymore? Ming Zhu's gaze withdrew with a hint of disappointment, not catching any of the implication in Yunxiu's words.
Seeing that Ming Zhu showed no reaction to her words, Yunxiu's voice caught in her throat, feeling a stifled frustration of being stuck between going up and coming down.
She took a deep breath and finally swept away with her guards, sleeves fluttering.
Watching their departing figures, A’He couldn't help but take two steps forward before forcibly stopping herself, realizing what she was doing.
They had come to seek out Ming Zhu…
But Ming Zhu had refused.
A’He couldn't understand what was so bad about being a maidservant to the Zhangsun Clan, why Ming Zhu would be unwilling.
The Zhangsun Clan was one of the most powerful aristocratic clans in Jin, and even their household servants were treated with three parts respect by ordinary people.
She ultimately couldn't overcome her inner doubts and couldn't help asking Ming Zhu, deep confusion in her eyes.
"Perhaps there's nothing bad about it." Ming Zhu replied nonchalantly. "But I don't like being someone else's servant."
After leaving Yugu Mountain, she hadn't actually figured out what she wanted to do, but it definitely wouldn't be serving as someone's maidservant.
No matter what benefits it brought, it held no meaning for her.
Though A’He received an answer, it still didn't resolve the confusion in her heart. She simply felt once again that she and Ming Zhu were truly different.
Thinking of something, she lowered her eyes, her expression dazed.
This was the Zhangsun Clan after all. After Yunxiu and the others left, Gu Congshan thought about it more and more and felt it was trouble, though he didn't entertain the thought of cutting ties with Ming Zhu to avoid being implicated.
What if they just ran now? Jin couldn't stay. They could turn back to Zhuxi, and not far from there was Chen…
Just as Gu Congshan's thoughts were drifting further and further away, Ming Zhu seemed to have already cast the previous matter aside. She turned her gaze to Chu Wujiu, sizing him up, and slowly uttered three words: "Stalker."
He had finally shown himself.